Dan

Calabrese

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January 7, 2008

Hillary Clinton’s Down; Now Finish Her Off

I can’t believe I’m rooting for Barack Obama. But it’s sort of like rooting for the Cleveland Indians, whom I really don’t like, to prevent a World Series appearance by the New York Yankees, whom I really really don’t like.

There is much about Obama that should give any American pause, and a conservative American for sure. But it is so gratifying to see Hillary Clinton lose – finish third, even – that you just can’t help but look at Obama post-Iowa and feel happy that he did whatever he did to pull it off.

And want him to keep doing it.

Even though Obama strikes me as harder to beat than Clinton in a general election campaign, I don’t care. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Hillary Clinton is one of the most troubling political figures of recent generations, and the sooner we eliminate any chance of her winning the White House, the better.

I think the general electorate would reject her, but if her own party’s voters want to save us the trouble, so much the better.

I have long believed that Mrs. Clinton’s political prowess and personal skills were vastly overrated by just about everyone. Her entire political career has been contrived – created by circumstances set up for her not to fail, and driven from day one by an agenda to position her for the presidency. There has never really been any rationale for her designs on the big job, other than just that she wants it. Maybe she thinks that if Bill gets to do it, then she gets to do it, because that’s their deal, and the rest of the nation is obliged to go along so she doesn’t get shafted.

Whatever the reason she thinks she should be president, it makes no difference. She has no record of achievement, no compelling policy positions, no advantage in experience and no personal qualities that recommend her for the job.

Yet she has clearly been scheming to get the job since her days as First Lady. She has shown us throughout her time in public life that she considers her own ambitions so vital to the nation – or is it just so vital to her, and does she know the difference? – that she cannot be bothered to tolerate criticism or scrutiny.

She and her husband use access as a weapon against a disappointingly intimidated press corps. The most egregious example was the recent decision by GQ magazine to pull the plug on a potentially unflattering story about Hillary because they were told Bill would otherwise not participate in a cover feature.

Her driver’s-licenses-for-illegals debate flub spoke volumes, not because the issue is the most important, but because she clearly believed that she could make a preposterous statement, sort of retract it, blow smoke in both directions for several days and finally completely contradict herself, and no one would blame her because she needs to become president and icky questions like that just get in the way.

The aftermath of that screw-up has not been kind to her. As Obama gained on her, her campaign actually went so far as to give the press what they called an “essay” he wrote in kindergarten (you didn’t know kindergarteners wrote essays, did you?) discussing his desire to be president. This was supposed to counter his claim that he had not long been obsessed with reaching the Oval Office.

You mean, like . . . Hillary?

Was this the thing that started to turn Iowa caucus-goers against her? Or was it when she had a campaign operative insinuate that Obama had been a drug dealer, only to throw the operative under the bus when that backfired as well?

Who knows? But if Iowa Democrats started to recognize what some of us have seen for a very long time, then good job, Iowa Democrats. Now it’s time for your New Hampshire counterparts to take the next step.

Hillary Clinton should not be allowed anywhere near the presidency, and the Democratic nomination is too close for comfort. Perhaps even Democrats are starting to see that now.

Take her out. Then we can have a good clean race to November. And may the best man win.

This is Column # DC141.  Request permission to publish here.