Why not a woman? Why not now?

Hillary for president? Screw it; Hillary for president!

2006.04.29 — Government | Politics | Hillary Clinton | by BB Rodriguez

The midterm elections are still months away, but Tim Russert and others are already speculating and feeling out the competition among those who might run for the Democratic nomination for president. No one stands out yet, in my mind, but 2008 is a long way off still. I suspect that a number of serious candidates will hold off as long as possible, to get a good sense of which way the wind is blowing after the 2006 mid-terms. Then look for a real who's-who of "who's he?" The one stand-out is Hillary Clinton.

No one is really speculating about the GOP; McCain looks like a lock—altho, don't be too sure: he's a nasally, uninspiring wonk who wears ill-fitting suits. Candid? Sure, when he's not cozying up to Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. But have you ever watched the guy give a speech? It's like being lectured by the health teacher you thought was pretty cool on the dangers of not learning how to parallel park. Whatever, dude.

Where was I? Oh yeah. Who will be the Democratic candidates for president in 2008? These things are hard to guess at. There are literally dozens of Dem governors, representatives, and senators who could decide to run.

Algore says he’s not running, dammit. Kerry is pompous enough that he may take another shot. Edwards hasn’t had a minute of limelight since the 2004 election, so he’s a toss-up despite his potential; plus he has kind of a car-salesman-Bill-Clinton-lite vibe that's hard to shake. Despite his integrity, Russ Feingold doesn't have a reputation for integrity with most people. He's not the one on Russert every freaking week speaking truth about power; McCain is.

Hillary may be losing the rather mushy support she’s had—my guess is that her handlers have told her she hasn’t "captured the public’s sympathy" and that she's "wildly unpopular with conservatives," but that hasn't stopped her before. There are a couple of potential governors: Bill Richardson of New Mexico seems to be in; popular former Virginia governor Mark Warner is making the rounds, and he sounds like he's running.

I think Edwards, Richardson, and Clinton are the most interesting to me, if Gore won’t run. Hillary has let the country come to see her as something of a harpy, so she has some rehab to do, but the strategic use of her gender and her husband could really give her an advantage that non-women not married to a popular former president wouldn't have. With Edwards or someone equally likable as a VP running mate, she could go all the way.

Here is my seven-point plan for a Hillary campaign:

• Use her name recognition; put her out there stumping for other candidates. That will help them win and will help her look like a power broker.
• Put Bill on the stump to remind people how likeable and competent he is and that he will be a major part of the policy machine in Hillary's administration.
• Create a communication campaign separate from the campaign to promote the idea that America's lack of a female head of state is an embarrassment on the world stage. That creates a niche that Hillary is the logical choice to fill, since Condi Rice is damaged goods and Nancy Pelosi is an idiot.
• Marginalize Kerry by getting him to support Hillary (use "passing the baton" phrasing to avoid making him look like a power broker). This could be impossible if he intends to run, but if that's turns out to be the case his weaknesses are clear.
• Make sure Hillary supports issues that resonate with her liberal base without making her sound like a wacko and make sure she fucking sticks to them. America is ready for moderate progressivism again, but she desperately needs to be seen to be driving the bandwagon, not hopping on it.
• Make some use of Chelsea. She's looking good, can deliver a message smartly, and is not likely to show up on tabloid covers falling down drunk.
• Create an ad campaign with an optimistic new-day-dawning outlook that suggests that GWB's dark night of the lunatic is over. I'm thinking "Morning in America" but with an after-the-storm angle instead of Reagan's "re-elect grandpa" message.

Hell, I’m intrigued just by the thought of "White House Chief of Staff Bill Clinton" and the slogans that are possible.

f e e d b a c k

Respond to this page by your e-mail client. Please be sure to mention the title of the article.

s i d e b a r