M and M Duo Victories and the Miami Florida Experience: Debating the last Democratic National Committee Sanctioned Encounter!

Keywords or Terms: Democratic national Committee (DNC); Clinton’s campaign; Sander’s Campaign; Delegate Counts; Regional Performance; Michigan; Minnesota; Florida, Ohio; March 15^th; ‘H→’ Brand; ‘Feel the Bern’ Brand; “Queen of the South’; President Barack Obama; President Bill Clinton; President George W. Bush; Univision/CNN; Latino Youths; and, Mr. or Mrs. President

In the past week, I had contemplated the possible stiff and heated contest for delegates between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders as the Democratic National Committee sanctioned debate for party nomination moves from south to middle and or, rust belt states. Tuesday’s primary or caucuses results from Michigan State bore out part of my contemplation; and, the outcome from the State of Mississippi, re-affirmed that Hillary Clinton is still the Queen of the South. Frankly, by now, the Clinton’s campaign team realizes that Bernie Sanders is giving them a run for their money across multiple regions of the country.

The preponderance of the minority resident voters and Democratic Party supporters of Hillary Clinton’s campaign in the Southern region of the country cannot be overlooked or underestimated. However, something happened on Wednesday night at the University of Miami, Dade County, debate venue, where Hillary and Bernie got into another ‘off-the-gloves- duel’ before an audience, probably more Latino than you’ve found in other debate venues; a group focused debate that makes you wonder, if the contest has not gone into an overdrive of a toss-up; or, a friendlier outcome for Bernie Sanders?

Was the speculation regarding the potentials of either candidate performing better than hitherto conceived or, where either had had acclaimed regional dominance, a worthy subject of consideration at this time in the nomination process? Did the Tuesday’s results from Michigan pushed the Clinton’s team to the fence or, does the overall delegates’ count and acquisition affirms yet still, the dominance of Hillary Clinton on the way to party’s nomination as flag bearer? Albeit, was my initial contemplation, vis-à-vis, either candidate’s potential performance in some regions overtly optimistic and has the lopsided overall delegate count and victories in Mississippi as against Michigan, saying something more sinister about Bernie Sanders’ Campaign for party nomination? Contrarily, or in contrarian analogy, did Bernie Sander’s debate performance at the University of Miami venue, a reaffirmation of a growing love for the ‘feel the Bern’ rather than the ‘H→’ brand; and, would this performance stair the ship in favor of the Vermont Senator? It depends on what campaign team you ask: Hillary’s or Bernie’s!

If ‘Feel the Bern’ campaign was experimenting with a strategy in Michigan that paid off rather well, maybe it should double down on that strategy as the campaign moves on to the next robust States’ contests on March 15^th. Further, if the love that the audience showed Bernie Sanders at Dade County after the end of the eighth debate yesterday, is an indication of any promise, maybe, hell has let loose, and the ‘Queen of the South’ may not be able to easily ride her victories to sunset, sooner. Without remarkable departure from establishment Democratic Party expectation, Hillary Clinton acquired twenty-nine as against four delegates for Bernie Sanders in Mississippi. However, Bernie upset Hillary in the rust state of Michigan, where polls had earlier predicted a huge victory for her.

In the words of Hillary Clinton last night, if the campaign is about delivering results, maybe her victories will deliver the nomination; however, it is not ever going to be on a platter of gold, if you ask Bernie Sanders. The audience probably sensed that, when she was asked a tough question by the Univision/CNN host regarding the issue of trust, and she replied with some resignation that, she is hardly a conventional politician as her husband, Bill Clinton, or as President Barack Obama; however, she will continue to give of her best in public service and hope Americans, stop judging the book by its cover; and, eventually find the luxurious taste in the pudding. Further, if her ultimate victory will help deliver jobs and lost hopes to Americans the way she anticipates and intoned at the debate, maybe the re- insurgence of Bernie Sander’s campaign is more of a cog in the wheel of progress, or a fly in the oil pan, for the quick coronation of the ‘Queen of the South’, or eventual Democratic Party nominee; and probably, the first female President of the United States.

For now, Bernie Sanders appears to be reshaping the Democratic Party’s campaign narratives in some regions of the country; and there is evidence that the challenges that he has faced in the South, because of the preponderance of support of minority groups flocking to Hillary Clinton in that region, are surmountable, even in the ninth hour of the contest. Notwithstanding, there is the possibility that Hillary Clinton will continue to score more delegates and super delegates, as she begrudges Bernie Sanders as supporting legislation granting gun makers legal immunity for damages caused by their product, an issue rather sensitive with black voters, just as she did at the University of Miami debate venue yesterday, highlighting the factually disputed assertion that Bernie Sanders once stood with the anti-immigrant militias, the Minutemen.

