Hillary

Hillary
By Daniel G. Jennings
I must admit that I am intrigued by Hillary Clinton, the former first lady and junior U.S. Senator from New York State, who could very well be America’s next President.
Not since Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower have we seen a probable presidential candidate with so much popularity and potential appeal. Like Ike, Hillary is well known, admired and well liked by a large segment of the American public.
Hillary is certainly a sympathetic figure, the ambitious and talented young lawyer who sacrificed her career to raise a family, the long-suffering and loving wife who faithfully stood by her lout of a husband for decades and the popular moderate who will reconnect the Democratic Party with the Great American Majority. Or at least that’s the myth there’s quite a bit of truth to the myth of course.
Behind the public image of St. Hillary of Clinton there is a very shrewd and smart political operator who is cleverly taking advantage of the state of American politics to propel herself into the presidency. Or at least make herself the most powerful and influential figure in the Democratic Party.
Hillary is portraying herself as an old fashioned moderate Democratic politician promoting the social programs Americans like and taking the strong hawkish stand on foreign policy that Americans want. A savvy observer of American popular opinion, Hillary knows that average Americans are fed up with the extreme stands taken by politicians of both parties and they want something different. Americans are sick and tired of the Religious Right, the peace movement and politicians like George W. Bush and John Kerry who pander to such groups. She understands that Americans are tired of politicians prattling on endlessly about such issues as abortion and gay marriage and engaging in senseless mudslinging.
By projecting an image of herself as a sensible down to Earth soccer mom Hillary can give Americans an alternative to politics as usual. By taking a strong stand in favor of the war and opposing the peace movement Hillary is catering to Americans’ desire for security. The times are dark and dangerous and Americans are afraid, Hillary knows that and she understands that average Americans want to be protected. She knows that Democrats must recover their hawkish Cold War and World War II stand on national defense and adopt an aggressive America First foreign policy.
But Hillary will have to offer voters more than just the bloody flag. The Republicans can and will do that far better. So she’ll have to offer a 21st Century New Deal a package of social and other domestic programs such as national health care and high speed rail that hold the promise of improving average people’s life. She’ll also have to devise a means of paying for those programs without raising taxes on the Middle Class that’ll be tough.
There are of course many obstacles in Hillary’s way. She’s a U.S. Senator and she’s running from a Northeastern State. No U.S. Senator or Northeasterner has been elected president since JFK in 1960 and he barely won the election. Every elected President since 1964 has run from a Southern or Western state and has either been a governor or former governor, a sitting president, or a vice president. Hillary will have to overcome that fact of history.
She’s also a woman, there is a part of the population that will never vote for a woman. However, there are probably just as many or more people who will vote for her because she is a woman. I imagine the sexism voters will cancel each other out and eliminate that factor from the electoral mix.
An even bigger stumbling block in Hillary’s way may the new nature of American politics. The new forces in American politics are grass roots political organizations linked by new communications technologies such as the Internet. These groups have proven more potent than Twentieth Century political factors such as big media, campaign consultants and advertising. Media savvy candidates who have relied upon them have come up short, sometimes very short. So it’s quite probable that these groups especially the Religious Right or the Peace Movement or an unholy alliance of both could derail Hillary’s campaign.
Yet even if Hillary could win, she might not be a very effective president. Like another popular celebrity politician who tried to steer a moderate course and stand up to special interests, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hillary could find herself isolated and unpopular. Arnold rode into Sacramento on a tide of high hopes, and promises of reform. His ship of state soon ran aground on a reef of special interests, media attacks and popular indifference.
Can even a popular, influential and savvy political operator govern effectively in today’s climate of extreme partisanship, blogging, special interests and fragmented media? I don’t know, I’m not sure even FDR or Ronald Reagan could have succeeded in today’s political climate. So what chance does Hillary stand, sure she can wow the crowds on Oprah and in Wal-Mart parking lots. But it won’t help her get legislation through Congress or impress the bloggers and special interests.
Where this will lead, I don’t know but I have a feeling that Hillary is going to find out whether she wants to or not.