Wha' happened?

Sorry for the paucity and insipidness of recent posts (and how many times have I started a post with, "Sorry for the paucity and insipidness of recent posts"?). I've been, by turns, inundated by office work and on vacation, inundated by yard work.

Last night, though, I was returning from the Stadium and the Yankees' tough loss to the Native Americans listening to Clinton's odd speech -- we didn't know the outcome of NC and Indiana at the time, and could divine nothing about the results from her speech, other than she didn't sound too victorious. I think Ezra sums it up best.

What surprised me about the speech, though, is that she didn't do more to elevate her own prestige before the party. Whether she's accepted a likely loss or is still hoping for an unexpected win, warm feelings from Obama's sections of the party would help her path to the nomination or her reintegration into everyday politics. She's got good speechwriters -- Bill Clinton included -- who could write her an elevating, healing address. But as of yet, they've not tried that approach. The thinking may be that she can give that speech at the convention, but I'm surprised that they're not even trying that strategy. She's too far behind, with too little time on the clock, to grind this victory out. Whether the strategy is to save face or actually change the math, it requires a speech considerably different than this one.

At one point, I thought she was declaring victory, the next conceding defeat. And I also thought, God, if she does manage to win, the level of oratory in the Fall could be deadly.

I don't think she -- or William Jefferson Clinton -- have come to terms with the fact that they now depend on Obama winning the general election to maintain any kind of leadership status in the party. If he loses, she will be seen as having been a major contributor to his lack of stature in the Fall by doing McCain's oppo-research in advance. The bitter taste will not long disappear, and she'll pay for it if she decides to run again in 2012.