About 20 months ago, Usedcarsalesman wrote a piece on John Kerry in 2008. Recently, Kerry announced that he has decided not to run in 2008 (read: Democratic leaders approached Kerry and told him they were backing Hillary this go around, so he shouldn’t waste his time). This is unfortunate for Kerry. But, hey, leaders like Nixon and Reagan had plenty of setbacks on their way to the White House. Of course, Kerry is handicapped by being a Democrat – a party notorious for “moving-on” and dropping their Presidential nominees who don’t win on the first attempt. If Kerry was a Republican, 2008 might have been a different story for him. We'll see what he does in the future and how the public receives it.
In the same Kerry piece in 2005, however, Usedcarsalesman did suggest that Sen. Hillary Clinton would be making a run for the Presidency in 2008. And, sure enough, the Senator from New York has recently announced her candidacy.
Who else is out there in the Democratic field? Of course there’s Sen. Barack Obama from Illinois. But, other than the fact that his surname rhymes with “Osama” (of terrorist fame) and that he is a high- achiever like most in the United States Senate, Usedcarsalesman can’t think of much that makes him an obvious party front-runner. Is Obama’s candidacy possibly a strategic diversion employed by Democratic Party leaders to take some of the public heat off Hillary’s run – ie, make her candidacy seem positively conventional and ordinary? Probably.
So let’s examine Hillary. Naturally, Usedcarsalesman thinks Hillary doesn’t stand a chance in hell, right? On the contrary, ‘Used’ think it’s her Republican opponent(s) who are going to be up sh*t’s creek. For example, think back to how Hillary “worked” her Republican opponent, Rep. Rick Lazio, who she ran against for the NY Senate seat in 2000? Its now 2007 and Lazio’s still probably in a daze thinking, “Yeah, its ok that I lost – it was all worth it because, when we were debating on that news show, Hillary definitely acted like she had the hots for me. Sweet!”
Women don’t fight fair – especially public women of Hillary’s caliber. In the presidential race, she’ll probably charm her opposition and then rip their throats out. Voters will just sit there and applaud. And, to add insult to injury for Republicans, she’ll have the King of Escape Artists – former President Bill Clinton – to advise her every step of the way. Usedcarsalesman doesn’t see Bill Clinton as being particularly heavy political baggage for Hillary, as some people do.
Furthermore, Democratic strategists are correctly banking on the female vote to win Hillary the presidential election. Sure, let’s face facts, when it comes to opinions on Hillary, women can, shall we say, still be “diplomatic.” A pollster confronts a woman on the street and asks her if she’d vote for Hillary in 2008, the woman voter might say, “nah, don’t really like her, etc. etc.” But, when push comes to shove, when two years goes by and that same woman, say, deals with slight workplace harassment, a glass ceiling between her and a top management position, and a workplace culture for women that resembles early episodes of -The Office-, its going to be just she and her friend “Hillary” in the voting booth come 2008. What do you think’s going to happen?
The cherry on this is that Hillary represents New York State and NYC. Not a lot of campaign money to be raised there, right? Wrong. She could probably campaign in the U.S. just on what she raises there. But, what about another New York fixture, ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, you say? Though Giuliani will put up a good fight versus Hillary, Usedcarsalesman thinks he is going to end up looking like a wobbling male character in the old Mortal Kombat games (watch link video and visualize a costumed Hillary as the victor in each match:) Hillary will probably then manipulate Giuliani in to becoming one of her strongest political supporters, just to show-off her real-life "FATALITY" skills. :)
Everybody’s thinking that Hillary is going to face the same problems that VP Candidate, Geraldine Ferraro faced in ’84. That a war vet, George Bush Sr.-type opponent is going to manage to walk all over her. The difference between Hillary and Ferraro is that VP candidate, Ferraro, had to be a team-player – always behind Presidential Candidate, Walter Mondale. As such, Ferraro was effectively a background singer who couldn’t outshine the lead and that really tied her hands. Hillary doesn’t have any of those problems. She is the “team” this go around - center-stage, totally unrestrained. So, the surprise may not be that Hillary gets elected a U.S. President in 2008. The surprise may be just how easy it was for she and Democrats to achieve.
Note Feb. 2, 2007: Usedcarsalesman thinks that it is quite possible that, just as in the 1994 Congressional elections, voters will temper any excessive "Clinton-ian" Presidential maneuvers, post-2008, by electing a Republican congress - this time in 2010 or 2012.
In the same Kerry piece in 2005, however, Usedcarsalesman did suggest that Sen. Hillary Clinton would be making a run for the Presidency in 2008. And, sure enough, the Senator from New York has recently announced her candidacy.
