Letters to the Editor
FredrickBernanke
Published Letters: 170 Editor's Choice: 8
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Debate Aftermath: The Status Quo Ante
[Read the article: No Hail Mary for Hillary]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The debate was lively in a cordial sort of way; was poorly moderated; displayed that the articulateness of the dem contenders far exceeds the group that ran for the republican nomination. But there wasn't anything there to make a voter jump the fence and vote for the other gal or guy.
In short, Hillary was Hillary; Barack was Barack.
Hillary's going to have to adjust to the fact that she is going to lose. The lose will still give her a 2-1 election record...and even Bill had a few election setbacks on his way to the top.
Here's why she lost:
The Hillary campaign, sensing that the public might be a tad queasy about her qualifications to be president, initially presented her as the candidate: "Ready From Day One.'
Interestingly, the public seemed to express little doubt that Hillary was indeed presidential timber---the issue of her readiness for the job never surfaced in any significant venue.
But relying on her past, by looking backward, she allowed Mr. O to have the future all to himself for most of the campaign. Hillary became a relic, an anachronism, entangled for better or worse in what was. Barack became, almost by default, the candidate of what lies ahead.
Hillary, with a little more difficulty, could have assumed that mantle from day one, but the concerns within her camp about voters even accepting the legitimacy of a female candidate led her to tackle what turned out to be a straw-man.
She ran (for a long time) a campaign based on yesterdays; Barack didn't have the multitude of yesterdays that did Hillary. So he ran on tomorrows...and for most people, tomorrows hold more hope than yesterdays.
She's walked where no woman has walked before! She acquitted herself well, taking the blows, showing grace under fire, tenaciousness, even a hint of charm and a formidable knowledge of the issues. Win or lose, like it or not, Hillary Clinton has become an historic figure (with the bad luck of competing against another historic figure in Barack Obama.)
And Hillary has many tomorrows still ahead. She's about half Nader's age, isn't she?
[Note: I am not a supporter of hers only because Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton would have been a mockery of our democratic election process.]
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HRC: Don't Drop Out, But Change Your Goal [You're Smart Enough]
[Read the article: Should Hillary Clinton drop out?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hillary's going to have to adjust to the fact that she is going to lose. The lose will still give her a 2-1 election record...and even Bill had a few election setbacks on his way to the top.
Here's why she lost:
The Hillary campaign, sensing that the public might be a tad queasy about her qualifications to be president, initially presented her as the candidate: "Ready From Day One.'
Interestingly, the public seemed to express little doubt that Hillary was indeed presidential timber---the issue of her readiness for the job never surfaced in any significant venue.
But relying on her past, by looking backward, she allowed Mr. O to have the future all to himself for most of the campaign. Hillary became a relic, an anachronism, entangled for better or worse in what was. Barack became, almost by default, the candidate of what lies ahead.
Hillary, with a little more difficulty, could have assumed that mantle from day one, but the concerns within her camp about voters even accepting the legitimacy of a female candidate led her to tackle what turned out to be a straw-man.
She ran (for a long time) a campaign based on yesterdays; Barack didn't have the multitude of yesterdays that did Hillary. So he ran on tomorrows...and for most people, tomorrows hold more hope than yesterdays.
She's walked where no woman has walked before! She acquitted herself well, taking the blows, showing grace under fire, tenaciousness, even a hint of charm and a formidable knowledge of the issues. Win or lose, like it or not, Hillary Clinton has become an historic figure (with the bad luck of competing against another historic figure in Barack Obama.)
And Hillary has many tomorrows still ahead. She's about half Nader's age, isn't she?
She should no more withdraw from the race than a football team that finds itself down 35-0 at the end of the first half should therefore refuse to come out of the lockeroom to play the second.
What she should do, however, is re-goal her campaign to a desideratum other than winning the nomination.
Use the FREE airtime and media coverage to accomplish something. What should the goal(s) be? I haven't thought that through. But she would be nuts to waste all the free exposure she will get by remaining in the race and crawl back to the virtual anonymity of the Senate.
[Note: I am not a supporter of hers only because Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton would have been a mockery of our democratic election process.]
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@RJforHRC---Now...She Can Fly.
[Read the article: Should Hillary Clinton drop out?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Check out the website www.tradesports.com to see what the real score is (and, remember, it's not halftime in the race, it's 4th quarter with maybe 7:37 left to go and HRC down 42-21.)
She can't win, but she can still have near-center stage for months if she stays in the race.
If I am cleaver enough to figure that out, she sure as hell is...and so is her husband.
But noe she needs new, fresh, no-baggage people around her for advice, not the same bunch that lead her to defeat; maybe even people who are NOT professional politicians, PR flacks, lobbyists, poll takers.
She's already made history. Now, free of the earthly pressure of winning or losing, she can fly.