I run in some political circles (none official but also none the less passionate), and everyone keeps singing the praises of Hillary Clinton as the Presidential candidate to beat in 2016. Since we’re only in 2013 and we haven’t even witnessed the potential bloodbath of the 2014 midterms, I’ll reserve judgment until then. However, I won’t deny Hillary’s enduring strength even after the Democrat base handed her a very close defeat in the 2008 primary.
Will she run in 2016? Inquiring minds want to know.
My biggest fear is this constant American illusion that we are going to elect someone who will save the world and…unicorns will run free once again. I heard it all when Obama was elected and now those same ultra-liberal people are constantly turning to me and saying, “I am so disappointed in Obama.” Really? You sound like you raised him from birth and he ended up dropping out of college or something. Perhaps they are just saying it to be fashionable, who knows? I guess I’ve been pretty content with the winding down of two wars, a gradually improving economy (although I’d like a faster recovery too), expansion of gay rights, and the fact that no one will ever again have to go through what my dad endured by being denied health insurance because of preexisting conditions. I think those are all very good things, and I am willing to give credit where it’s due (i.e. the Democratic Party and maybe 1 or 2 Republicans who voted with them). That said, of course I am not thrilled with potential privacy violations or the toothless Wall Street reform. But ultimately, we elect a Congress and a President and neither has absolute sway.
I have never had lofty expectations for any politician I have voted for because I know that the world is a complex place and all I do is fill out an oval on the ballot to put a brain in the Oval Office. Heck, if they can deliver on 6 out of 10 items on my political laundry list, I’m happy as a clam. I never expect perfection from a profession that potentially requires smiling at the podium while you just gave an order to kill 3,000 people moments before. It’s a duplicitous job and you really have to make the best choice you think possible when you’re in the voting booth.
So I always tell my friends salivating at the mouth over a potential Hillary Clinton Presidency, “Remember, she’ll probably do one or two things that pisses you off.”
However, I do think she’d be a totally bad ass President.
I admire people who take adversity, let it *try* to destroy them, and then come back even stronger. It’s a rare talent that (so far) has only been mastered by Madonna and cockroaches.
Lexicon Ninja 