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Almost a month has passed since the last presidential primary in June, and Senators Obama and Clinton are still working to repair the damaging split that was created among democratic supporters. On Wednesday and Thursday, the duo will attend fundraising events together in New York City.
Their focus, beyond fundraising, will be to woo former Clinton supporters who have not yet come to terms with her primary defeat, but groups like Facebook's PUMA (Party Unity My Ass) and others are making this fence mending effort increasingly difficult. To make matters worse, it seems that Clinton's supporters aren't the only ones with hard feelings.
Today, the New York Times reported that many Obama supporters are loathe to help Clinton pay off her $23 million campaign debt. So far, Obama's top donors have come up with less than $100,000, a "paltry sum" according to one Clinton official. From the article:
"Several Obama donors said in interviews that they were balking at Mr. Obama’s call for help because they believed Mrs. Clinton accumulated most of her debts after she had lost any mathematical chance of winning the nomination and was hanging on only in hopes of an Obama collapse. The idea of helping her now — and lining the pockets of Mr. Penn, a reviled figure in the Obama camp — is galling to them, they said, especially at a time when they say any available money should go to defeating Senator John McCain and the Republicans in November."
This argument may be justifiable, but it ignores the bigger picture. While some of Clinton's former supporters might be characterized as "sore losers," many of Obama's supporters might just as easily be dubbed "sore winners" for hanging on to resentment instead of attempting to make peace.
Winning the upcoming election must take precedence over bitter feelings. Four more years of Bush style governing and economics would have devastating consequences on the nation and its citizenry. Supporters on both sides should remember that above all else.
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