Hillary: The 2008 version of Rocky Balboa? (UPDATE: THE REAL "ROCKY" ENDORSED MCCAIN)

With her once-high poll numbers slipping in Pennsylvania, Hillary Clinton is pulling out all the stops to try to win over Keystone state voters which, as the NYT Caucus blog reports, apparently includes the adoption of the Rocky theme:

PHILADELPHIA — Move over, Celine Dion. Hillary Rodham Clinton has a brand new theme song, and it could knock you sideways.

“Rocky” anthem of the underdog, and a Philly favorite to boot, rose up on the sound system Monday night at a Clinton rally in nearby Fairless Hills, Pa. Today, Mrs. Clinton has grabbed on to Rocky’s story as her own, telling labor leaders here that like him, she’s not a quitter.

“Let me tell you something” she said in remarks prepared for delivery later this morning to the A.F.L.-C.I.O. “When it comes to finishing the fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit. I never give up. And neither do the American people.”

She is referring, of course, to the calls for her to leave the ring. Senator Barack Obama has won more delegates, has more overall popular votes and has won more states. Some of his top supporters, notably Senator Patrick Leahy, have said Mrs. Clinton should concede and leave the stage before things get too ugly, that she has no way to win.

[…]

“Now, this is one of the most important elections we’ve ever had” she says in her remarks. “There is so much at stake. But just as it’s getting time to vote here in Pennsylvania, Senator Obama says he’s getting tired of it. His supporters say they want it to end. Well, could you imagine if Rocky Balboa had gotten half way up those Art Museum steps and said, â€˜Well, I guess that’s about far enough?'”

Sheesh. Just what will we see next? Hillary jogging up the “Rocky steps” to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, waving her hands in the air triumphantly? The Obama campaign trotting out the race card again by suggesting that Hillary is implying that Barack Obama is the Apollo Creed of the 2008 Dem presidential campaign season?

All I can say is: Bring on the Photoshops!

In the meantime, while Obama is gaining ground in Pennsylvania, he’s got some problems in Indiana thanks, in part, to his 20 year mentorship with his “former” pastor Jeremiah Wright. No matter how much he wants it to, its clear that Barack Obama’s reverend problems are not going away.

Update – 6:01 PM: Just saw this link via Drudge. In reality, Sly Stallone has endorsed John McCain:

Heheh.

Bachbone says:

April 1, 2008 at 12:21 pm

Rocky? Rocky? Only in your own head, St. Hillary!

T-Steel says:

April 1, 2008 at 2:49 pm

The Rev. Wright issue isn’t going to go away. Not for a presidential candidate. I have parents who were Black Panthers back in the 60s and 70s. I have two uncles that are near and dear to me who belong to the Nation Of Islam. And because of those family members, many of me and my sibling’s family friends held hard Black Nationalist and Black Liberation views. If some of you heard what I heard growing up and still hear around the BBQ, Rev. Wright looks like a pussycat.

Yet I don’t hold any of those views. And if I ran for office, I’m in deep crap. Inflammatory words can cut deep. And people will shy away from you EVEN if they believe your not like that. That’s life. Fair or not.

Dan Spencer says:

April 1, 2008 at 5:35 pm

Hillary’s loss of momentum can also be attributed to Hillary’s “exaggerations” concerning her “experience,” which has convinced some she is not trustworthy.

Hillary’s “exaggerations” about Bosnia led to allegations that she had exaggerated her role on other issues, such as the Northern Ireland peace process, and opposing the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The problem is not Hillary’s “exaggerations” concerning her “experience.” The problem is her “exaggerations” concerning her “experience” at the same time she claims to be the most experienced candidate.

Great White Rat says:

April 1, 2008 at 11:30 pm

T-Steel, there’s one big difference. You can’t choose your relatives, but you can choose your pastor and spiritual advisor. Nor are you acting like this is the first you’ve heard any of those views from your relatives.

Nothing you’ve written here or at TMV would make me think you shared any radical views. In my opinion, it would be grossly unfair to ascribe your relatives’ views to you, and I’d venture a guess that ST and most of the regular commenters here would agree.

That said, I think you’re spot on that the Rev. Wright issue isn’t going away. No matter how he explains it, the fact remains that he voluntarily sat in that pew for 20 years and nothing he heard there was offensive enough to make him leave. It’s the kind of thing that will subconsciously bother a lot of voters for a long time.