Friday, January 04, 2008

Inevitability Is Gone, But Hillary Still Has Money To Burn

THE CLINTON SPIN MACHINE FIRES UP FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE

The horrific third place finish that the LFR predicted two months ago became very real yesterday even before Iowans moved in droves to caucus. When Clinton's campaign began lowering the bar so starkly and columnists began criticizing her hubris in even trying in Iowa.

To political junkies this loss was less than shocking and doesn't mean her bid to be the first female president is in the trash. But, to the other 300 million-plus Americans, the enevitability of her campaign took a a huge hit. Just like the candidate herself, the reaction will be polarizing. Either it confirms suspicions that the country is not ready for a woman in the White House or it will be a call to arms for women and allies of the Clinton dynasty.

Clinton's advantage is that her coffers can go deep into Super Duper Tuesday on Feb. 5 even if she doesn't win much. It also could give rise to her campaign using her husband's "Comeback Kid" moniker in either New Hampshire or South Carolina. Do not underestimate the Clinton's ability to spin anything.

Remember, Bill Clinton lost by eight points in the 1992 New Hampshire primary to Paul Tsongas and was still able to claim victory.

Her candidacy took a major hit, but she's the only candidate to could significantly take on water and still continue sailing. She's not done and, in the end, the inevitable turnover in her campaign will bring a more steady and cogent message.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hillary has much more deeply-rooted problems. Opposition to Hillary isn't there because we dislike a woman candidate, it's b/c we dislike Hillary in particular, and especially abhor her stands on some important issues.

Iraq was bad, but we can look past that in our neighborhood. We can never look past the way she's so anxious to give already stressed American workers the shaft. Especially those in the knowledge industries.

Hillary wants to almost double the number of H1B visas given to people from Russia, India, Pakistan and similar places to take US tech jobs on the cheap. Then outsource whatever good-paying jobs are left, out to Delhi or Bangalore in India.

Anyone working within this field knows how financially awful it's become. People who train to become computer programmers or engineers spend over a decade acquiring their training at universities where tuition sends them deeply into debt. To invest such massive time and money in these careers, engineers and scientists must have a reasonable expectation of landing a good-paying job afterward, otherwise nobody will subject themselves to the process.

H1-B and outsourcing kill that incentive, which is why so few Americans are studying the sciences or engineering anymore. Even worse, those already trained in these fields-- burdened by educational debt-- are now multiply screwed, since people from India or Russia (who don't have anything like US educational debt) are able to come in and push US tech wages way down, while sending jobs overseas to Bangalore.

Hillary stupidly supports this corrupt program, which is why we'll never, ever vote for her, even if the Democrats nominate her. We'd all vote for Edwards or especially Obama in a moment, they're much more in tune with these problems. But we'll never vote for Hillary. In fact, we'd cross the aisle and vote for Huckabee if Hillary were nominated-- he's much more in tune with these issues than Hillary is. The Democratic Establishment should take this to heart.