Hillary is Not Unbeatable
Nov 26, 2007 Political
Since Bill Clinton left office after eight tumultuous years and his wife of convenience won a Senate seat in New York it has been widely speculated that she would run for the office of president and that she would win. She believes that the office of president is her manifest destiny, a right that she is owed by this country. She played coy, to be certain, but she knew all along what she intended to do even while she was denying she would run. She told voters who asked her if she would abandon New York for the White House that she was concentrating on winning her Senate seat, a ruse and half answer to make the uninformed believe that she had no aspirations to higher office. Then B. Hussein Obama came out early and announced his candidacy putting Hillary on the defense, a position that she does not like though as a Clinton, one to which she should be accustomed.
When Hillary announced she was running she was proclaimed the candidate to beat, the one with the experience, the one with the birthright to the presidency, a Hsu-in*, if you will. Hillary has been running a good campaign by keeping her interviews scripted, her questions planted, and her media friends happy. There is a certain segment that supports her out of fear or keeps their lack of support secret for much the same reason. If Hillary wins she will not forget those who crossed her and if she loses many will have hell to pay. Her name recognition and vague positions gave her a commanding lead when the whole campaign season kicked off but as time wore on her Democratic rivals began to attack her and that is where the cracks in her armor began to appear. She began fumbling for answers and has responded poorly to items that show her in a negative light.
Still Hillary was in the lead and looked unbeatable. She was in a tight race in Iowa but national polls showed her the presumptive winner in the primary and handily beating any Republican. Some of her supporters have commented here that her gaffs were minor and she has not suffered in the polls because she is a superior candidate and the things people are bringing up are non issues. It would seem that this is not the sentiment of the population now that Obama has taken the lead in Iowa. Hillary is not seen as invincible any longer. In a recent Zogby poll Hillary would lose to the top 5 Republicans if the election were held today. Hillary, whose people have been downplaying a potential loss in Iowa, now have to deal with news that she is not necessarily the front runner in the race.
The news gets worse for Hillary because the same poll shows that Obama beats every one of the Republicans to whom she loses. Couple this news with Obama’s surge in Iowa and this might make those who were weary of her in the first place even more inclined to vote for her toughest primary opponent. Democrats are so desperate to win the White House this news might cause a number of people to jump ship in hope that Obama can accomplish that task. Hillary, for all her faults, is not a dumb person. She has to know what the polls mean. She is an avid poll watcher and she has to comprehend what the future holds if current trends continue. She has to know that Obama will get a great lift from this poll because Democrats want someone who can not only win the primary but who can beat the Republican nominee and, right now, that person appears to be Obama.
The primaries kick off in about 5 or 6 weeks and a lot can happen between now and then. The Clinton camp can dig up some more dirt on Obama or release some false information just prior to the caucuses causing him to go into a tailspin. If current trends continue the dirt will be flying sooner rather than later as Hillary attempts to reign in her support and destroy Obama. Of course, she might be holding back because there are plenty of skeletons in her closet and she does not want them exposed. She also has some new issues with which to contend so she needs to tread carefully through the minefield of primary politics.
If she is not careful with how she slings the mud she might have to explain the rumors about her relationship with her female adviser. Another Clinton sex scandal might be just enough to sink her forever.
Source:
al Reuters
*Credit GM Roper for that one
Tags: commanding lead, Democrats, gaffs, hell to pay, Hillary, national polls, Obama, President, senate seat, wife of convenience