Snubbed By Hillary Clinton

I am a cranky minx today, because I finally have to face reality. After noticing a Hillary Clinton campaign ad on The Las Vegas Gleaner, it became clear that Northern Nevadan faces a long year of being largely ignored by our southern compatriots and by the mainstream media in spite of our role as an important part of one of the newest states to hold a Democratic Caucus in 2008. Yes, I’m afraid the “big ignore” has begun.

For instance, did you notice that the presidential debate “scheduled” for Reno doesn’t have an actual date firmed up? You can expect it sometime in “Mid-August, 2007.” Not only that, but the debate will focus on “Western regional issues” which I’m guessing means no national television coverage. Las Vegas faces no such scheduling issues–a presidential debate is set to be held on the UNLV campus on Nov. 2, 2007. Are you feeling more and more like a red-headed step-child yet? Or a “bumbkin” for those of you in and around Carson City, otherwise known as Heller’s congressional district? Add to all of this the very real possibility that California (and perhaps other western states) is moving its primary up to February 5th in 2008, and you have a recipe for invisibility.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that I think its a big mistake for the more famous Democratic presidential candidates to ignore Northern Nevada. Sure, there are less Democratic votes here, but they are more dependable in terms of turn out than those in the south, and many of our more conservative voters are just begging for a good reason to vote blue this year. There are other reasons Democratic candidates should concentrate on Northern Nevada. First, political handlers won’t have to worry about about certain candidates being tempted by the abundant diversions Las Vegas provides–not too mention all those young and impressionable campaign staffers. The decadent celebrity-laced atmosphere of Las Vegas is about as far away from Reno’s more sedate vibe as you can get without going back to Iowa. When people spend too much time in Vegas, others can’t help but be suspicious about what you’ve been up to, and with politicians, that level of scrutiny will only increase. Let’s face it, hundreds of journalists, campaign staffers, and hungry candidates in Vegas spells D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R.

Thinking about this all day actually led me to re-examine my Hillary stance. I’ve been one of those people who has focused on her “high negatives” as they say, but I’m beginning to open my mind a bit on the subject. There have been some really interesting profiles published recently like this one by Joshua Green at The Altantic and this one by Andrew Sullivan for the Washington Monthly. Green’s profile is particularly revelatory and features a description of a drinking game with John McCain in Estonia, tales of seething respect from Republican women, and Hillary’s impressive “power to convene.” While I like Obama’s ability to transcend so many cultural divides–he is the first candidate who is not a baby-boomer, he is not a Clinton or a Bush, and as Debra Dickerson argues so well on Salon.com (subscription), he is free of our racial history because he is an African immigrant. He is also almost largely free of a political history when compared to a candidate like Clinton. It almost makes one wonder how possible it is anymore to run for president and be oneself. Obama has the ability to frame his story in a way that most candidates are not able to today. We have a long and checkered history with candidates like Clinton and McCain–they can’t really fool us with their efforts to maneuver to the left or the right, or the center because we’ve been watching them for a long time.

Damn, Taylor Marsh didn’t even get a Clinton ad.

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