Why Hillary Should Stay in the Race Amidst Calls for Withdrawal

“DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN!” So screamed the headline of the Chicago Tribune on November 3, 1948 following the presidential election. As the more astute readers are undoubtedly aware, Thomas Dewey did not, in fact, defeat thirty-third President Harry Truman in his bid for re-election. The Chicago Tribune’s headline was premature as it declared a victory that had not yet (nor would it ever) come to pass.

You might rightly be wondering why, in the midst of this exciting and historic 2008 presidential campaign, I am calling attention to the Chicago Tribune’s now infamous faux pas. My point is that America- a country so steeped in history- appears to be suffering from some type of short term memory loss in that it has not learned from the lessons of the Chicago Tribune. For as surely as President Truman defeated Mr. Dewey in 1948, this presidential race is far from over. So why exactly is it that the public is clamoring for Senator Clinton to exit the race?

The simple reason is that most people seem to think that Mr. Obama has the Democratic nomination all but sewn up. They believe that by staying in the race, Mrs. Clinton is simply trying to spite both Mr. Obama and the Democratic Party that has been so unforgiving towards her of late. But to believe this is to grossly underestimate what is at stake for Senators Clinton, McCain, and Obama; because each of the candidates is currently embroiled in a three-way fight for arguably the most powerful office in the world- the presidency of the United States in America. General opinion tends to hold that Mrs. Clinton has been waiting a very long time for this opportunity, and now she technically has a one-in-three (that’s 33.3%) chance of being the next president. Mrs. Clinton, Mr. McCain, and Mr. Obama each have a legitimate chance of achieving this goal. So how can you fairly ask someone in that position- someone who is so close- to give that up?

Quite frankly, you can’t. Both Democrats and Republicans should support her decision to remain in the race not because they agree with her ideology or because of strategy, but because calls for her to withdraw from the race are as premature as the Chicago Tribune was in calling the election of 1948 for Mr. Dewey. Yes, Mrs. Clinton has the odds against her; she is currently trailing Mr. Obama in both the popular vote and soft pledged delegates tally. But in the last two centuries of American history, stranger things have happened. Just look at the still ongoing 2008 presidential election campaign alone for proof of that. Mr. McCain’s campaign bounced back from long-shot odds and near-bankruptcy. Mr. Obama’s campaign recovered from the Reverend Jeremiah Wright scandal. Mrs. Clinton’s campaign has withstood the recent tests of the Bosnia lie and prominent staff shakeups among other things. As the media reports it, Mrs. Clinton may now look like a long shot. But as strategist Bob Shrum is quick to note, “a long shot isn’t the same as no shot at all.”

Democrats do not like the fact that the longer Mrs. Clinton remains in the race, the tougher the party’s road to the presidency becomes. But alas- such is the price we pay for living in a republic where the votes of all people matter. On a recent episode of “The Ellen Show,” Mrs. Clinton stated that she would not quit the race because “this country’s worth fighting for.” One need not agree with Mrs. Clinton’s politics in order to acknowledge that this is the notion that a commander in chief should embody. What if it were Mr. Obama in Mrs. Clinton’s position- would he still face pressure to drop out? What if it was Mr. McCain who had fewer delegates than Mr. Romney but was still within reach of overtaking him- would he be asked to quit? The odds that Mrs. Clinton now faces are not desirable, but they are surmountable. If she or any other candidate has a chance at the presidency within reach and is willing to fight for it, then let her. I don’t know that Mrs. Clinton deserves the Democratic nomination any more than Mr. Obama does. But I do know that she deserves the right to fight to the end. And the American public should not accept anything less than that from any candidate who aspires to be our commander in chief.