Damn, Hillary's good

Interesting fact: Bush in 2004 did what Clinton didn't in 92 or 96 -- get more than 50 percent of the popular vote.

 

I'm fairly sure I know what chickenhawk means. In both of its connotations.

 

Indeed, Bush got 50.7 percent of the popular vote in 2004. Gore got 48.4 percent of the vote in 2000.
Good trivia question. The 2004 Electoral College vote had a faithless elector, meaning they voted for someone other than who got the most popular votes in that state. What state was it and who did the person vote for?

 

Minnesota, where one elector voted for John Edwards.

I remember in 1988 someone (possibly in Minnesota, come to think of it) switched Dukakis and Bentsen on his ballot, so Bentsen got one vote as well.

 

I'm not. Are we doing this again? I'm certainly game.

 

Obama deserves it more than she does.

She'll be the nominee though. Because she's the most beatable of the legitimate Democratic nominees.

 

Be careful what you wish for, you're very wrong.

 

Of all the candidates on either side, she's the most likely to keep a flow of money coming in and least likely to beat herself.

Those two things count for most, if not all, of our current politics.

 

If HRC gets the D nomination, she will win. May last only one term, but she will win.

 

FWIW, found this on www.blogcritics.org; pretty good analysis of Hillary:

Hillary's Baffling Appeal
Written by Adam Ash
Published August 07, 2007

Let’s face it. Hillary Clinton has something. Otherwise, why would she be leading Mega-Charisma Barack Obama by 15 points?

What is it about her that appeals to some voters? Rather weird, isn't it, since almost half of US voters say they'll NEVER vote for her-46%, to be precise-in a Zogby poll in March. That's a whole lot of voters who can't stand her, for reasons we'll get to a little later.

I must confess, I used to be against Hillary myself, because she won’t apologize for her vote giving Bush the power to go to war in Iraq if diplomacy failed. When she said, if she knew then what she knows now, I figured this was total BS, because plenty of Democrats knew back then that Bush was full of crap about WMD and voted against the resolution.

Also, I used to be an Obama man. Down the line. He bowled me over. His rhetoric, his manner, his self-deprecation, his smile, his intelligence, his writing: I thought he had it all.

Until I saw him on stage next to Hillary.

Then something happened.

The most bizarre thing.

Hillary looked like the leader. Not Barack. In fact, when I saw her smack dab between Barack and John Edwards-where they prefer to put her these days-she not only looked like the leader, but also, they looked like her two able assistants.

Why does she look like the leader?

It’s her manner. She has it all together. She gives pithy, forceful answers. She never waffles, or goes off on a tangent, or ums or ahs, which Edwards and Obama frequently do.

She looks like the strongest personality among all the candidates. She’s the one the others look up to. She’s the one presiding over them. Like a real President. She looks the most Presidential.

And boy, does she have the one-liners.

When she was asked during the YouTube Dem Prez debate how she feels about being in a long line of 28 years of Clintons and Bushes, she turned it around.

She said: “I agree. I think it was a mistake that George Bush was elected.” And the crowd roared.

Then she said: “In fact, I thought somebody else was elected.” And the crowd roared.

And then: “I’m proud of my husband’s record.” And the crowd roared.

And finally: “I think anyone on this stage would be a better President than George Bush, or any of the Republican candidates.” And the crowd started roaring before she even finished her sentence.

She turned a negative into four crowd-roaring positives. Now that’s real sharp and classy.

I have my own theory about this. Yes, I know she’s a wonk, and is therefore very well prepared, and she has the most experience any candidate in history has ever had, since she's spent 8 years in the White House already. But I think it comes down to this: as smart as John Edwards and Barack Obama are, she’s smarter.

As for those who don’t like her- because she’s a woman, because she stood by her philandering husband, because she won’t apologize for her vote giving Bush war power if diplomacy failed, because she never seems sincere, because she’s all calculation, well, I could rebut all of your misgivings:

. If you’re worried because she’s a woman, get over it. Think Maggie Thatcher, Golda Meir and Angela Merkel, and shut the heck up.

. If you think she should’ve left Bill who lied to her about Monica, that’s none of your business. The heart has its reasons, and ambition does too. So what? In the end, this is a family affair between her and Bill, so lay off.

. Let me tell you why she won’t apologize for her vote to give Bush the power to go to war against Saddam. This is a matter of national security. If she apologizes about a matter of national security, she’ll come off like a flip-flopping John Kerry. She can apologize for anything else, but not on a matter of national security. National security is something on which the Republicans habitually beat the Democrats. It would be bad politics for Hillary to apologize. It would satisfy her left wing, but make her look weak. By NOT apologizing, she looks like a stronger Commander-in-Chief.

. Here’s the charge aimed at her very nature: she never seems sincere, she’s too calculating. Why does she hold herself in like she does? Listen, because she’s a woman, she cannot let her hair down. If she became sincere and went all Oprah Winfrey on us, she wouldn’t look like a Commander-in-Chief. She has to come off measured. If you think that makes her appear insincere and calculating, get over it. She’s doing what she has to do to win. Do you want a thrice-married creep like Giuliani to win? Do you need a craven bastard like him as your President, a man whose second wife first heard he was going to divorce her when he announced it on TV? Get real.

Hillary Clinton deserves to be president. She’s earned it. She knows what she’s doing. Her record as a Senator for New York is absolutely outstanding. She has often reached across the aisle in the Senate. Having spent eight years in the White House already, she’s the best-prepared President we’ll ever get. She knows how to lead. I’d sleep real good knowing she’s at the helm. I’m most comfortable with our country in her hands than in anyone else’s.

And it will be real nice to have a woman ordering the men of the world around for a change.

So there, you Hillary-haters. You better start getting used to it. Hillary Clinton is going to be your next President.

 

There are plenty of women I wouldn't mind seeing as president (including Thatcher!). HRC just doesn't happen to be one of them. It's nothing to do with her gender.

 

Yes, I believe we should elect a woman who allows freely elected members of the legislature to starve themselves to death.