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politics and politicians Title: Oh Hill no! Clinton’s stale presidential plan wrong for nation More than five years ago, a Clinton confidant matter-of-factly described for me Hillarys Plan. She would resign as secretary of state after President Obamas first term, write a book and then run for president again. Check, check, and, with Sundays official launch, check again. Her to-do list is complete. She stuck like glue to The Plan, which required years of misleading blabber from her and Bubba that she hadnt decided about 2016. Fish gotta swim, and a Clintons gotta run, so there was never an iota of doubt. But time has marched on and the world has changed, making The Plan, and her, look stuck in the past. What the great Murray Kempton wrote in 1965 of John Lindsays first mayoral run He is fresh and everyone else is tired is not something anybody says of Hillary these days. Shes been on the national stage for a quarter-century, though because of all the drama, it feels like weve lived through several lifetimes with her. Along the way, shes reinvented herself more often than Madonna. While the spectacle of an aging hoofer trying to keep up with the kids is riveting, the kicks arent what they used to be and the odor of desperation is unavoidable. The sweaty effort to appear fresh reinforces the suspicion that Hillary senses danger in the argument that shes awfully close to her expiration date. Its not merely a matter of age, though she will be 69 come next Inauguration Day, which would put her close to Ronald Reagans record. The real issue is Clinton fatigue, a national exhaustion from having been-there-done-that too many times. Her husbands popularity counts for something, but shes already milked that cow dry. Shes got to make a case that goes beyond just wanting the Oval Office. Shes got to earn it and Im not sure she can. Heres another blast from the past Monica Lewinsky is 41 and wants to reclaim her identity, making her a potential bombshell that could explode without notice. The arrows, then, all point the same way: Hillary is past her peak and missed her best chance in 2008. Her two elections and eight years in the Senate had made her something bigger and better than a scorned first lady. She was ready to make history and the country was ready to help her. Then along came that fresh-faced senator from Chicago with a better game plan and a more convincing claim on history, and the brass ring eluded her grasp. Her pain was understandably acute, and her willingness to join his team couldnt have been easy. Shuffling off to Timbuktu while the big decisions were made in Washington was another stab in the back. But she endured, and even played along with his cockamamie foreign policies, a mistake that continues to damage America and her reputation. That bad run of experiences could have forged her character into something admirable, but her performance so far has been a disaster. Instead of re-emerging as a smarter and more focused force rejuvenated by defeat and exile, she seems to have learned nothing and changed not a whit. She still makes baby talk about breaking glass ceilings and other coded references designed to get her Pantsuit Posse out of their chairs, but it feels like a re-enactment rather than the real thing. After each bad review and each new scandal, the prospect of another usurper emerging from the shadows must give her panic attacks. Déjà vu all over again. Will the lefts new darling, Elizabeth Warren, jump into the race? Will Martin OMalley steal Iowa and puncture her balloon of invincibility? What about Obama will he help her or dump her? What price will she pay if she breaks with him on Iran or Israel? What mischief is Valerie Jarrett making? Hillary would be crazy not to consider all those scenarios and a dozen others, but her first steps are depressingly robotic. Raise more money, hire more advisers, parse and calculate, hide behind her Praetorian Guard, rinse and repeat. Shes older but not wiser and only a groupie could think its working. Shes become a gaffe machine and showed a tin ear by continuing to give paid speeches until a month ago. Then came the e-mail debacle, which evoked a universal there she goes again quality. It brought back a souped-up carload of bad memories her habitual secrecy, arrogance and, most damaging, dishonesty. If she had come out and simply said she set up a private server for government business because rules are for little people, she would have had the virtue of honesty. But still constitutionally incapable of being straight, she concocted a silly lie about the convenience of carrying only one electronic device, which was promptly demolished when evidence emerged that she had both a BlackBerry and an iPad. We still dont know the full story of what shes hiding in those e-mails, but already there are fresh wounds. Although no Democrat threatens her yet, recent polls in six swing states show that, in head-to-head matchups against a raft of Republicans, she is basically tied or trailing nearly all of them. She makes them all look good. Most revealing, Quinnipiac University also asked voters in Colorado, Ohio, Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania and Iowa whether she is honest and trustworthy. Only in Ohio were the numbers split evenly; everywhere else, either a majority or a clear plurality answered with a resounding No. Given her long history, changing voters minds on something so basic as trust wont be easy. Her best hope is to fire a withering barrage of mud against an incompetent Republican. Again, wed be reliving the 90s, with her spying a vast right-wing conspiracy behind every tree and playing the victim when it doesnt work. Oh, what fun. There is, of course, a long way to go until November of next year, and events, especially the growing world disorder, will likely reshape the campaign and the public mood numerous times. Like all the candidates, shell have to reshape her message, too after she comes up with one. So far, something about Hillary does not seem right for the present, let alone the future. Aides have been discounting the early going as a false measure, and assuring backers that shell right the ship once she launches. Perhaps, but she is taking on much more water than they had expected, and her margin for error is shrinking fast. The polls suggest there is a tipping point with voters and inevitable stumbles and scandals could make 2016 look like 2008. It could be that shes star-crossed, and the gods will conspire against her again. After all, as Mark Twain observed, History doesnt repeat itself, but it does rhyme. Subscribe to *2016 The Likely Suspects* Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top Page Up Full Thread Page Down Bottom/Latest
#1. To: TooConservative (#0)
The porne is not running, she is garnering money, her god. Proving beyond a doubt that the murderer of ten babies in the womb is nothing but a porne.
She's running all right. Given the intense pressure from the Bush Florida machine and that he will have to give up his Senate seat, it's Rubio that I'm thinking will announce he's not running tomorrow.
Stop listing to the media and think. While the prone is a prone, she is not stupid to the point of the avg voter, she is in it for money. It knows it can't win, but it can get rich(er).
She passed her peak 50 years ago if she ever had one. She's never been anything but a figurehead F-up.
SNL, last night:
Weekly Standard had this today, made Drudge's page today. The signs are posted near Hillary's campaign headquarters: It is not known who posted or funded the Brooklyn street art.
That was pretty good. Thanks!
Why is democracy held in such high esteem when its the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012)
Maybe The Donald is planning to upstage Hillary, and announce his candidacy? Secrets of the comb over
Hillary will run, win the primary, and be guaranteed 46% of the vote. (Who else will they vote for-- a Republican?) She'll win if the Republican candidate screws up.
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