Joy Division

We're now almost a month past the moment when Hillary Clinton accepted the reality that she would not be president in 2009. It appears that some of her supporters didn't get the memo, or perhaps that they didn't like the memo. CNN, hardly a Republican outlet, is reporting that as many as a third of Clinton's supporters may be sitting on their hands this time out.

In early June, 22 percent of Clinton supporters polled said they would not vote at all if Obama were the party's nominee, now close to a third say they will stay home.

In another sign the wounds of the heated primary race have yet to heal, 43 percent of registered Democrats polled still say they would prefer Clinton to be the party's presidential nominee.

That number is significantly higher than it was in early June, when 35 percent of Democrats polled said they preferred Clinton to lead the party's presidential ticket.

That wasn't in the script. What was supposed to happen was this: Obama would begin to heal the party and bring the warring factions together, ensuring a huge victory over the hapless John McCain and the dispirited Republicans. A month on, it's gone backward. Why?

I don't claim to understand how portsiders think. But there are clues all over the place. Look to the left and see Tom Hayden issuing a jeremiad over at the always-sensible Huffington Post, which is also offering this helpful information. Look closer to the center and watch Jeff Jarvis chronicle the buyer's remorse at Buzz Machine. Even notice the restiveness at that wholly-owned subsidiary of the Obama campaign, the editorial page of the New York Times.

This was supposed to be a transformative year. Perhaps it will be. But it really helps an advancing army if all its troops are marching in the same direction. And so far, that's not happening. And as rock fans know, before you can have New Order, sometimes you have to have Joy Division. As Tom Kelly might say, "aw, that's a shame."

Cross-posted at True North