The end of the beginning
The establishment media's coverage of Ron Paul's announcement to his supporters is perhaps a microcosm of why his campaign never caught on in the establishment media — he just doesn't speak their language.
The most common headline I see is that he's "hinting to supporters" that he's giving up his presidential campaign. Well, yes and no. ABC News, which was first with the story last night and got it wrong, ended up getting it most right as a consequence, in a post headlined "Ron Paul Moves On from Presidential Campaign"
An earlier version of this report indicated that Paul would "drop out"
of the race. In the video, Paul did not use the words "drop out,"
opting instead to say the campaign is "winding down," and he encourages
supporters to still cast votes for him. But he referred to his campaign
in the past tense.
Nowhere in there is a "hint to supporters" that he's suspending or withdrawing from the race. He's just acknowledging the obvious — that he won't win the GOP nomination and he wants to focus on the next steps for building a movement. (Certainly he's built an impressive database of email addresses from which to start.)
Hours before the release of the announcement, Justin Raimondo formally moved on to Barack Obama — even as he acknowledged Obama's cause is now probably lost. I tend to agree, the results from Texas and Ohio firming up my squishy musings at the conclusion of this post last week.
So all that said, here's a pleasant scenario for your contemplation: McCain beats Hillary this fall, McCain becomes the most unpopular president since Hoover as hyperinflationary depression sets in, and Hillary comes riding in on a white horse in 2012.
Update: Obama's toast. Not officially, of course. But when Clinton's campaign says "Jump," and Obama's campaign says "How high?" he's toast.
Sorry to Steve O below…
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