Eventually, Hillary Clinton may be able to call off the bluff of Bernie Sanders after March 15^th, and scorn at Sander’s assertion that delegates have to be splinted as in Michigan because of his emboldened victory, that was heartfelt and worth celebrating by his campaign. Evidently, the huge delegates' gulf between Hillary and Bernie is such as to have the Vermont Senator very much behind; one reason political pollsters are articulating, for Bernie to remain in competitive play, he would have to win over three-fifths of the remaining delegates, a reality that appears mathematically impossible, as ascertained by the Cook Political Report. Further, If the aggrandizement of Bernie’s Campaign as the only one standing up for the poor and middle class, or his being anti-trade pact and anti-Wall Street excesses, are going to draw more supporters and voters to him and help him make up the lagging difference, while remaining proactively competitive, his performance and voting returns or outcome, in States of Florida and Ohio on March 15^th,have to be impressive. For now, it is still safe to assume that Bernie’s delegate count will not easily match up to the leader’s, and this somehow continues to put him behind in the race for the 2,382 delegates to clinch the nomination.

The question yesterday at the University of Miami debate venue to Hillary Clinton was, did she lie to families of the Libya, Benghazi’s diplomats’ deaths, may prove costly in general election, if not better articulated in form of response from Hillary Clinton. While her response that she had exhausted answers and provided all information she knew and corrected some, as new information was available in real time, regarding the disaster, may suffice at intra party debate, American voters would demand more than: “I’m a work horse, not a show horse.” The Benghazi fiasco called for more answers and transparency, that a more substantial and possibly, reflective assertion that an installation retribution may have been essential to answer the pounding question from the nation regarding what actually happened around the event that led to the deaths of Americans.

Yes, there are all good reasons to believe that Hillary Clinton as the US Secretary of State answered all the Congressional Proceedings questions and provided all she knows about actions taken by the administration while this unfortunate event occurred; however, as a presidential aspirant, opponents and naysayers are going to insist that her responses are not enough. A retarded after thought collaboration or credibility of an incensed failure of Hillary when serving as the US Secretary of State will continue to reverberate; however, a better approach to responding may be in showing more compassion, prompter and unwavering consistency in repeating all that she answered before the congressional investigative panel and broadcast, she knows no other way, than to assuage this nightmare than apologize to families of the deceased, not for error of judgement, rather, because they all died as heroes serving the United States of America.

No matter what, Hillary Clinton’s response to the Benghazi fiasco will remain suspiciously flawed because she is a member of an opposition party, one that occupied the White House, when this dastardly event occurred. However, former US Secretary Clinton must remember that George Bush did not capitulate when accosted for lies regarding absence of Iraq’s weapon of mass destruction; neither did Ronald Reagan, when caught selling arms to Iran, the Iran Contra-affair, even after John Poindexter and Lt. Col Oliver North were found guilty and Reagan himself, probably culpable, he still maintained an innocence of hardly contravening American policy and law. Thank goodness, the Benghazi disaster has not risen to the level where a federal prosecutor will be appointed to unearth, what probably does not exist, but which Republicans will like to score points with, because a member of the outgoing administration is attempting to vie for the White House oval office. This is just the regular order of politics and one should be used to that: “making a mountain out of a mole hill!”.

One rather commendable thing at the eighth Democratic Presidential Debate was that when Hillary Clinton came under fire with numerous questions from UNIVISION/CNN host and hostess, she held her ground, kept cool and collected, with a posture of reliability, even though, she appeared irritated by some questions coming to her with respect to her service as US Secretary of State; and, when Bernie Sanders sarcastically chimed in that, she was paid fifteen million dollars for her speeches and some of the content of the speeches must be so sacrosanct or great, that she will not want to share them with the rest of the public. Bernie’s prickly comment that Wall Street was not expending all that money without expecting something, including their funding of her PAC groups to help solidify her candidacy and campaign for the White House, Hillary hardly collapsed under pressure. She maintained a solid and convincing demeanor, reasserting herself by maintaining that contrary to all the noise of building a very huge and beautiful wall coming from the republican front-runner, she is convinced that the right thing to do is not to engage in mass deportation of undocumented immigrants around us today; rather, it is to facilitate bringing families together under one roof. If this issue was to become something to fight over, it was hardly coming from Bernie Sanders, as he reiterated that there was not going to be a deportation of undocumented immigrants under his administration; rather, Bernie was more interested in creating more jobs for Latino Youths and harnessing their support to further his campaign.

Finally, maybe Secretary Clinton’s admonishment that she is proud of the campaign that Senator Sanders and herself are running; and the difference between both campaign teams are reminiscent of the fine qualities of either candidate attempting to represent the Democratic Party at the general election, is fantastic. For as much as either of these candidates want to triumph at the polls for nomination, they still defer to each other, regarding the qualification and veracity of each campaign teams, edifying each other’s campaign and acknowledging the worth of each other’s argument without being disrespectful or demeaning to the ideas and the foundation of each other’s campaign for the White House oval office. That is what superb politics ought to be; that is what makes great men and women of America see a future in the type of leaders offering themselves to step into the shoes of the outgoing President of the United States. As citizens of the greatest democracy on earth, we hope the opposition party candidates’ will borrow a leaf from these two fine Democrats making America great, not by being discourteous, xenophobic or outlandish in their ideas, policies and or proposals in seeking the office of, Mr. or Mrs. President!