Who else is out there in the Democratic field? Of course there’s Sen. Barack Obama from Illinois. But, other than the fact that his surname rhymes with “Osama” (of terrorist fame) and that he is a high- achiever like most in the United States Senate, Usedcarsalesman can’t think of much that makes him an obvious party front-runner. Is Obama’s candidacy possibly a strategic diversion employed by Democratic Party leaders to take some of the public heat off Hillary’s run – ie, make her candidacy seem positively conventional and ordinary? Probably.
So let’s examine Hillary. Naturally, Usedcarsalesman thinks Hillary doesn’t stand a chance in hell, right? On the contrary, ‘Used’ think it’s her Republican opponent(s) who are going to be up sh*t’s creek. For example, think back to how Hillary “worked” her Republican opponent, Rep. Rick Lazio, who she ran against for the NY Senate seat in 2000? Its now 2007 and Lazio’s still probably in a daze thinking, “Yeah, its ok that I lost – it was all worth it because, when we were debating on that news show, Hillary definitely acted like she had the hots for me. Sweet!”
Women don’t fight fair – especially public women of Hillary’s caliber. In the presidential race, she’ll probably charm her opposition and then rip their throats out. Voters will just sit there and applaud. And, to add insult to injury for Republicans, she’ll have the King of Escape Artists – former President Bill Clinton – to advise her every step of the way. Usedcarsalesman doesn’t see Bill Clinton as being particularly heavy political baggage for Hillary, as some people do.
Furthermore, Democratic strategists are correctly banking on the female vote to win Hillary the presidential election. Sure, let’s face facts, when it comes to opinions on Hillary, women can, shall we say, still be “diplomatic.” A pollster confronts a woman on the street and asks her if she’d vote for Hillary in 2008, the woman voter might say, “nah, don’t really like her, etc. etc.” But, when push comes to shove, when two years goes by and that same woman, say, deals with slight workplace harassment, a glass ceiling between her and a top management position, and a workplace culture for women that resembles early episodes of -The Office-, its going to be just she and her friend “Hillary” in the voting booth come 2008. What do you think’s going to happen?
The cherry on this is that Hillary represents New York State and NYC. Not a lot of campaign money to be raised there, right? Wrong. She could probably campaign in the U.S. just on what she raises there. But, what about another New York fixture, ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, you say? Though Giuliani will put up a good fight versus Hillary, Usedcarsalesman thinks he is going to end up looking like a wobbling male character in the old Mortal Kombat games (watch link video and visualize a costumed Hillary as the victor in each match:) Hillary will probably then manipulate Giuliani in to becoming one of her strongest political supporters, just to show-off her real-life "FATALITY" skills. :)
Everybody’s thinking that Hillary is going to face the same problems that VP Candidate, Geraldine Ferraro faced in ’84. That a war vet, George Bush Sr.-type opponent is going to manage to walk all over her. The difference between Hillary and Ferraro is that VP candidate, Ferraro, had to be a team-player – always behind Presidential Candidate, Walter Mondale. As such, Ferraro was effectively a background singer who couldn’t outshine the lead and that really tied her hands. Hillary doesn’t have any of those problems. She is the “team” this go around - center-stage, totally unrestrained. So, the surprise may not be that Hillary gets elected a U.S. President in 2008. The surprise may be just how easy it was for she and Democrats to achieve.
Note Feb. 2, 2007: Usedcarsalesman thinks that it is quite possible that, just as in the 1994 Congressional elections, voters will temper any excessive "Clinton-ian" Presidential maneuvers, post-2008, by electing a Republican congress - this time in 2010 or 2012.
Note June 15, 2007: Fred Thompson is now seeking the Republican nomination. He's a recognizable actor and a former U.S. Senator. Republicans think the "actor" thing is going to make his appeal somwhat Reagan-like and it may be a sign of their desperation. Got some bad news for Republicans: Mr. Thompson is probably a great guy, but he's got nowhere near the political mileage and endurance that Ronald Reagan demonstrated when he was finally elected in November 1980. Reagan's work as an actor certainly added to his political talent. But, by the time Reagan became U.S. President, he had clocked more years as a union leader, politician and candidate than as an actor. Thompson, on the other hand, has 6 years in the Senate and just that campaign for office under his belt; his other governmental experience as an attorney was important, but not elected work. Will Thompson end up with the Republican nomination? Probably. The guy is way more interesting to watch than Giuliani, McCain, etc. Will he beat Hillary in the general election? Usedcarsalesman says No.