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View From The Middle
It's not really a big deal, after all. I also like McCain and Giuliani and Romney and Obama and, oh, yes, Edwards. Edwards to be sure (and not to be overlooked). I think all of them, unfortunately, started their campaigns nearly a year too soon, although, some haven't officially put it in writing, so to speak. We do, in fact, need a scorekeeper at this point, and, if that's the case, how will things be by next March? Back to Hil: On the other hand, maybe I don't like her any more. The thing is…what? Is she at all likeable ? Bill must have seen something in her 'way back in Arkansas. She's certainly smart; she "keeps herself up," as the saying goes; she can talk with the proletariat, as well as the aristocrats - and be understood. But there's something…something…an intangible. Whatever it is can turn you (me) off the minute she enters the room. No, it isn't that woman thing. We've already gotten past that, especially after recent polls tell us that two thirds of American voters say the country is ready for a woman president. Question is: Are we ready for Hillary Clinton to be that first one? It seems to me that, when that time comes, the woman chosen to lead the free world should be someone better than Mrs. Senator Clinton; someone extra- extra special, almost an enigma, like…hell, like Eleanor Roosevelt or Madame Curie or Cleopatra or Mother Teresa or…you get the idea (I hope). As the once-vice presidential candidate Lloyd Benson said in a debate with candidate Dan Quayle, "I knew Mother Teresa, and, ma'am, you're no Mother Teresa!"…or something like that! Well, maybe not Mother Teresa, after all.... There are a number of things some say Mrs. Clinton has against her, most of them personality traits. Lord knows, she appears to know what she's talking about and, by the tone of press releases we constantly receive from her office, she keeps up with world and state happenings. That shows her staff to be well chosen; always an asset in an organization. They study everything! Her press and scheduling coordinators are impeccable when it comes to being on top of the news and keeping the media at bay, and yet informed. Then there's her stand on the original Congressional vote on the Iraq war. Her vote, I should say, not her stand. She's certainly adamant about not saying it was a mistake. For this, I think she deserves a lot of praise. After all, she didn't make a mistake when she voted. No more than the others who voted for the proposal. She and more than two thirds of her fellow members of Congress went head first into the "Yea!" vote with the understanding that Iraq was one of the main seats of terrorism in the Middle East and that there were weapons of mass destruction in the ground there. This wasn't a mistake. Mrs. Clinton admits, however, that, knowing what she knows now, she would not have voted as she did. Some people are asking her to apologize for her vote, but how can she be sorry? She voted the way her conscience told her to vote at the time . "It was a sincere vote, based on facts and assurances that we had at the time," she's been quoted as saying. You can't fault her for being candid on this one. Now Hillary and Barack Obama seem to be getting in each other's hair as they trek around the country trying to fill up their campaign coffers with money to help them continue their respective pushes for the White House. The recent drive through Hollywood netted both a bundle of $$$, and all they had to do was kiss Barbra Streisand's, uh, ring. Oh, they also had to trade their souls with millionaire mogul/impresario/entrepreneur David Geffen who turned turncoat on Hil and Bill, put a knife in her back and then scattered thousands of roses and millions of dollars in Barack's path. One of the intangible problems about Hil couldn't be Bill, could it? He's certainly popular. His administration wasn't necessarily bad - or good. The jury's still out. But he's still working on the political scene on her behalf, which probably brings up a huge hedge she has over every other candidate: FEAR. Oh, yeah. With the two of them running around the White House showing how experienced they are at the job, anyone going against them is working on dangerous ground. They've got to be scared to death! She knows what color the drapes should be; they both know that he knows all the secret back rooms off the Oval Office (she does too); we all know that she knows the "right" people (except Geffen); and we all know they'll be working hand-in-hand if she becomes Madame Prez. Does she have a chance? No question about it. Does anyone have a chance? No question about it (except for Kucinich) - unless, by the time the Presidential Election of 2008 comes around WE WILL ALL HAVE FORGOTTEN WHO THE HELL THEY ARE!
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