Posted on 04/26/2015 6:03:05 PM PDT by markomalley
Washington, D.C. — The annual White House Correspondent’s Dinner is indeed — as President Obama put it last night — “where Washington celebrates itself.” Little real news is ever made, but Beltway media, politicians, and consultants attend in such large numbers that you can get a sense of the current conventional wisdom.
Cecily Strong, the Saturday Night Live comic who followed President Obama on the podium, was so blatantly in Hillary’s corner that it was jarring. But what was striking about last night’s dinner was that many people have come to the conclusion that Hillary Clinton’s campaign is in deep trouble and she is no longer as inevitable as people once thought. Working reporters who cover her and other Democratic politicians wouldn’t go on the record, but you heard the same thing from several of them:
“It’s not that she’s too old — she just can’t relate to younger generations.”
“A couple more scandals, and you’ll wonder if they will start to define her campaign.”
“Younger women know a female will become president in their lifetime; many of them don’t think it has to be or even should be Hillary.”
“How can she possibly distance herself from the Obama administration she served for four years, but whose policies increasingly alienate independent voters she needs?”
That last comment goes to the heart of her problem with Democratic insiders. Publicly, they praise Hillary as a candidate of exceptional experience in government and one who is likely to harvest bushels of votes from people eager to elect the first female president. Privately, they fret about a recent Quinnipiac poll in which 54 percent of Americans say Clinton is not honest or trustworthy. Among independents, that number hits 61 percent. “Candidates distrusted by that many people can win the White House, but it leaves no margin for error or another big scandal,” one Democratic former officeholder admitted to me.
54 percent of Americans say Clinton is not honest or trustworthy.
That’s why so many Democrats hope Hillary Clinton will be challenged by a more formidable rival than the former governors or senators who are currently lining up to oppose her: Martin O’Malley, Lincoln Chafee, and Jim Webb. Senator Elizabeth Warren, an economic populist to the left of Hillary, has steadfastly declined to run for president. But each new scandal or Hillary campaign stumble could fuel the pressure for her to enter the race. Most Democratic strategists believe that only a woman could seize the nomination from Mrs. Clinton, given Hillary’s name ID and campaign war chest. In 2008, Barack Obama would have had no hope against Hillary, despite his formidable campaign skills, if he hadn’t also had a history-making card to play as the first African-American man with a realistic chance of becoming president.
What Democrats really worry about is that no one will beat the Clinton Machine for the Democratic nomination — it will survive and go on to become an inviting target for Republicans in the general-election battle.
Focus groups and polls show that voters are most interested in finding candidates they judge as authentic — leaders who don’t play the normal political games. For Hillary Clinton, that represents a challenge. Her campaign is emphasizing her desire to help “everyday” people, while at the same time the press is starting to reveal the Clinton Foundation as a lucrative slush fund for the Clintons and their friends. In some years, the foundation spends $500 million, but overhead, salaries, travel, and undisclosed “other” expenses eat up a huge chunk of that, leaving perhaps 15 percent for actual charitable work.
Investigative journalist Peter Schweizer, whose book Clinton Cash is due for release on May 5, as well as Pulitzer Prize–winning Jo Becker and and Mike McIntire of the New York Times, have raised new questions. Their research points to a disturbing pattern of foreign contributions and enormous speaking fees for Bill Clinton that appear to be timed to coincide with preferential actions the State Department took while Mrs. Clinton was secretary of state.
Hillary Clinton has dismissed the reporting as “distractions and attacks.” But she did find time last week to suddenly call for a truce in what she sees as an increasingly hostile political climate. “I am tired of the mean-spiritedness in politics,” she told voters in Claremont, N.H. “Enough with the attacks and the anger, let’s find answers together and figure out what we’re going to do.”
Hillary Clinton could, of course, put all the concerns about her family foundation and its seedy dealings to rest if she were to release all the e-mails concerning the foundation that were in her private e-mail account — the one she used, in violation of explicit government rules, to conduct government business. But she has already announced that the e-mails she viewed as “private” have been deleted and her server scrubbed. She has yet to answer questions about whether e-mails that concerned the Clinton Foundation during her tenure at the State Department were “private,” in her estimation. Because they are now gone, we will probably never know.
Democrats privately believe that the Clintons can recover from the e-mail and foundation scandals because it’s unlikely reporters will ever find a “smoking gun” that explicitly links foreign donations with public actions. But Democrats also know that other scandals may soon be unearthed. And if they do, not only will Hillary Clinton prove unable to establish herself as an “authentic” candidate, she also will establish herself as a pro at conducting an “authentic” cover-up.
Hillary made a great sacrifice when she handed over the nomination to a nobody from Kenya last time. She is not about to let the party bosses get away with it again.
And Bill has his own ideas about what to do in his spare time in the WH - all brand new interns!.
Hillary passed over? Ain’t gonna happen without a very public, knock-down, drag-out fight. Not to mention bloody.
according the Bruce Jenner....she looks just fabulous..
Thank you!! Further Permutations to follow!!
You touch on an interesting point. Namely, that the left will go with a moonbat Democrat in 2016 who gets defeated.
However, with continuing economic problems, and continuing foreign problems such as the Middle East, the liberals will blame any such issues on whatever Republican president wins in 2016. And in the meantime, groom other candidates and be set up for 2020 and beyond.
The liberals are thinking long term, I’m sure. I could imagine them sacrificing the 2016 presidential election by dumping Hillary, if they thought it would help them in the 2018 midterms, or 2020 presidential election.
I thought so...
Your Sam Adams creeps closer and closer, M. M.
Watching Fox News Sunday today, I felt a slight twinge of sympathy (Very slight) for Lanny Davis. After over twenty years, he is still their out front spear catcher.
Haven't they already? 
Many D’s might vote for Bill again but almost none want Hillary The D party is spoiled. The R party elite gave them the last two elections They’re hoping for a third gift of the Oral Office
A died-in-the-wool liberal voter who has never voted Republican said, “I wish the Democrats could nominate anybody by Hillary.” This was gratuitous as I never talk politics around him. (He’s white, male and 65.)
There’s no smoking gun because she broke the law and deleted the emails she had on a private server! Justice isn’t supposed to work that way, that the criminal gets to destroy known potential evidence which could convict them, and say they can’t be prosecuted for lack of evidence! Good grief!
True, but this isn’t Kansas anymore.
Usually with the Clintons that is absolutely their go-to war room strategy #101— get it out early and forget it. But this time they are facing off against their own media sycophants; NYT, WaPo, Newsweek and the buzzing of new electronic media, 24/7.
No one loves Hillary and this is not the good ole days anymore. I don’t think she can be president and maybe not the nomination, if just someone reasonably in fashion for the Democrats would emerge.
If it comes down to the Hildabeast vs. any Repubican, the media will looooooooooooooooooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeee her.
I don’t think that they would care if she was leftist enough, I don’t think that the bad blood between Hillary and Obozo is ideological. I think it’s more personal, and ValJar is finishing off the “Payback List” before Obozo leaves office. What could “pay back” Hillary better than ruining her last real shot at the White House?
Consider the real reason.
Let the ridiculous lady run and nominate her for the Dem ticket.
Her emails are not released until Sept 2016.
A couple of billion dollars has just been wasted.
Let’s let the moonbats chew on that.....
EXCELLENT point. Superior thinking, there.
Everything D’Souza ever uttered is true, in spades, but one stupid campaign donation and it’s the slammer.
Thanks for mentioning it.
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