[1]The wire services, most notably in my reading list the Associated Press [2], that Hillary Clinton has jumped into the race. Surely, somewhere in America, someone is saying “damn, I never saw that coming”. Likely, it would be somebody that would vote for … ummm… her.
I noted last evening, Barak Obama’s bid for the Presidency… or at least, that’s what he calls it, and in those notes on a made mention of the idea that he would likely end up as Hillary Clinton’s running mate.
I notice that Captain Ed [3] is linking the same story, albeit from different sources, and notices that right off the bat her people are just sounding too stupid for words:
“I’m not just starting a campaign, though, I’m beginning a conversation with you, with America,” she said. “Let’s talk. Let’s chat. The conversation in Washington has been just a little one-sided lately, don’t you think?”
Well, yes, as a matter of fact I do think it’s been a little one sided. All to your side. As Ed points out;
The Democrats have hardly been silent during Bush’s six years in office. They have been shrill, hysterical, and well-covered by the press and bloggers on both sides of the partisan divide. What they haven’t been, until the last midterms, is convincing.
True. Moreover, it can fairly be said they were not tremendously convincing this time, either.
You see, here’s the problem: The Democrats have, since 1992, had a serious hatred problem. Not so much with the Republicans, but with each other. The only means by which they have been able to marshal their forces is to put them all under the banner of hatred for George W. Bush. Thus do we have the automatic rejection of whatever Bush says, even if the Democrats had said it themselves less than two years before…
As an example:
The escalation of troops in Iraq. Two years ago the Democrats were screaming for it. Now the president wants to increase the number of troops as the Democrats counseled two years ago but the Democrats are a solidly against it. Why? Simple; because Bush wants it that way. They can at no time be seemed to agree with their nemesis, even if what their nemesis is suggesting is unquestionably the correct thing to do.
I submit to you, that hatred is the only are reason they managed to win at all in this most recent election. It worked for Hitler; Name and demonize a common enemy.
However, without that lightning rod, they are going to be falling back into their hatred for each other. One need only read sites like the Democratic underground to know this for certain; The people within the Democratic party are dramatically split .. far more so than they would have you believe. The cause of a goodly amount of that hatred were Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Her running for office now, is going to recreate that split.
With predictable results, in ’08