The American Spectator

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Clinton Uprising

6.12.08 @ 12:01AM

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK
Re: Philip Klein's The Comeback Clintons:

I read Philip Klein's article with great interest, given that I don't believe for a second that the Clintons are just going to "go away." Eventually the truth will come out that both Bill and Hillary are the undead; and like all the villains in the slasher films, it doesn't matter how many times they're run over, dropped off a cliff, chopped into fishbait or thrown into a pit of live lawyers, they will STILL be back for the sequel. However, there is one possibility that Mr. Klein overlooked: that Obama is elected, and Hillary runs against him in 2012. Ted Kennedy did the same to Jimmy Carter in 1980, and considering that Obama is poised to ruin the country even more thoroughly than Carter ever dreamed of doing, I would think that this is an all too real possibility.

The one piece that's missing is this: who is our Ronald Reagan this time around?
-- Paul LaRue

Madame Clinton will be back. Cockroaches aren't fond of the light of day, but killing their ambitious runs for sustenance is nearly impossible.

One of the causes of the downfall (if it is a downfall; until the convention is over, and Obama has been crowned, don't count out that lady) was certainly her fun loving, trash talking, skirt chasing hubby. His demeaning of the Democrat's New Messiah was not only unbecoming to a former high office holder, especially a former POTUS, it was damaging to Hillary's cause. While most thought the former Boy President would be a high caliber, well positioned hired gun, he proved to be a rusty loose cannon. Now, none wish Billy Boy ill, but his health, or at least his appearance of waning health, has been an open question during this campaign. Some have gone so far as to posit that the erstwhile intern abuser's off-the-hip comments and his tin ear for rhetoric, completely contrary to his perfect pitch hearing and rapid response triangulation from former glory day, were a sign of early onset of dementia. If Senator Clinton became a widow, she would gain an asset that has been lacking for the entirety of her political career: sympathy and humanity. (Questioning if the senator would be displeased with such movement on the balance sheet is not beyond the pale.)

HRC can't accept that she lost. She whined, "Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it." The first term New York Senator was proclaimed the inevitable winner early and often, and she foolishly believed her own hype, consequently, she did not plan for the long campaign. Obama was hungrier (and (politically) prettier) than Billary. Illinois' first term senator ran a great grassroots campaign and defeated the Clinton Machine. It was not sexism. It was not a glass ceiling. It was a repudiation of Team Clinton and its legacies. When the New England Patriots lost to the New York Giants, they didn't whine and blame the referees. They accepted that not all things are inevitable, no matter what the odds makers may think. Senator Clinton, put away the Windex, change your lenses, or wipe your eyes. It is not a glass ceiling that is barring your way; it is what you see in a looking glass.
-- Ira M. Kessel
Rochester, New York

Newsmax.com is reporting that Hillary Clinton has been added to Barack Obama's short list of possible running mates. Pardon me for not gasping in surprise. Does anyone seriously believe Obama would dare choose someone other than Hillary? I know the Obama campaign has to make a good showing and will spend the next several days or weeks fretting over the supposed strengths and weaknesses of this or that potential V.P. But really, after all is said and done, only one person emerges as the obvious choice to compliment the young Senator -- Hillary Rodham Clinton. Any other selection will doom Obama to a second term in the Senate.

The much ballyhooed downsides to a Democratic dream ticket evaporate upon close examination. Having an ambitious and tempestuous Hillary just down the hall from the oval office, often cited as a dream ticket deal breaker, is in fact a non-issue. Whatever internal squabbling might take place between Clinton and Obama will be confined to the cozy quarters of the White House, away from the prying eyes of press and public. Having Billary close by will be uncomfortable, but tolerable. But, you say, the press has grown tired of the Clintons, turning away from Hillary in her moment of need. True enough. But once she is on Obama's team, the vast left-wing conspiracy -- aka the mainstream media -- will have no choice but to reignite its passion for Hill and Bill. Continuing to attack Hillary once she is V.P. would risk hurting Prince Obama, a betrayal unthinkable to the lockstep left. Chris Matthews will discover shivers running down both legs.

The reasons for including Hillary on the ticket are varied and powerful. "Clinton finished strong by winning six of the last nine and nine of the last 15 primaries," Newsmax.com reminds us, "including 10-point victories over Sen. Obama...in the key electoral states of Ohio and Pennsylvania." Obama simply has no chance in white, working class states without Hillary's proven support from those demographics. Moreover, Hillary's experience quotient far exceeds those of other possible Obama running mates. Senator Jim Webb, General Wesley (yawn) Clark, General James Jones and even more obscure potential V.P. choices will not help the empty suit stature of the first-term, "I've campaigned in all 57 states," Illinois Senator. The more Obama talks -- especially off-prompter -- the more his woeful inadequacies become apparent. The stature Obama lacks can only be supplied by Hillary.

The single most compelling reason Obama will choose Hillary is that all of the other candidates for the bottom of the ticket are -- you guessed it -- men. Men! MEN!! Obama must have the support of women, and more than a few have sworn to abandon the Democratic Party because of its rejection of the first viable female candidate for President in America's history. Should Obama compound Hillary's humiliation by selecting another man as his running mate, Obama will fall in line behind Gore and Kerry as last loser.

Putting Hillary on the ticket would also forestall an unlikely but remotely possible occurrence -- a third-party romp by Ms. Clinton. Let's look at things from her perspective. Should Obama win in 2008, with or without Hillary on the ballot as V.P., Ms. Clinton would likely never have another shot at the White House. She'll be about 70 in 2016, long in tooth and very old news. If Hillary's presidential aspirations are thwarted in 2008, her next best chance is 2012, and a 2012 run depends on an Obama defeat this year. Clinton as third-party campaigner would assure a McCain victory, opening the door for another Hillary run for the White House in 2012. This scenario assumes the Clintons are willing to throw the Democratic Party under the proverbial bus to further their political careers. Hmmmm...

A latent independent candidacy is one of several reasons Hillary has suspended, but not ended, her campaign. Obama quashes that nightmarish possibility by choosing Hillary, uniting the party and reaching otherwise unreachable constituents in the bargain. It's his only choice, really.
-- Jerry Pomeroy
Sun City, California

POOR SUBSTITUTE
Re: Robert Stacy McCain's Barr's Bedfellows

It is clear Bob Barr has finally expunged the "demons" of Reaganism from his "soul" (Bush is merely following the policy of Ronald Reagan of refusing to openly dialogue with the pro-terrorist theocracy in Iran). This is the hope for disaffected conservatives? Give me a break! This man is more Lord Halifax and Joe Kennedy than Winston Churchill or Ronald Reagan. Appeasement is appeasement no matter how you dress it up, Bob.

Why should conservatives dissatisfied with McCain throw away their votes on BARRack lite when they can vote for the real deal? BARRack Obama should consider "new/old" Bob Barr for his running mate. Then his claim to bipartisanship would no longer be a lie -- sort of.
-- Michael Tomlinson
Jacksonville, North Carolina

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