Morris, what part of this do you not understand?
Posted on 02/28/2006 9:38:21 PM PST by Jean S
The Republican Party appears to be coalescing around the happy assumption that, while Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic nomination, she cannot be elected. So, the self-delusive logic says, she is really God's gift to the Republican Party.
This optimistic set of assumptions comes through loud and clear in the comments the president and Karl Rove made to Bill Sammon as he interviewed them for his new book Strategery. But their confidence indicates simply that they don't even begin to understand what they will be up against in a Hillary candidacy.
It has always been Mrs. Clinton's strategery to wrap herself in the generic. By embracing a set of liberal issues, she avoids personal scrutiny. By identifying with working women who are "trying to balance career and family", she buys a pass on charges of a conflict of interest over Rose Law Firm representation of Arkansas while her husband was governor. And now, by hiding behind the generic question of "Are we ready for a woman president?" she invites the question of whether we want this particular woman in the Oval Office.
The cultural forces that Hillary's candidacy will unleash - from the media, from Hollywood and from the cultural icons who decree our lifestyles - will be far beyond those that normally line up behind a presidential candidate. A small foretaste emerged in ABC TV's show "Commander in Chief," in which Geena Davis plays a female president who masters the men and the crises that litter her path. What other presidential candidacy was foreshadowed by a prime-time, hour-long weekly television show?
Hillary's candidacy will not be Democratic so much as demographic and not nearly as political as it will be cultural. The pent-up emotions of half of America will rise to the surface just as Catholics rallied to JFK's candidacy in 1960.
And white women are the swing vote in our politics. George W. Bush carried them by only 1 percent in 2000 and lost the popular vote. He walked away with white women in 2004 by a 14-point margin and carried the electorate by 3.5 points.
White men will vote against Hillary, of course, but are they likely to exceed the 2-1 margin by which they backed Bush in 2004? Or is the GOP organization really going to be able to turn out more than 62 million voters, an increase of 12 million over its 2000 total with very little increase in national population?
Blacks will vote for Hillary with genuine affection rather than the mere duty that animated their support of John Kerry, and Hispanics, who strongly backed Hillary in New York state, are likely to return to the overwhelmingly Democratic vote they cast in 2000, rather than the more balanced ballots they cast in 2004.
In the face of these demographic arguments, can Hillary's admittedly brittle public performances assure her defeat? Will voters see through her posture of moderation and hawkishness on terrorism? White men will. But white women won't. And Hillary will be elected.
Last year, my wife and I wrote about the urgency of a Condoleezza Rice candidacy to nullify Hillary's advantages. Since then, Rice, despite her best efforts to deny a candidacy, has caught fire among the American electorate. In the most recent Gallup poll, 12 percent named her, unaided, as the Republican they would like to see run, and the most up to date head-to-head poll, by the Marist Institute, shows her locked in a three-way tie with Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, with each candidate winning 22 percent of the Republican primary vote.
Those who listen to the melodious tones of Bush and Rove do a disservice to our country. The threat of a Hillary Clinton victory is real and present, and the usual suspects - the likes of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Virginia Sen. George Allen, Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, New York Gov. George Pataki et al. are not likely to be able to defeat her. Rudy could, but he won't be nominated because of his social liberalism. McCain could, but he lacks popularity with the GOP rank and file.
Do not underestimate Hillary Clinton's chances to win!
Morris, a former political adviser to Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and President Bill Clinton, is the author of Condi vs. Hillary: The Next Great Presidential Race.
ping
If you think Mrs. Clinton will rally the Dems. 1st consider how galvanizing she is to conservatives.
MOst conservatives will work their asses off to defeat thebeast.
She also starts with such a negative polarizing position and just wait til yu see the adds.
Mrs. Clinton sneaking out of our White House with the china and furniture and artwork.
Mrs. Clinton becoming the greatest trader in stock history in just a few days.
Mrs. Clinton yelling Jew bastard at an underling.
Mrs. Clinton having her thugs dumping Vince Foster off in Ft. Marcy Park.
Mrs. Clinton trying to socialize 1/7 of the U.S. economy.
Mrs. Clinton steeling and using hundreds of f.b.i. files against her critics.
Mrs Clinton using the i.r.s. against her critics(ask bill o'reiley).
Mrs. Clinton going after Mr. Clintons accusers sexual predator that he is.
I can go on and on but yu get the picture.
Great add ideas all.
Run Mrs. Clinton and let us expose yu for the whore yu are
If she gets nominated, she is within grasp of the presidency and that is WAY too close to a disaster for the country.
Unless the Republican candidate is perfect, she has a good chance to win and since there aren't any perfect candidates, I think it is foolishness to help get her nominated in any way at all. Why risk it?
It would be okay if only you folks who crave the fight would suffer under her presidency, but all the rest of us will have to live under the clintons as well for at least four, if not eight, more years. :-/
So those of you who want the suspense of a championship fight, go watch your tv or something. Don't mess around with our country by trying to promote a presidential election along the lines of Hillary vs. Anybody "Republican".
Nail on the head.
Nothing more.
Hey basil, you forgot the 'sh'!
Morris, what part of this do you not understand?
He thinks white women are going to vote for her? You can count me as one white woman who will never, ever vote for that creature.
Imagine 4 years of listening to that harpy every day. She only has 2 modes of speaking--that shrill screech when she's trying to show emotion or that plodding monotone when she's trying to lecture her audience.
Dick Morris' whole career is built around amping up the Hillary-threat. Not saying she wouldn't be a disaster as president...
McCain-Rice
I sure hope that isn't the choice. McCain is a whack-job. I seriously doubt that I'd vote for him even if he were running against the Red Queen. I'd probably sit that one out (by voting 3rd party).
I highly doubt that Hillary can overcome her negatives to win...unless the republicans put forth an entirely unacceptable candidate (it wouldn't be the first time)
No truer words are spoken.
Harpu, I'm trying to maintain my image as a "lady"--LOL!
Yup.
Gore almost won.
Kerry almost won.
Gore lost by a statistical fluke involving only a couple hundred ballots.
Kerry lost only by the rantings of a few dozen veterans.
Both did nearly everything they could to sabatoge their own runs.
Yet they very nearly won.
Hillary, despite all our digs, has a passionate loyal following, became the carpet-bagging Senator from a state that should have despised her, has a team that won the White House twice before, and has been crafting her 2008 run for DECADES.
If Gore & Kerry could come that close to winning, Hillary can't lose.
And the Republicans still have nobody to run.
Yeah, but this is just all about Dick. He'll write anything just to get his name in print and get his face on TV. We'd all be better off just ignoring him.
All she needs is Kerry's "red" states, plus one.
All she needs is to keep those states happy (not hard), convert ONE blue state (Ohio? PA? one was very close last time), and ignore the rest.
She doesn't need the Southern states. She can ignore those and all central states completely. CA, OR, and the northeast are a given for her.
Just one borderline "blue" state. That's all Hillary needs.
IF Mrs Bill Clinton won, Dickie Boy would work for her in a flash. IMHO, he has the morals and scruples of a stone.
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