PUMAs "don't exist" themselves right to the top of Technorati

No, before you ask, I don't think I'm going to change any minds by harping on a vocal minority, but dammit if the PUMAs aren't garnering themselves Washington Post headlines:

Many Clinton Supporters Say Speech Didn't Heal Divisions

The first quote is from a Hillary "supporter" who appears to think that she's an insincere empty suit:

...Jerry Straughan, a professor from California, who listened from his seat in the rafters and shook his head at what he considered the speech's predictability. "It's a tactic," he said. "Who knows what she really thinks? With all the missteps that have taken place, this is the only thing she could do. So, yes, I'm still bitter."

Who indeed knows what Hillary really thinks? Certainly one thing we can't do is believe her sincere, heartfelt speech of last night.

Of course, as these things will do, the headline belies the fact that many, if not most, of the supporters in the article are going to vote for Obama, if not as enthusiastically as they might have liked to. Fine. But headline-skimmers will more likely be left with this impression:

"I hate Obama so much that I'm going to devote as much time to McCain as I did to Hillary," said Adita Blanco, a Democrat from Edward, Okla., who has never voted for a Republican. "Obama has nothing. He has no experience. The Democratic Party doesn't care about us. You couldn't treat [Clinton] any worse."

And, no, as long as 20 percent of "Clinton supporters" intend to vote for McCain, I don't feel particularly embarrassed about highlighting this insanity. Sen. Clinton said it herself:

I haven't spent the past 35 years in the trenches advocating for children, campaigning for universal healthcare, helping parents balance work and family and fighting for women's rights at home and around the world ... to see another Republican in the White House squander the promise of our country and the hopes of our people...

Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?

Voters like Straughn and Blanco answer that question resoundingly.