Posted on 08/12/2005 9:14:34 PM PDT by smoothsailing
Hillary who? Chapter two
Peter Lemiska
August 12, 2005
In November 2003, I wrote an opinion piece entitled "Hillary Who?" about Senator Clinton's widely publicized Thanksgiving visit to our troops in Afghanistan and the negligible media coverage the event generated. That was because all the attention was focused on President Bush's surprise visit to honor our men and women fighting in Baghdad. It was a PR disaster for the senator and must have been devastating.
Earlier this week, Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced her plan to run for Hillary's senate seat, and overnight, a Marist poll reflected a 14-point drop of those New Yorkers favoring Clinton over Pirro.
I went back to re-read my article (which, by the way, I thoroughly enjoyed). It occurred to me, in light of this new eclipse of the Democrats' shining star, it might be a good time to ask the Hillary question again.
There's no question that Ms. Pirro is facing a tough opponent, who still has a substantial lead. The challenger is considered by most to be a long-shot. On the other hand, there are a lot of voters in New York who would love to see someone — anyone — pull Clinton's senate seat out from under her. And Pirro does have a lot going for her.
First of all, she's a native New Yorker.
Yes it's true, Senator Clinton is for the time being a New Yorker and a fervent fan of the Yankees. That could all change if she wins re-election, and if luck stays with her, and if the rest of the country starts thinking like the Empire State voters. If those events come to pass, she will morph into yet another Hillary. She will begin to look at New York as just one of 50 states, and her newfound interest in baseball will be replaced by a passion for football. And the Redskins will have a new fan.
Yet her opponent has another valuable asset. She's a tough, smart, accomplished, prosecutor, and has incarcerated a lot of criminals — possibly even more than Bill Clinton pardoned — criminals who would otherwise be terrorizing our streets and victimizing our children.
Hillary has loftier goals, but if she were practicing criminal law today, would she be working to protect the innocent victims of rampant crime, or would she be more concerned about the legal rights of those who prey on them? A look into her past might suggest an answer to that question. As a left-wing radical student at Yale, her passionate defense of the Black Panthers is well documented. More recently, her election to the Senate was helped along by the Puerto Rican vote after her husband issued pardons to 11 imprisoned FALN terrorists.
But still, Senator Clinton has a number of advantages. Money and name recognition are certainly critical to any political campaign. Hillary has both.
In addition to that, despite her brand new facade, Hillary is as liberal as they come. New Yorkers recognize that, and it suits them just fine. For a lot of Democrats, it's all that matters.
It is interesting, however, that while both women will be enjoying different advantages in this upcoming race, they both have the same Achilles' heel. It's doubtful either will be looking to her husband for help in the campaign. On that issue, both candidates would probably agree that behind every successful woman stands a man, who is right where he belongs.
Right now, most agree that Senator Clinton will win re-election. But if New York voters are able to peel away the senator's veneer, they will not find the loyalty and commitment they expect and deserve. Nor will they find a strong leader, dedicated to making New York state a better place to live. At her core, they will find little more than blind ambition. And if enough of them do that, and if luck is with us, and if New Yorkers start thinking like the rest of the country, come December 2006, the nation will be asking "Hillary? Hillary who?"
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Peter Lemiska is a freelance writer and former Senior Special Agent of the U.S. Secret Service. He has a BA degree in psychology.
Having spent more than 28 years in government, including eight years in the Air Force, he is deeply concerned about various issues affecting our society, particularly ethics in government.
Peter has lived abroad at various times for more than seven years, and had the opportunity to learn Italian. More importantly, his extensive worldwide travel has given him a broad perspective on American politics. You can see more of Peter's opinion pieces at opinioneditorials.com. He welcomes feedback at plemis2@hotmail.com.
© Copyright 2005 by Peter Lemiska
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/lemiska/050812
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Alan Keyes, RenewAmerica, or its affiliates.
". . .if the rest of the country starts thinking like the Empire State voters."
Uh oh. Sure hope this doesn't happen.
"While the Republicans are (place some nasty verb here), a clinton is working hard for the people"
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