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Joe Klein says missus clinton won't run because he sees that woman as a loser, i.e., as the quintessential bland, phony, prefabricated, sock-puppet sort of candidate who, along with the political handler, are the subject of his new book.
Politics Lost : How American Democracy Was Trivialized By People Who Think You're Stupid
Even if Democrats could liberate themselves from the intellectually and morally stifling grip of consultants like Shrum, would they have any coherent ideology to espouse?
... The coming years may well provide an answer. Particularly in the Democratic Party, the revolt against the consultants is in full flower. The party's Web-savvy, activist base loathes the caution and phoniness that has characterized recent Democratic campaigns. And as that base proves able to deliver money as well as votes, future presidential candidates will be increasingly tempted to ditch focus-group mush-speak and talk from the heart. Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) is clearly pursuing that strategy; former North Carolina senator John Edwards vows that he will too, and in the greatest irony of all, a newly unplugged Al Gore might even do so as well. It is a good bet that whoever emerges as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's main challenger in the 2008 primaries will emulate Sen. John McCain's campaign in 2000 and Howard Dean's in 2004. So on the Democratic side, at least, Klein may get his wish: Politics will become more blunt, more free-wheeling, more fun. Whether authenticity leads to victory, however, is less certain. Democrats may be learning to speak from the heart. But in a party that has been confused about its core beliefs for almost four decades, no one can be entirely sure how that will sound. Peter Beinart
The Washington Post
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