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Hillary in Trouble
It seems that Hillary Clinton might be in trouble. John Edwards and Barack Obama are catching up. According to some, many people simply dislike her. Ed Morrissey even wonders whether Hillary Clinton is the new John Kerry. Is Hillary in serious trouble?
My view on all of this can be read here.
25 Responses to “Hillary in Trouble”
“According to some, many people simply dislike her.”
Wow! That’s news! Who would have thought???
Hmpf Gray.
The problem is, that this anti-hillary feeling seems to get stronger. At least, according to some / related to these polls. My view is… well, read my post.
Her biggest advantage of being so well-known is also her biggest disadvantage-as most people have made up their minds about her. Like Gingrich, she is a polarizing figure.
I do believe, however, that it is impossible to predict primary outcomes for any of these candidates. So much depends on our success/failure in the ME and its potential consequences. Continued failure in Iraq would help a candidate like Obama who never voted for it in the first place. Hillary’s stand on the war, is at best, muddled. She has not offered leadership on this issue, out of fear of being seen to be weak on national defense. That will cost her if we are still there heading into ’08.
At least in the blogosphere, Hilary is hilariously unpopular. I guess she avoided taking a resolutely anti-Bush stance for too long. Deserves her right. contrary to your believe, I don’t think a Dem that relies on Bill’s old consultants for shaping her image can be successful in the Dem primaries. Her campaing funds won’t make a difference, too.
But let’s wait and see. Much too early to make a call. Remember Dean. It only takes one massive screw up for a competing candidate to lose all chances in the race.
I think most of the anti-Hillary sentiment is among folks who would almost never vote democratic anyway. Her high negatives are a problem, but I’m not yet convinced they mean she is unelectable.
Obviously people who support other Democrats are going to try to associate her with the malodorous taint of John Kerry. I don’t see it.
Obama’s the girl with the curl right now. Time will tell what sort of staying power he has. Edwards currently has the stage to himself as the only one in the role of outspoken populist, a luxury he can afford since he doesn’t have a job. Populists tend to have early appeal, but trouble with staying power as the primaries approach. I find Edwards to lack gravitas in the physical appearance he transmits…and when he tries to appear forceful to overcome it, he appears whiny. This is at least as big a problem for him as HC’s high negatives.
“I think most of the anti-Hillary sentiment is among folks who would almost never vote democratic anyway.”
Ok, but there’s also lots of folks who think she isn’t liberal enough. This may be a problem in the primary, though not necessarily in the presidential elections.
The reason so many people dislike her is because the majority of people can’t or won’t think for themselves, and they have bought into the image the media and her political opponents have created of her.
The leftwing blogosphere is monopolized by moonbats.
The leftwing blogosphere is monopolized by moonbats.
Sez the right wing barking moonbat LOL.
Hillary’s problem is she isn’t genuine and it shows. That and the fact she won’t take a stand on much of anything be it popular, or unpopular. She’s safety pup about her politics, and doesn’t inspire much in anyone except her inner circle of handlers, and they get paid to be that way.
She’s better at policy than politics, and it shows. Hubby was the opposite- he was so popular that many barely noticed when his policy initiatives failed, they just wanted to be a “FOB”. Hil probably doesn’t get enough credit for her accomplishments, because she has been afraid to lead on the war, and has to bring all her baggage with her when campaigning. Actually, she must be a glutton for punishment to want all of the controversies from the Clinton years unearthed for a new generation of voters. I don’t completely get her- I wish Gore would run in ’08, make Obama his candidate for VP, and Hil would aim for Senate majority leader. Dream team to end the nightmarish tenure of Messieurs Bush & Cheney.
Count me in that crowd. bk, I would certainly vote democratic, in fact it’s a lot more likely that I vote dem than repub, I just can’t stand Hillary. Maybe it’s not how she REALLY is, but her convictions seem to be a polls-digest. She seems to want to swing whichever way her crowd that way goes, nothing in her seems to be firm, resolute, principled. Now I’d probably vote for her, if she went against a candidate and her platform was closer to what I believe in (highly likely in a Dem-Repub confrontation) but I’d do so wearily, with no actual enthusiasm, like when I voted for Kerry. I didn’t vote for Kerry, I voted against Bush.
Personally I’m just praying that Obama stays strong, and that his policy is as brilliant as the rest of him. If that clears, and he makes the primary, maybe I’ll finally get to feel good when I vote.
Edwards will fizzle out.
Hilary will easily be painted as a fair weather politician. Plus her days of the health care will come back to haunt. Add in her roles in the various scandles of the Clinton years and she will loose traction – or loose the election.
Obama, don’t know – he’ll need to make a move soon though.
I hope Hilary is not the candidate, though I’d vote for her (I’d vote for a turnip before any of the Republican field). I don’t disagree with her positions on balance, but think she has too much baggage and is a polarizing figure. We need someone more of the country can get behind, IMO.
Off-topic, who is her photographer? The latest set of pictures of her make her look great. Yet when I see shots of her (e.g. her appearance on Rosie’s show), she doesn’t look nearly as good as the stills. I want that photographer.
Winning ticket for ’08- Gore/Obama or Gore/Clark. Hillary becomes Senate Majority Leader. Gore appoints Bill as US ambassador to the UN. World opinion of the US gets back on track.
