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I liked HRC as First Lady and feel that the only reason her health care initiative didn't get off the ground was because she/they were not prepared for (who could be?) the kind of right-wing media onslaught they'd face in that instance or later. (Why she/they never answered in simple terms ... i.e., "No, it doesn't." the line the right-wing scare tactics trumpeted over and over about how the government would be telling you which doctor you'd be going to (and they're at it again with contemporary universal health care discussions), is beyond me, but I digress.
Anyway, I like Hillary less now than I did then in part because I really don't sense that she's sincere. Ambition, even with smarts, and no heart, just doesn't cut it. Essentially, she and Condi seem to me to be cut from the same cloth. Being well-prepared, although a nice quality, is something I think we should frankly expect in our candidates. If anything, I think Hillary is over-prepared ... or rather, I always get the sense from her of being lectured to rather than listened to. To be fair, I imagine much of what I have heard of her has been edited by our right-wing media in the most unflattering light. Nonetheless, there are a handful of truly progressive female politicians I would choose to support over Hillary if they were to get into the race. I do think having a woman as President would be a good thing, I just don't think Hillary (or Condi!) is the answer. Frankly, both Hillary and Condi seem just like the posturing guys we're all sick of.
Anyway, my fear is that it will all be a moot point. I hate to be pessimistic, but remember how the 2000 Election (and 2004 too) played out in the press, both before, during and after the election? The Democrats could run Jesus himself against the Republicans' Lucifer and who do you think the media slant (not to mention the electronic voting machines) would favor? I'm not saying it's impossible for the Democrats to take the White House in '08, I'm just saying the liberal activist community must expect that what the media presents (and does not present) will bear no relationship to the truth. Whoever the Democratic candidate ends up being will need all of the online spin-correcting help they can get.
And P.S.: Is the Democrat-controlled Congress doing anything about election reform? Not financing, but the mechanics/standardization/security of our actual voting process? At this point it should be a HIGH PRIORITY.
