Hillary Clinton was in Florida for fundraisers last week (I missed the two events in Miami, darnit -- too busy...) and she's raising so much money for her walkaway Senate race that the inevitable question is being heard: What's all that dough for if not for 2008?
Well, I think she's going to run. In fact, I'm one of a dwindling number of Democrats who actually think she can win. Many others are urging her to stay out, fearing she'll rout the primary but lose the general election.
Drudge is reporting that Dubya and his brain think Hillary will run, and that she can easily be beaten in the generals. Actually, the reporting isn't exactly his own:
Reporter Bill Sammon, who joins the WASHINGTON EXAMINER as Senior White House Correspondent, is set to launch his new book, STRATEGERY.
In the Book, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned, Rove is quoted on the-record and is unleashed on Hillary:
There is a “brittleness about her” that could prove a weakness in November 2008.
But Rove added that the “hard-driving” Clinton will easily vanquish Democratic primary rivals like New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, who are merely “preening for the vice presidential slot.”
President Bush cautioned that Hillary Clinton should not be underestimated.
“She is a smart person, and obviously has got a lot of experience,” the president said in an exclusive interview for the book STRATEGERY, which is being published Monday. “It is helpful, to a certain extent, to have seen the presidency and presidential campaigns firsthand.”
Why the consensus on the left and right? Because she's polarizing.
Right. Well, guess who else is polarizing? Here's a hint -- he's in the White House ... for a second term...
Polarizing isn't what loses you elections. Polarizing means you have a fervent base, and that you also have a fervent opposition. The only question is, which one is larger.
And the other question is one of marketing. Hillary has about 100 percent first name only name recognition among U.S. voters. And the power of the Clinton name, should she even need to use it, is equal to or even better than the brand name "Bush."
Can she win? Of course she can. What Hillary needs is three things: money, strong base support, and the power of inevitabilility. If she can be marketed as the inevitable president, she can win. (If she's smart enough to put an African-American on the ticket with her, she's in even better shape with the base. Right Barack Obama? And remember, Dubya and Rove have already taught us that you don't need much of the other side's base. You need your own to come out strong, and you need a solid gorund operation. The other side likely won't be with you, so leave them alone. As for the "centrists," they're only really a problem for Hillary if she faces John McCain, and in that case, her campaign's job will be to define him as a Bush clone -- which, conveniently enough, he basically IS -- he'll escalate the Iraq war, he's a neocon on the Middle East and so could start another one, and he's sucking up to Dubya so hard his lips are purple. And then there's his stupid little snit at Barack...)
Second, the ones doing the marketing if Hillary runs in '08 won't be the extreme lefties who love to hate her, or the timid Dems who are scared shitless that she'll make people angry. (Perish the thought!) It will be her inside team -- a group who know how to win (Carville, Begala, et. al.), how to raise money, and how to run like you don't give a good goddamn what Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have to say.
Third, she'll have a guy named Bill advising her. 'Nuff said.
Hillary can win if she runs. The left and the right had better get used to it.
<%
dim done
done = request.form("done")
if done = "" then
done = "No"
%>
Tell a friend
<%
Else
if request.form("done") = "Yes" then
'sets variables
dim email, sendmail
email = request.form("email")
Set sendmail = Server.CreateObject("CDONTS.NewMail")
'put the webmaster address here
sendmail.From = "webmaster@aspbasics.com"
'The mail is sent to the address entered in the previous page.
sendmail.To = email
'Enter the subject of your mail here
sendmail.Subject = "Check out this website"
'send a specific page or send a site url
dim url
'url = Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
url = "http://www.aspbasics.net"
'This is the content of the message.
sendmail.Body = "Site recommendation from a friend!" & _
vbCrlf & vbCrlf & "A friend has sent you this email and thought you would should check out this site." & _
vbCrlf & url & vbCrlf
'this sets mail priority.... 0=low 1=normal 2=high
sendmail.Importance = 1
sendmail.Send 'Send the email!
response.redirect Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
'Response.write ("Sent to ") & email
End if
End if
%>
"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
