Wednesday, December 04, 2013

Hillary the Bland

I have always assumed that Hillary Clinton would run for President if presented with an opportunity. I still believe she will. If she does run she will almost undoubtedly win. I can see no possible Republican politician that could outmatch her in experience, intelligence, preparation, political savvy, grit and determination. Nor is it likely any particular Republican candidate could substantially raise more money or have a better and more experienced staff. She is virtually guaranteed the Black vote, the Hispanic vote, the Women’s vote, the Jewish vote, the Homosexual vote, and quite likely the Asian vote, Republicans having themselves virtually destroyed their chances with anyone but angry White working class males would surely have a difficult time (there are probably only so many votes they can suppress).

Hillary comes from a fine family background, has done well in the University and Law School, and has engaged in politics all of her adult life. She has no doubt dreamt of a female President for a long time. She is now uniquely qualified to become our first female President. It is virtually impossible to believe she will not go for it.

She would probably make a fine President, having been First Lady of both Arkansas and the United States, having previously run for President, having been a successful Senator and a fine Secretary of State. She will doubtless surround herself with good experienced and loyal people. I am sure she knows she will be ruthlessly and shamelessly attacked by Republicans, Roviated non-stop with their usual sliming, dishonest, and filthy innuendo, and thus will not be surprised or overwhelmed by it. She has already experienced lots of it. As she has long been a Hawk they probably cannot touch her on that score and Benghazi will not make much difference.  We probably know more about the Clintons than any other couple in history so it is unlikely there will be any new and surprising revelations about her or her family.

The potential and perhaps serious problem for Hillary is that by 2016 we are going to need a Teddy or a Franklin rather than a Dwight or a Gerald. Hillary is sooo 2012. As a consummate Washington insider for so long she has been in an important way, part of the problem. With strikes and picketing an increasing problem, along with the demand for higher wages, and the growing awareness of our terrible inequality, to say nothing of the increasing disenchantment with capitalism itself (even now by the Pope), the President of 2016 is going to have to be in the forefront of the coming battles against these injustices. “Too big to fail” will have to be challenged along with the criminal banking practices that have reigned for so long. Huge international corporations will have to be domesticated and Israeli racism and pillage will have to be curbed, as will the fantastically bloated defense budget. I cannot see Hillary at the head of serious populist attempts to change these gross injustices. We are going to need someone like Bernie Sanders (too old and truthful to be a serious candidate), or Elizabeth Warren (who I doubt will run for President), or someone with the will and determination to “lead the charge.” I do not know who that might be but I’m pretty certain we will not need a merely caretaker President. This is not to say Hillary would be a mere caretaker. I have no doubt she will fight for women’s rights, fight poverty, strengthen health care, and defend us from our enemies. She might even create jobs. But all this will not be enough to bring about the substantial changes we need to our basic social and economic problems which, alas, are linked to the seemingly inevitable and monumentally serious problem of global warming.

Hillary, I fear, will fall once again to the vagaries of change. Having had the Presidency snatched from her by the strangely upstart Barack Hussein Obama, she may lose out again through no fault of her own. In spite of her obvious qualifications and talent she may just prove to be the wrong person at the wrong time. I could, of course, be wrong about this, I often am, but one thing might comfort us, if Hillary does get elected, she will be thousands of times better than any of the roster of village idiots we will likely be offered by the Republicans.    

“Unseen in the background, Fate was quietly slipping lead into the boxing-glove.” 


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