Obama's Gift to Clinton

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  • subterFUSE
    Gold Gabber
    • Nov 2006
    • 850

    Obama's Gift to Clinton

    Next installment of the newsletter:

    OBAMA'S GIFT TO CLINTON

    By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN

    December 22, 2006 -- Barack Obama isn't a mortal threat to Hillary Clinton's White House hopes - his potential candidacy may be just the gift she needs to assure her of the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

    Having the right opponent is one of the essentials to electoral success. In a primary, the right foe is someone who is strong enough to keep anybody else from gaining serious traction, but not strong enough to win. Obama seems to fit the bill.

    The 1996 Republican race saw something similar, Gen. Colin Powell flirted with running throughout '95 and early '96. That was a big boost for Sen. Bob Dole, about as flawed a candidate for a party nomination as one can imagine - because it made it nearly impossible for anyone else to get much attention, let alone raise funds. Candidates who might have mounted serious challenges, such as Gov. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, wilted for lack of funds and attention. In the end, the closest thing to a serious challenger to Dole was the one option with even less charisma: Steve Forbes.

    Consciously or not, Obama is doing the same for Hillary. While the media endlessly promotes him and his ratings rise, other candidates are frozen. They can't raise money and they can't get commitments.

    But soon people will settle down and ask themselves if a freshman senator, with only two years of national office under his belt, can really be president. In the middle of a war, are we going to put a man with absolutely no foreign policy or armed services oversight credentials into the White House?

    No way. All the media adulation is merely setting Obama up for a nasty fall.

    Just ask Howard Dean how it works. He was golden from September to November of '03, but crashed when the pressure got serious in December. Even his campaign manager conceded that "this guy isn't ready for prime time."

    Obama's not ready, either. But he is able to choke off other challengers to Hillary. Already, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh has joined Virginia ex-Gov. Mark Warner in dropping out. Ex-Sen. John Edwards finds himself going backward in the polls, the momentum he gained during his wife's book tour slipping away amid Obama-mania. Even Al Gore may have to think twice about getting into the race with Obama sucking up all the oxygen in the room.

    Hillary should send Barack a big thank-you present for Christmas.
  • toasty
    Sir Toastiness
    • Jun 2004
    • 6585

    #2
    Re: Obama's Gift to Clinton

    Originally posted by subterFUSE
    Next installment of the newsletter:
    But soon people will settle down and ask themselves if a freshman senator, with only two years of national office under his belt, can really be president. In the middle of a war, are we going to put a man with absolutely no foreign policy or armed services oversight credentials into the White House?
    Well, Bush had no foreign policy or armed services oversight credentials when he was elected, and everything has worked out just fine. Oh wait -- never mind...

    Obama is kinda in a trick box when it comes to his experience or lack thereof. Obviously, you like to see someone who's been around the block a few times in such a high post. On the other hand, the Senate is the wrong place for a presidential hopeful to spend an extended period of time, because the horse-trading that inevitably goes on and the pork-filled bills ensure that there's plenty of fodder for negative campaign ads.

    As long as he can demonstrate that he will go out of his way to fill his cabinet with bright, intelligent people and avoid the cronyism that has plagued this administration, I think his lack of experience is something voters will forgive if he's otherwise on all fours. In fact, if I were his campaign advisor, I'd probably recommend that he make his desire to build a strong cabinet of qualified, free-thinking people a centerpiece of his campaign -- lots of people are fed up with Bush's practice of surrounding yourself with 'yes men' and rewarding loyalty but ignoring performance, and believe that it has contributed to putting us in the position we're in. Highlight that plan, and you take some of the fire out of the "inexperienced" battle cry while giving the voters something they want to see.

    Comment

    • rubyraks
      DUDERZ get a life!!!
      • Jun 2004
      • 5341

      #3
      Re: Obama's Gift to Clinton

      and to add, one of the most ironic things about bush's cabinet is that he campaigned on building an intelligent and corporate management style cabinet...we just didn't realize he intended to implement all the cronyism that those corporate boards entail without any of the accountability.
      "Work like you don't need the money.
      Love like you've never been hurt.
      Dance like nobody's watching.
      Sing like nobody's listening.
      Live like it's Heaven on Earth."

      Comment

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