With the end of the Democratic primary elections in site, and (hopefully) a definite Democratic nominee to surface, many Americans are growing tired of what seems to be a never ending fight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. It is admirable that Hillary has tried to stay in the campaign until the end and fight a hard battle, but it is also time for her to admit defeat and let the Democratic party begin to heal the rift this long, drawn out battle has caused. Many American's don't realize the problems that a lack of a definite nominee for the Democratic party can cause in the general election.
The Republican Party has had a Presidential nominee for quite some time now, allowing them to begin campaigning for the general election in November, while the Democratic party is still struggling to gain a nominee. This gives John McCain a decided advantage over either Hillary Clinton, or Barack Obama. The Democratic party will have to begin to heal the rift that the battle for the nomination between these two charismatic people has caused before the campaigning for the Presidential election in November can begin in earnest.
Another problem now facing the Democrats is the fact that voters seem to have a love - hate relationship with both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. They either love Hillary and hate Obama or they love Obama and hate Hillary. Hillary's supporters swear they will either vote for McCain or not vote at all rather than voting for Obama. Obama's supporters say the same thing about Hillary. This bitter fight to the end will cause problems for the DNC for quite a while, and it will take time for the candidates to unify the party again. Let us assume that Hillary wins the nomination and Obama gives her his support by endorsing her and asking his supporters to vote for her in November; the majority of his supporters avidly hate Clinton, and even then would not vote for her. The same thing can be said for Obama if he wins the nomination - the majority of Clinton's supporters will simply either not vote or will vote for John McCain rather than giving Obama their vote. This is not a promising scenario for the Democratic party come November.
One possible solution to this potentially serious pit fall would be a joint ticket between the two: either a Clinton / Obama ticket or an Obama / Clinton ticket respectively. This solution would have problems as well though. First off, with the strong fighting that has gone on between the two during the campaign season, it will be hard for them to work together as a winning team. Also there are the differences in their solutions to the problems facing our nation - it would be very hard for a compromise to occur between them. It will be interesting to see how this plays out and what sort of damage control will be necessary if the Democratic party is to regain the White House in November 2008.
