HILLARY CLINTON'S CATCH 22  

June 2, 2008 

In Catch 22, Joseph Heller’s1961 novel about an American World War II bomber squadron, made into a 1970 motion picture, bombardier Captain John Yossarian can be grounded and not required to fly bomber missions if he's crazy. But if he asks not to fly because he's crazy, according to "Catch 22," it's proof that he's not crazy and, therefore, must keep flying missions. Catch-22 gave the English language a new phrase for a no-win situation.

Hillary Clinton apparently got caught up in her own Catch 22. She and Bill must have agreed to it before she ran. It explains why she didn't end herd campaign for the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States when it became obvious Barack Obama would win. Obama maintained a small but unsurpassable lead in pledged and super delegates for weeks before the end of the primaries. Worse than that, her old pal Dick Morris early on declared her the loser. She's must have been crazy to keep running.

But like Yossarian, if Hillary had bowed out of the campaign, because she had to be crazy to stay in, it would have proven she wasn't crazy. Her contention that she was the candidate best suited to defeat John McCain in November, and that she had won a majority of the popular vote couldn't have been delusions of a deranged mind!  It had to be true. And if she wasn’t crazy, she couldn't quit? Catch 22!

Hillary would have been certifiably crazy to have believed that Barack would make an enormous gaffe at the 11th hour. That's what it would have taken for her to win the nomination. Obama or someone close to him would have had to do something that would have convinced super delegates that nominating him would be a disaster that would guarantee a John McCain victory in November.

Obama has run a near flawless campaign. He’s been a rock star on the campaign trail and in the media. His speeches have been compared to those of John Kennedy and Martin Luther King. His campaign has millions in the bank and the best political talent money can buy. He weathered a host of anti-American and racist statements by his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. He survived accusations about his association with former Weather Underground bomber, William Ayers.

But just as the primaries were coming to a close, Obama had another pastor eruption. This time it wasn’t Jeremiah Wright, it wasn’t even his own pastor. It was a Catholic priest, Father Michael Pfleger, another of Obama's long-time Chicago friends.  

Pfleger, another activist with radical beliefs, gave a sermon at Obama’s church. He mocked Hillary, made sexist and racist statements about her while Obama’s fellow parishioners cheered and applauded. The video almost immediately showed up on YouTube and cable television talk shows. Once again Obama was forced to distance himself from his friends. On May 30 he denounced Pfleger and resigned his membership at Trinity.

Despite the fact that Hillary remained in the race until the very end, praying for a miracle, prima fascia evidence that she must have been crazy, Obama’s most recent pastor eruption proved not to be the gaffe she'd been waiting for. But with less than a week left in the primary season, she still had time to get out of the race before the last vote was cast and prove she wasn't crazy. But if she wasn't crazy, she couldn't quit. Catch 22!  

Finally, if anyone needed absolute proof of Hillary’s insanity, by staying in the race she probably guaranteed that Obama wouldn't pick her as his vice president. Rumor has it that Michelle Obama thinks Hillary's crazy for not quitting earlier, and she put her foot down and told Barack that under no circumstances will she allow Hillary to be his vice president.

Hillary certainly would make an ideal vice president for Obama. She won nearly half the pledged delegates in hard fought primaries. She won big states with large numbers of Electoral College delegates that the democrats will need in November. She appeals to white women and blue collar voters, a demographic essential to a Democratic victory.

If she had graciously conceded defeat, before the Democratic Party did it for her, and let Obama know she would accept an invitation to join him on the ticket, she'd have proven she wasn't crazy. Barack could have convinced Michelle that Hillary should be his vice president. That could still happen, of course. But Barack doesn't want anyone, especially Michelle, to think he's crazy. Two for one doesn't work any better for the vice presidency than it did for the presidency. Then again, Hillary wasn't crazy, and she couldn't quit. Catch 22!

The primaries end this week. The super delegates will play their cards, and the race for the Democratic nomination will be over, unless Hillary carries the fight to the convention. And she may have to. Even if she concedes now, it will prove she isn't crazy. And if she isn't crazy, she can't quit. Catch 22!