Why Hillary Can't Win 2008

Senator Kennedy might as well run. If Democrats were smart, (I’ll let you judge whether they are or not) they would block Hillary’s attempt at becoming the next Commander in Chief. The reasons why she won’t sit in the executive’s seat again are quite convincing.

1. Damage Control is of no importance to Republicans. This will be the main factor in costing Hil the seat. I cite previous races that (sometimes temporarily) have ruined the public image of opponents:
a. John Kerry – Swift Boat Vets, purple hearts, Heinz Ketchup outsourcing.
b. Max Cleland – Television ads featuring Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein pictures spliced in with his.
c. John McCain – Radio ad accusing McCain of being indifferent to funding breast cancer research and questioning his character and conservatism.

Mrs. Clinton has too many skeletons in her closet to count. The GOP will ignore the Whitewater scandal, her husband’s pardoning of friends for cash, and her (perceived) loyalty to her husband for the sake of personal political gain. Those stories are old news and once the headlines have been run, the public doesn’t want to hear it again. The Republican Party will focus on newer affairs and scandals she is involved with. One of which is her link to Jack Abramoff and sweatshop contributions to her PAC. It doesn’t take too much imagination to hear sound-bites of Hillary speaking out against child labor and the “Abramoff Culture of Corruption” followed by an announcer booming, “But, do you trust a senator that takes money from sweatshop operators?” If you thought the GOP brought out the big guns to put the kibosh on Kerry, they’ll use poison-tip scud missiles to annihilate this wounded bunny rabbit.

2. Her ratings are poor. ’08 may be two-and-a-half years out, but it would take nothing short of a John Edwardsian miracle to lift the public’s view of the former White House wife out of the gutter. A Rasmussen Poll taken on March 8th found 29% of those surveyed would “definitely vote for” her and a whopping 40% would “definitely vote against” her. That’s 40%, and she’s not even running against anyone. How would that figure look if Giuliani or McCain was the opponent? This is not to mention the 43% of those polled who view her “unfavorably.”

3. Even Liberals don’t want her to run (and Conservatives beg for it). They’re not all misguided drones – some actually have a vision for the Democratic Party. Arianna Huffington blogs, “[I]n private conversations, a growing number of [Hollywood insiders] say they are determined to find another candidate to support.” In an open letter to madam ex-president, The Tampa Tribune pleads for her to leave the spot open for someone that can “define a party that needs to convince voters it can govern from the vital center.” James Carville “wouldn’t bet the farm” on Hil’s 2008 win.
Despite the utter contempt for the Senator from New York, Conservatives want her to run – only to be crushed by any of three possible opponents, Allen, Giuliani, or McCain. Sean Hannity has expressed on his radio program support for her nomination and primary win, only for the catastrophic defeat brought on by her Republican opponent. Even in jest, many Conservatives have chuckled about how great it would be to see Hillary try and beat anyone other than George Michael.

4. She can’t get votes from the middle. If you thought Kerry looked like a flip-flopper, John and Jane Doe will be bombarded with anti-war/pro-troop rhetoric that will help dig her approval ratings further into the ground. She attempts to look non-partisan, yet strong by meeting with Senators across the aisle, but her voting record places her barely right of Michael Moore.

Unfortunately for the Democratic Party, the “village” that “it takes” isn’t the one that will adopt her as the next President. Fortunately for those with a rational ideology, i.e. the “Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy”, her loss in ’08 will keep the White House red. The hue may change, but red it will stay if Hillary decides she’s worth betting on.