Yesterday we discussed how Texas Senator Ted Cruz was suddenly being discussed by the media, all presuming he runs for President. Hillary Clinton has also been the focal point of the media during the last week. Conventional wisdom has Hillary running for the Democrat nomination and winning handily. Of course, entering 2008 the conventional wisdom was the same and obviously things didn’t turn out that way. A lot can happen over the course of the next two years. This includes Hillary deciding not to run. We all know why Hillary wants to be President. But there any number of reasons why she might decide not to run.
Bill Clinton’s scandals are old news for most of us. However there’s a whole new generation that wasn’t privy to Bubba’s bimbo eruptions. As such they also aren’t privy to Hillary’s reaction and involvement in those scandals. Let’s face it, Hillary gave her husband a pass while unleashing the hounds on his whores. Her desire to take down and publicly smear these women is well documented. So is her involvement in other scandals such as Whitewater and cattle futures. For those of us older than 30, much of this will be old news. But for the next generation of young people these scandals are brand new and their reaction to Hillary’s behavior may not be as understanding.
Hillary has a major Benghazi problem. She was in charge of providing security to the Benghazi consulate. When the consulate asked for more security, Hillary failed provide it. She told Congress “what difference does it make now?” Those words will haunt her. She’ll be attacked for them by other Democrats running for the nomination and you can bet the Republicans will play ad after ad with that footage. Her ability to properly respond when the country’s interests are on the line is highly questionable. Benghazi will cause a lot of people to question whether she’s capable.
Taboo to discuss is whether Hillary is too old to run. If elected she’ll be 69 when she takes office. If she stays eight years she’ll be 77 when she finally retires from public life. Ronald Reagan was the same age when he was elected and likely had early onset Alzheimer’s during his last year or two in office. That of course doesn’t preclude Hillary from running of course. However during her last year as Secretary of State she looked and sounded exhausted. Hillary has had some health problems, so has Bill and she needs him if she wants to be a successful President. She may very well decide that at her age she and in her health she doesn’t want to invest the time.
Any of these could be reasons why Hillary doesn’t run for President. It might not be worth it to her anymore, she may be enjoying her retirement. Perhaps she has an eye on the White House for her daughter Chelsea. Odds are Hillary runs for President of course. But at 68 going on 69 would it shock anyone if she decided bimbo eruptions, Benghazi, not having achieved anything significant in her own right and so on wasn’t worth defending and arguing about? Hillary is politically ambitious, there’s no doubt about that. She’s also, like Bill, obsessed with legacy. The Clinton brand would take a hit if she loses again. Their legacy may be in Chelsea. If Hillary recognizes this she isn’t going to run for President.
Leo McNeil 