There is so much media coverage of the potential Democratic candidates for president, you’d think the Republicans weren’t going to run in 08’. And most of it is centered around Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY). I don’t fault Mrs. Clinton for this phenomenon. I’ve learned to accept the ratings-minded nature of our news media. Its why they have centered on her that troubles me. And, of course, that’s because she is the wife of former President Bill Clinton.
That fact is the elephant in the room when I say we shouldn’t nominate Sen. Clinton to run for the presidency. Having been an insider and high-level operative of her husband’s administration would cause a lot of political baggage to be carried over into hers. In addition, I don’t think anyone could doubt that Bill Clinton would have a great deal of influence on a Hillary administration. I’m sorry, but he had his chance and I don’t like the idea of seeing that guy back in the White House in any capacity.
Then there is the asterisk factor. I’m talking about how history books often will place an asterisk next to the name of someone whose achievement is or was questionable. For Sen. Clinton this asterisk will question whether she could have risen to the presidency on her own, or was it her 
association with her husband. You know, just like our current president. I don’t think it would be hard for me to find more than a few folks that would agree that its pretty unlikely George W. Bush could have ascended to the presidency without his association with his father. And if his presidency is any indication, then I’d say electing people whose claim to fame is their association with a previous president is not a very good idea.
A Hillary Clinton presidency would invite the ire of the Republicans. I would not look forward to the constant fighting that would dominate politics if Sen. Clinton were elected. Not to mention the resulting stale mate. No matter how hard she tries to give the impression she’s moving toward the center, Republicans will always see her as being too liberal. And we know what Republican voters do when they think the Democratic candidate is too liberal. In short, nominating Sen. Clinton to run for president could cost the Democrats the election.
In this Blue-collar Democrat’s opinion, Hillary Clinton just doesn’t have what it takes to be president. It started when I watched her blame a “vast right-wing conspiracy” for her husband’s problems, while in the meantime he was lying to us about what he was being accused of. That made me wince, because I think conspiracy theorists are creepy. Then there was her move to New York to run for the Senate because she knew her chances of getting elected in Arkansas were as about as good as Ralph Nader‘s. That left a bad taste in my mouth.
And I have a problem with her record on the Iraq war. I don’t have a problem with Congressmen who voted for the war and have now changed their minds. But Sen. Clinton tends too much towards placing blame on being mislead by the administration. Yes, we were all mislead by the Bush administration. But we don’t send people to Congress just to take the president’s word for things. If you were a member of Congress and voted for the war, and now you’ve changed your mind, that’s fine. Just don’t blame anyone but yourself for being sucked in.
In conclusion, I think the negatives for a Hillary Clinton candidacy for president far outweigh any positives. We had Bush, then Clinton, then Bush, and now… No, not another dynasty. It’s time for a new direction.
Devin Barber, Politics Correspondent
Devin’s column, “Left Of The Right” published every Tuesday and Thursday to
Gather Essentials: Politics is a Blue Collar Democrats take on current political news.
Devin was raised by proud Roosevelt Democrats. Being the son of parents counted among the throng of Americans displaced by the Great Depression has given Devin a deep rooted passion for causes dealing with the poor and the working class.
You can find all of Devin’s columns at http://gather.com/leftoftheright
You can keep up with Devin’s postings and his Gather activity by joining his Gather network. Just click here: http://kiwina58.gather.com and then select the orange “Connect” button on the left-hand side of the page.
You can find Devin and other Political Correspondents, plus celebrity content and plenty of other politics experts at Politics.gather.com.
recommend
Facebook
Twitter
bookmark 
print
Comments: 14
that kind of says it all.
We do need a new direction and this last election proved that is what the voters are hoping to get.
As for Hillary inviting the ire of Republicans that is contradicted by the fact that in 2006 she carried area's in upper state New York that have note voted for a Democrat in years if not decades.
While the people may not send people to Congress to take the President's word for things there are things both the people and Congress have a right to expect to President and the executive branch to be honest when presenting the facts that both members of Congress and the electorate need to fulfill their duties to our nation. If Bush were more capable of admitting error, he too would be mad as hell, because I suspect he also was misled by members of his administration.
As one of the 70+ percent of American who supported the war in 2002 and 2003 I can forgive Hillary for making the same mistake I did. The fact of the matter is that Congress was listening to the American people when it approved the War Resolution in 2002. I myself cannot blame members of Congress for failing to see something the vast majority of the American people considered inconceivable in 2002.