I don't spend a whole lot of time trying to figure out why Democrats do the things they do. It just isn't healthy. But now that Hillary's status in the primary race has shifted from "frontrunner by a healthy margin" to "frontrunner by a ridiculous margin", my mind is desperately trying to grapple with the sheer inanity of it all.
Hillary is far from being the most experienced candidate on the Democratic roster. With only seven years of public office under her belt, even Dennis Kucinich has a lengthier resume. Granted, he was never the first lady -- for one reason or another -- but when did being the first lady qualify anyone to become the President? Let's get a few things straight:
First ladies are not elected officials.
They have no executive or legislative duties.
A first lady is just a woman who happened to be lucky (or unlucky) enough to marry a man who became the president. Yes, Hillary didn't just sit around and bake cookies, but generally speaking, she was still just a spokeswomen for her husband's policy initiatives.
Of course, I needn't mention the fact that Hillary isn't the most likable cookie in the Democratic jar. That robotic cackle? Don't want to talk about it. Moving on. Now.
Finally, as much as it may pain conservatives to hear it, Hillary really isn't the most liberal or "progressive" Democrat seeking the party's nomination. On foreign policy, she's a GOP-esque hawk, and on everything else, she's more vaguely-not-like-Bush than anything else. In an election where voters are widely expected to side with whoever happens to be running against the Republican candidate, I find it surprising that Democrats seem to be picking a candidate who has all the drawbacks of a radical candidate (polarizing, widely believed to be the anti-christ, etc.), without the base-pleasin' positions (no residual forces in Iraq, zero hostility towards Iran, etc.).
Naturally, as someone who isn't exactly a member of the Democratic party's cheerleading squad, I plan to greet Hillary's nomination with a resounding "huzzah!", or "huzzah!" equivalent. If Hillary is indeed the Democratic candidate of choice in '08, the Republican party will be given something that it would otherwise lack: a fighting chance.
The question is, why don't the Democrats see this?
Hillary's status as a frontrunner really is perplexing. What's even more perplexing is that at this point, the nominee is probably going to be either Clinton or Obama. Edwards and the rest have very little chance by now. (Edwards has got to win it big in January, or he's screwed) Neither Clinton or Obama is really experienced in any way. Richardson has more executive experience than both of them put together!
ReplyDeleteI'm not complaining either, but I'm similarly puzzled. Another good post.