October 12, 2007
Hey Democrats -- Remember When You Liked Hillary Clinton?
Is it 1996 again? Al Gore's going to run in the next presidential election, and Democrats like Hillary Rodham Clinton!
Reality check: Gore is probably not going to enter the 2008 presidential contest, despite what a group of speculationists would have you believe. As for Clinton, she's surged ahead of her rivals in Iowa and New Hampshire, where primary victories would all but clinch the nomination for the former first lady. Her negatives are still high, indicating she's the front-runner because of the perception she's best equipped to beat the eventual Republican nominee.
"It's not as cut-and-dry as, I used to hate her but now I love her," liberal advocate Fred Gooltz told the New York Observer recently. "It's a complicated mix of feelings."
The headline of that article, "Democrats Sigh, Begin to Yield to the Force of Hillary," probably won't land on a Clinton campaign ICYMI press release. But it's a trend (subscription) that could effectively hand her the nod.
The nail in Barack Obama's and John Edwards' '08 coffins may just be anti-war icon George McGovern's endorsement of Clinton, which led The Nation's John Nichols to observe that the Democratic left seems to already be swallowing its anger at the New York senator for her initial support of the Iraq war.
It's a little strange to talk about Clinton in these terms, when she was such a rock star of the left not so long ago. The former Goldwater Girl has evolved into a formidable politician, winning converts from the left and right through her comprehensive platforms and commanding debate performances.
That the left fell out of love with her can be attributed to a number of things, not least of which is the centrism that's emerged during her time in the Senate. But Clinton's straddled the middle since way back. Moreover, her positions on social issues are arguably compatible with liberals' concerns. Don't believe us? C-SPAN's Campaign Network is spotlighting a 1996 Brian Lamb interview with the then-first lady today. Click here to watch it, and remember a time when Democrats truly *hearted* Hillary Clinton.
Posted at 12:45 PM
Posted to:
Barack Obama, Campaigns, Democrats, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, WH 2008
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