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Read other letters about this article
I usually ignore the posts that complain about Salon's allegedly blatant ongoing support for an HC candidacy, but this time I'm writing one. This article really has gone too far. Its fawning adulation is one thing, but it doesn't even contain the content to qualify it as a cover story. Worse, what content there is contradicts its hypothesis:
"When pressed, her advisors will grudgingly admit that she does come across as stiff in formal speeches. But they argue that she excels in town meetings with voters."
That may work in New Hampshire, but what happens when it comes time to win a general election? Will she hold town meetings in every precinct in every state in the nation? Formal speeches are the bread and butter of the campaign trail--and when you are carrying as much baggage as the former first lady, you need that skill very badly.
The reason that we get excited about the charisma of an Obama or Edwards is that CHARISMA SELLS--not to we party faithful who will vote for another Clinton, a Kerry or a Yellow dog should that be the party's choice, but to the UNDECIDEDS and swing voters who make or break an election.
Not only is Mrs. Clinton a hard sell because of her stiff and somewhat chilly formal speeches, but--more importantly--she already has as much support as she is likely to muster. That is, for every voter, like the North Irish immigrant in this article, who will vote for her because he can't distinguish between her and her husband, there is a Mr. Clinton and/or Mrs. Clinton hater who will vote against her for the same reason. If you look at the polls, you will notice that Mrs. Clinton consistently ranks very high in "support", very high in "oppose" and extremely low in "consider" or "unsure" (go to Wikipedia right now and look at "Opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2008"). That is, the swing voters already have their minds made up, and she doesn't have the numbers to make it. And that is before the inevitable swiftboating, character assassination, manufactured scandals and other dirty tricks of the GOP.
People, when will you understand? It doesn't matter what kind of president she would make. The point is that she could never get there in the first place.
