Why can't Hillary win? (Kerry related)

[politicasista]

WARNING: Snarky comments included:

But Why Can't Hillary Win?
Sen. Clinton's electability problem.
By Jacob Weisberg
Posted Friday, July 29, 2005, at 1:39 PM PT

Don't like Hillary? Join the club!

Political insiders mostly agree: Despite being an early front-runner for the 2008 Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton faces long odds of ever being elected president. But if she can't win, why can't she?

One facile argument, often voiced by Hillary-loathers on the right, is that she's too far to the left. The "real" Hillary is closer to Howard Dean than Bill Clinton, a recent piece in the National Review asserted. Wrong! An unhedged supporter of the war in Iraq, Sen. Clinton stands at the hawkish, interventionist extreme of her party on foreign policy. Despite her pandering vote against CAFTA, she's a confirmed free-trader and deficit hawk. On the cultural issues that often undermine Democrats, she seeks common ground, sometimes with flat-earth conservatives like Rick Santorum, and has been nattering about the "tragedy" of abortion. Even Hillary's notorious government takeover of health care was misconstrued as an ultra-lib stance. In opting for a mixed, private-public managed-competition plan, the then-first lady was repudiating the single-payer model long favored by paleo-liberals. Her plan was flawed in many ways, but it wasn't what Ted Kennedy wanted.

snip:

With the American electorate so closely divided, it would be foolish to say that Hillary, or any other potential nominee, couldn't win. And a case can be made that the first woman who gets elected president will need to, as Hillary does, radiate more toughness than warmth. But in American elections, affection matters. Democrats lost in 2000 and 2004 with candidates Main Street regarded as elitist and aloof, to a candidate voters related to personally. Hillary isn't as obnoxious as Gore or as off-putting as Kerry. But she's got the same damn problem, and it can't be fixed.

http://slate.msn.com/id/2123636/nav/tap1/?GT1=6772

[Mass]

1. Do we really need slate's ineptia here.

We know that they dont like Kerry. What did you expect?

And NO, Kerry is not elitist, nor is he off-putting. This is the last thing I needed today.

[sandnsea]

2. And Hillary IS likeable

In that voter likeable way. I don't like her politically, but I wouldn't even say she isn't likeable. I guess it takes longer to convince the public up is down than I thought, they're really starting early on Hillary.

[politicasista]

4. Sorry Mass

I didn't know Slate was right wing. Honest. :shrug:

[paulk]

3. actually, I think Hillary CAN win...

:hide:

[sandnsea]

5. It would be SO UGLY

Don't you think? My ears hurt when I just start to think of what they'll throw at her. And I have to defend her for what? More free trade, more regulation of "bad" behavior, more sliding backwards on our rights. Blech. I'm not sure if she can win or not. But she doesn't have the support of the base they think she does, Independent men would easily choose McCain, and I know as many Democratic women who hate her as like her. She'd have to have the media on her side to win. It would just be an ugly ugly fight.

[Fla4kerry]

6. The real reason why Hillary won't win

is the baggage from Pres Bill Clinton.No matter how much the Dem's like him there is a WHOLE lot of people that do not like him, and if we thought Kerry took allot of smear campaign wait till the media starts on her all the time. No candidate will be able to come out with a win, it's just not the base who puts the candidate over the top. No incumbent will be a very interesting race, unless Chaney leaves early and Bushie chooses his selecton to be VP for the rest of the term..so there fore a Repub already trained and willing..God forbid but will probably happen esp with poll numbers for repucks tanking.

[paulk]

7. but the MSM WANTS ugly...

:hi:

actually, I made a pretty long reply to this earlier today, but my internet crapped out and I lost it. Comcast sucks, BTW.

I'm not feeling coherent enough right now to expand on this.

:beer:

[wisteria]

8. I didn't respond to the Hillary comments, but I did comment

on the discussion board, countering his comments about Kerry. Elitist and off-putting? Thats just bullsh*t and I told him so, politely of course.