Shut your mouth after the sale is made!

I was thinking how close Barrack Obama came to losing the nomination of Democratic Party for U.S. President. Just three or four days before the May 6^th primaries in Indiana and North Carolina, he was hemorrhaging badly. Reverend Jeremiah Wright had damaged him with his foolish and provoking statements, and the Main Stream Media (MSM) was going crazy with it. There were concerns about him being too 'elite' and out of touch with the working people. His popularity had plummeted. He looked tired and dispirited, while a newly energized Hillary with her ‘fighting for the common man’ theme, shone in daily news clips on T.V. Hillary lead in polls to win Indiana by eight to nine points, and had narrowed the gap in North Carolina from 20 points to single digits. After his losses in big states Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania, a poor performance in Indiana and North Carolina would have validated the concern that Obama is not 'electable' in the fall against John McCain, the Republican. ‘Obama crashes!’ would have been the headlines everywhere after the May 6th primary. The election in West Virginia next week with Hillary winning with over 30% majority, would have raised matters to a fever pitch. The uncommitted Super-delegates (about 300 of them) would have gotten the reason they have been waiting for to vote for Hillary. In short, everything was set for a perfect storm for Hillary to win the nomination. So, what does Hillary do? She decides to throw in one more punch at the falling Obama. She vehemently defends her proposal to remove gas tax, painting Obama’s opposition to it as another example of him not understanding the travails of the common people (‘Thirty dollars is a significant amount for people who count every penny!’). Obama defends his position, explaining why Hillary’s proposal is pure pandering as the gas companies and suppliers would simply raise their prices to fill the gap of no gas tax. The newspapers and political commentators support Obama as being honest, and the Wright controversy disappears from the media. Hillary continues to defend her position, even calling all economists who do not support her plan, as 'elitists', giving Obama good company. Obama cites Hillary’s stand as an example of ‘old Washington politics’ where politicians will say anything to get the votes. People finally catch on to things, and feel that Hillary, who already has a reputation of saying anything to get votes, is manipulating them. Result? Hillary gets thrashed in North Carolina, and wins Indiana only by a squeaker. Obama proves that he is winnable despite of all the controversy, and MSM crowns him as presumptive nominee. The focus turns on to the coming Obama McCain race, while Hillary lamely continues her campaign (under careful scrutiny by the Democratic Party leaders who do not want her to say anything to damage their eventual nominee Obama!)

If only Hillary had kept her mouth shut during the last few days of the Indiana and North Carolina primaries, she could have won the whole thing. ‘Shut your mouth after the sale is made’, is a Sales 101 lesson. Hillary and her advisors obviously forgot it, and have paid the price!