Below, I mentioned the memo from chief Clinton strategist Mark
Penn on why Hillary would be a stronger candidate against McCain.
The arguments are so juvenile, that the document is worth
excerpting in greater length. I think my favorite part is the
section on why Hillary is more electable because lots of people
already hate her:
The GOP Attack Machine Will Redefine the Democratic
Candidate; Hillary Has Withstood That Process. As soon as the
Democratic nominee is selected, the entire force of the GOP attack
machine will bear down on that nominee. This attack machine has
been built and honed over decades; it is formidable, and employs
all forms of media, from talk radio to major newspaper columns to
television, email, blogs, websites, direct mail, and extensive
ground networks. It was able to skew public perceptions of two
well-respected Democrats, Al Gore and John Kerry, creating
impressions about them that were wildly out of step with reality.
Hillary Clinton has withstood the full brunt of that machine and
actually emerged stronger.
Sen. McCain Will Run on National Security; Hillary
Wins That Argument. When it came to national security, "strong and
wrong" won out over "right and weak" in the 2002 and 2004
elections. With Hillary, that is not and will not be an issue:
Based on what they know of her and her experience, voters believe
Hillary is fully ready to be commander in chief. She will be strong
and right. Voters know she has the right policies - ending the war
in Iraq, re-establishing our relations with our allies - and they
know she has the strength of leadership that America's next
president will need in a world that can turn dangerous in an
instant. As such, the Republicans will not be able to play the
national security card against Hillary Clinton, like they are now
doing against Senator Obama, and that makes her a fundamentally
stronger candidate against John McCain. Case in point is what
George Bush said on Sunday morning about Sen. Obama, "I certainly
don't know what he believes in. The only foreign policy thing I
remember he said was he's going to attack Pakistan and embrace
Ahmadinejad." With Hillary, the Republicans' national security
argument blunted and the election debate will shift to healthcare
and the economy - areas of decisive strength for Hillary.
Sen. Obama's Negatives Will Rise; Hillary's Are
Already Factored In. Sen. Obama himself has been saying that even
after a year, voters in places like Texas and Florida don't really
know him that well. So how much do independent voters know about
Barack Obama, his voting record and his past positions? Even less
than Democrats know. For example, he recently told voters in Idaho
that he favors the Second Amendment - but he didn't mention that,
in the past, he supported a complete ban on all handguns. If he
were the nominee, the Republican attack machine would have
immediately rolled out his full record - and his independent Idaho
support would have evaporated. So far, the Republicans have been
laying low. Sen. Obama has never faced a credible Republican
opponent or the Republican attack machine, so voters are taking a
chance that his current poll numbers will hold up after the
Republicans get going. With Hillary, the GOP has already tried just
about every attack and has failed. Those attacks are already
factored in her ratings, where she remains competitive against Sen.
McCain. But when it comes to Sen. Obama this is a big unknown, and
the likelihood is that his negatives will rise.
topics:
Foreign Policy, John McCain, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Television, Iraq, Pakistan, NATO
