Many of us thought both parties would have their nominations locked up by now. A few things to remember here. The MSM and most of the blogosphere (including little ole me) have predicted a final momentum shift that takes Senator Clinton out of the race. But then most of the media was predicting the death of her campaign the eve of New Hampshire and she managed to get off the mat that point.
On the morning that could bring the decisive day of this nominating process. I wanted to drop a few thoughts on Ms. Clinton.
Try to imagine for a moment that the young woman named Hillary Rodham never married Bill. Imagine that simply on her own merits as an intelligent, well versed policy wonk she took he Ivy League education and community activism for feminist causes and rose the political ranks of her home state...Illinois. Imagine the media didn't have reason to be suspicious of every move her campaign makes. That much like they have for Senator Obama, her points and campaign manuevers are taken at face value. Imagine there had been no White Water or Monica scandal. Imagine instead that she was simply who she is, a smart, driven woman.
Would this election have turned out differently? I recognize its still far from over. And while it is impossible to quantify all of the advantages and dissadvantages of the mega-watt name Bill Clinton on his wife's campaign, it is worth noting and questioning-Did we judge her on her merits alone? Of course we couldn't. To judge Senator Clinton and pretend that President Clinton somehow wasn't there would be naive. His very presence in her campaign altered the choice of advisers and political allies. But more than anything Bill Clinton's involvement in the 2008 campaign handicapped her in one very critical way. She could not be the change candidate in a change election. While she is a relatively young Senator, her time as what some see as "first lady-in-chief" made it impossible for them to see her as an agent of change.
The Youtube clip below is a ghastly 9:36 long and I expect no one to watch the whole thing, but look at the faces at surround her. Madeline Albright, Bill Clinton, Wesley Clark, these faces are all of the past, and that set the tone against the Obama-phenom.
It's too early to carve Senator Clinton's headstone, but one wonders...if she was running as Senator Rodham...might this all have been different?
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