It's Damage Control Time For The Clintons

Hillary Clinton may have done serious long term damage to her prospects to either winning the Democratic nomination or even winning the general election with the desperate campaign by the Clintons in South Carolina. The Clintons had strong support in the African-American community, however the racially devisive tone set by the failed South Carolina campaign may have hurt turnout prospects for Hillary Clinton among African-Americans for the general election should she be able to grab the nomination. Further, the huge loss, by a more than 2 to 1 margin to Barack Obama proved enough vulnerability in her campaign that more and more top Democrats such as the Kennedys will be coming out in support of Obama in fear that Clinton could lose the 2008 election and only drag the Democratic Party down in November.

Bill Clinton's attacks on behalf of his wife were not very helpful either, and probably backfired based on the extent of the massive loss in South Carolina. Rather than Hillary Clinton standing well on her own, her husband's continued involvement in her campaign only seem to make her appear weaker and less tough, and seem to inspire some quasipaternalistic-type problems for her campaign.

Conditions may seem to be right for a Democratic victory in 2008. But Clinton may be just the wrong candidate to head the national party ticket, and Obama may just be the stronger candidate to head the party into the election. Perhaps enough voters actually don't like Hillary Clinton that it could become a major problem for a general election battle with any Republican despite all that George Bush has done to give his party a bad name, including Iraq and a sagging economy.

Clinton still is the most likely to win the Democratic nomination. But with the landlide loss in South Carolina as well as new important endorsements, all of which may just prove to be enough to help lift Obama to some level of parity in the race, giving him an outside chance to possiby wrest the nomination from Clinton.