Precisely my point, Kevin. That's why I brought up that quote about "the ultimate betrayal"--I could hardly believe it--but, as you note, it fits with other statements she has made. Note that she says electing Hillary will "send a signal to young girls everywhere". Certainly true--but the signal it sends is that if you engage in vicious divisive campaigning, you will win--and that if you do, it's fine, since you are female.

Nobody argues that a woman should not be president. And it will definitely happen--probably sooner than later, especially since women are a huge percentage on college campuses--I believe perhaps a majority. And they are rising in all fields. Why should have the population--or even over half the population--be shut out of leadership positions--including the top position--which has for the past 7 years been filled by the most pathetic excuse for a leader imaginable?.

But Hillary is the worst possible choice for a female candidate now on the horizon.

And consider the other signal sent by Hillary's campaigning--and the lesson the Democratic party establishment must draw--and soon--or face disaster at the polls, and a long-term setback for the Democratic party.

The deep cynicism of Guest-Guest and some others here--and the cheap nasty denigration of Obama is not at all helpful in defeating McCain, which has to be the goal of every liberal.

As I said earlier, Jackson in his campaigns in the 1980's marginalized himself by his radical positions on issues like the nuclear freeze and reparations for slavery. GG obviously was burned severely by her experience working on that campaign--by the obvious hostility of the Democratic establishment to Jackson. She is certainly right in stating that that establishment did not support Jackson in the least, nor any other black candidates who were perceived as making overt appeal to black separatism--Jackson's "rainbow coalition" was seen as a coalition of radicals of various ethnic groups--and primarily black.

However, Obama is the opposite of earlier black political figures. He appeals on a distinctly non-racial basis. The only possible racial appeal he makes is completely positive--by his presence and his history he tells them--yes, you can make it in the white man's world--all the way to the top--by educational accomplishment and appealing to all people as people, not broken down by ethnic groups.

So he is the great model for black children that Hillary will never be for women.

The Democratic establishment has punished earlier black candidates for being racially divisive, saying in effect you need to be addressing the needs of all Democrats--and in fact all Americans-- on a non-ethnic basis.

Obama is doing precisely this. Therefore if the Democratic establishment will rather support a despicable campaigner who is forever making ethnically divisive appeals--sometimes covertly, sometimes overtly--and trying to typecast Obama as what they said is unacceptable--an specifically black candidate--which is precisely what he is not--huge portions of the black community--if not the whole community--will conclude, reasonably, that there is no way to satisfy the white power structure. This is becoming more and more obvious--consider the evidence Azizi has provided from her examples from various blogs. (Blogs, I believe, though unreliable for facts, can definitely provide a gauge of sentiment.).

The black community could very justifiably look at Obama's treatment by Hillary, sanctioned by the Democratic establishment by their support of Hillary, as the true "ultimate betrayal". And they would be right.

As I've said several times before, Hillary has poisoned the well she intends to drink from in the fall. Anybody who thinks that after her treatment of Obama, the black community will still in the end rally to her side to vote for her is totally, dangerously naive. Her treatment of Obama and its sanction by the Democratic establishment will make the black community --and also, in passing, huge numbers of young people--more deeply cynical than anything since the 1960's.

This is why the Democratic establishment must support Obama--or see not only President McCain--who will be swept in by solid Republican loathing for Hillary-- but also long-term alienation of their most loyal supporters.