I think Gore has ZERO shot. He has the stink of losing in 2000 on him, and you don’t overcome losing in the Big Show unless you’re charismatic, which Gore aint.
Maybe before what I should have said that was not simply that most of the HC-haters would never vote for a democrat, but that the HC-haters on the democratic side are very unlikely to vote GOP.
For HC to win, it depends on the match-up. I think she has trouble beating a Guiliani, and trouble beating McCain unless Iraq is still failure, in which case McCain would stick up for it while HC flipped. But I think she could beat Romney.
If Obama runs, much will be made of his early arch-liberalism. he has to be carefukl of sailing too far left in the primaries to get to the center come the time of the gen’l election. I think a guy like Richardson could end up getting the nod.
Oh, and FWIW, most of the people I know who express a strong visceral dislike of HC are men. I’m a man, and I like HC ok, so I happen to have uncovered that there are quite a few women who are quiet and determined in their support for HC as the long-suffering wife of a charismatic wanker who is congenitally unable to keep his fly zipped. I know more than one woman who assumes that men who viscerally dislike HC are simply using her as a proxy for their fear of strong women. So word to the wise guys, consider taking it down a notch in mixed company.
And don’t discount the possibility that HC, if she wins the nom, gets an upward bump from women voters eager to elect the first woman President. There are plenty of women out there who simply bite their tongues about liking HC because they see no profit in the shouting match that might otherwise ensue.
Well bk, I certainly don’t match your male-female theory at all. I dislike her and am female. I’m also not very sure that gender has as much pull as you might think. I think most women would not be more inclined to vote for her because she’s a woman. Now a black candidate I could see getting votes from blacks partly based on race, race pulls harder than gender at this point.
I do concede though that most democratic voters who don’t like HC probably have an almost zero chance of voting for a GOP candidate, unless it was Guiliani, which it won’t be. But they will be there in the primaries, and in the general election they could stay home, so I still hold that they are significant.
my wife can’t stand her. but bk? Guiliani? LOL! are you kidding? One of my favorite quotes about him:
The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart sums it up nicely:
“Rudy Giuliani. Hero. 9/11. Time person of the year. Member of the comb over club.
But also a member of the New York, divorced, pro-choice, pro-gun control, pro-stem cell research, gay-friendly wing of the Republican Party.
I’m sorry, did I say wing? I meant room.
Did I say room? I meant corner.
Did I say corner? I meant table…for one.�
bk- I like Richardson, but hardly anyone knows who he is. He has zero visability- referenced by the fact that his name does not even come up in the polls. He is a solid centrist with administrative credentials plus a great background in diplomacy. He is a problem solver. But zero visibility= zero fundraising ability. I could see him as Sec State for Hil or Gore tho.
So word to the wise guys, consider taking it down a notch in mixed companyCould really care less if someone thought I didn’t like strong women or White or Black or Hispanic or Catholic or Jewish, or purple dogs and yellow cats.
That’s their problem if they have insecurities of such, they can get over their own discriminating views.
Sounds good to me. Or even a Clark/Obama ticket. I like the idea of Hillary as Senate Majority Leader and Bill at the UN. I also like the idea of Richardson as Sec State.
Thanks, edo. My ’08 Dream team got 1 vote of confidence,lol! (2 if you count mine)
McCain, Guiliani, Clinton…
I think as Americans grow less tolerant of this war, all three of their stars will fade. I think it’s already started.
McCain was once a regarded as a maverick and a straight-talker, but those descriptions seem less apt nowadays, especially with his seemingly opportunistic cozying up to the right of social issues.
Giuliani, to me, just seems less relevant with every month that goes by. I never bought into the “America’s Mayor” for one instant, but I can seen how a lot of people did. The thing is, 9/11 has been so politically exploited, that I think its potency in the minds of American voters has faded. And the fact that Giuliani stood before the 2004 Republican convention and repeatedly invoke 9/11, shows that he was just as willing to exploit 9/11 as everybody else.
With Hillary Clinton, the problem should be obvious. Anyone who blames Bush and McCain for the war, if they’re fair, will also blame Clinton. She voted for war. She criticized anyone who dared to suggest that we withdraw. And her reluctant admission that the war was a bad idea came too little too late in the minds of many voters who have opposed the war from the beginning. Then there’s her pandering to social conservatives (i.e. co-sponsoring flag desecration legislation with Bob Bennett, co-sponsoring the Family Entertainment Protection Act with Joe Lieberman).
My biggest problem with McCain- cozying up to the Decider, to appear like the natural successor to the throne. Do we really want a seamless continuation of what we’ve already had the past 6 years. IMO, he needs to distance himself from the president and distinguish himself on policy a little more. Also, he is an Arizona libertarian, in the long tradition of Arizona pols starting with Goldwater. But he will take whatever social stands are necessary to win over the GOP base. He apparently can be difficult to get along with-few in Congress have warm things to say about him. Impression? He wants it too bad.
HC- She’s a little too careful, too manufactured. She needs to campaign as herself- whoever that really is, and take a genuine stand on the war. Impression- she’s listening to consultants too much, which is what did in Gore in ’00 (Kerry did himself in)
Julie- A strong,charismatic leader- but is being the greatest mayor of NY in recent history really preparation for the presidency? He has zero foreign policy experience, and actually did little after the first attack on the WTC to ready NYC for a second one. Impression- he won’t get far because of a messy personal history and liberal views on social issues.