Bill and Hillary Clinton have at last outlived their usefulness to the Democratic Party.
For years, Democrats have ridden the coattails of the Clintons and taken advantage of their popularity. Clinton insiders were willing to go to the firing squad wall to defend even the wildest antic by the duo while they appeared to sustain the love and admiration of the American people.
Oh, how times change.
Loyalty, we are beginning to learn, is a myth in the Democratic Party. It appears now, the Clintons did not possess the sincere esteem of those who really knew them.
Like Norway rats from a burning ship, Democratic leadership is abandoning Hillary in her pursuit for the presidency, while Bill, on his "damage control" tour, is wreaking havoc in her campaign and Hillary supporters are calling for him to keep his mouth closed.
Democrats whom one would never imagine leaving the Clinton camp are announcing their support for the newcomer over Hillary.
Democratic icons such as Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and Bob Casey have all endorsed Barack Obama.
Former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich, whose friendship with the Clintons goes back to the days when Reich and Bill were Rhodes Scholars together at Oxford, has endorsed Obama. Reich, who has known Hillary for 40 years, originally stated he was "dead set against getting into the whole endorsement thing ... out of loyalty to her." However, after witnessing the campaign negativity from the Clinton machine, Reich re-positioned and announced his support for Obama.
"I saw the ads ... and I was appalled, frankly. I thought it represented the nadir of mean-spirited, negative politics." Reich stated in his political blog.
Reich isn't the only former cabinet member under the Clinton administration to jump ship.
Three months into the Obama/Clinton feud, Bill Richardson, an ambassador to the United Nations in the Clinton administration, announced his endorsement for Obama, declaring he had become "dispirited" by the tone of the campaign.
"I believe the campaign has gotten too negative. I want it to be positive," said Mr. Richardson. "I think that's what's been very good about Sen. Obama's campaign; it's a positive campaign about hope and opportunity."
Now, not all the rats are leaping overboard. Hillary Clinton supporter James Carville, long-time Democratic strategist and political pundit, otherwise known as the "Ragin' Cajun," called Richardson's endorsement of Obama "an act of betrayal."
"Mr. Richardson's endorsement came right around the anniversary of the day when Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver, so I think the timing is appropriate, if ironic," Carville said.
What's truly ironic is Democratic leadership, who fine-tuned the ploy of negative attack ads in campaign "situation rooms" while working for the Clintons, are now using it as reasoning for finally being able to distance themselves from them.
Don McLean's famous musical lyrics spoke of change in a turbulent era and the collapsing of utopian dreams of the 1960s. As Hillary's dreams of becoming president collapses, these words seem apropos coming directly from the Democratic leadership.
"Bye, bye, Miss American Pie."
Mark Caserta is a Cabell County resident and businessman. He is a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.
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