Archive for democrats

Hillary’s faith-a-faith-a-faith

July 9, 2007 · Filed under campaign strategy, democrats, religion, republicans, the issues

When you think of religious voters, what party affiliation comes to mind?

It’s certainly not Democratic. Hillary Clinton, like other Dems, has realized that the Republicans have had a hold on the religious demographic for far too long, and is trying to change this. Obama has already been talking more openly about the role his Christian faith plays in his life for a while now, and it seems Hillary is now following suite.

The New York Times recently featured an article about Hillary’s faith. The article states that Hillary’s new religious overtures just might work to win over centrist voters, but will do very little with religious conservatives. Some of the tactics that Hillary is trying include talking about her faith (ie, how she carries a bible with her when she travels), hiring Burn Strider, an evangelical christian to do religious outreach, and speaking to religous opponents of abortion to show her respect for their stance, while still being a firm supporter of abortion rights.

So how is the public reacting? Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a comment »

Sabato: Hillary is the weakest candidate

June 25, 2007 · Filed under Bill Clinton, corruption, democratic nomination, democrats, republicans

For those of you who ready Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball (political analysis/election predictions), you will have noticed that he recently wrote an article entitled “The Hillary Dilemma.” He concludes that although Hillary’s credentials outweigh the other candidates’, making her seem like the strongest candidate in the field, she would actually be the weakest nominee for the Democratic party.

Like Clintonfan42, I think that many of Sabato’s points are weak in his analyis. First, he states that any Democratic nominee this election can count on inflated, if grudging, electoral support because the republican party has managed to dig itself deeper and deeper into an Iraq and scandal-lined hole over the past eight years. However, he then says that “The final several percent of swing voters needed to get Hillary Clinton over the top in the general election will vote for her only with the greatest reluctance, more as a way to stop a Republican than as an endorsement of her.” Is this really a problem for the Democratic party? Clearly, the best candidate would be, as Sabato says, a ‘unifier’ able to bridge the growing partisan divide, one that would sweep swing voters off their feet during the election, and encourage productive cooperation across the aisle once in office. I just think that’s wishful thinking. The Democrats can’t produce a candidate like that right now, and counting the inability to generate a wave of good feeling for the party as a particular weakness of Hillary’s is a misplacement of criticism. Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a comment »

What to do with Bill….and Mother Theresa?

May 16, 2007 · Filed under Bill Clinton, campaign strategy, democrats, Hillary Clinton, limelight, Mother Theresa, poltical husband

More and more, Bill Clinton’s name is being mentioned in connection with his wife’s candidacy for president. Hillary faces a major dilemma when deciding whether or not she should allow her husband to enter the spotlight with her. She must consider the following: will Bill’s legendarily charismatic presence overshadow hers, thereby preventing potential supporters from really getting to know her? On the other hand, Hillary and other democrats remember all too well what happened to Al Gore, who tried to distance himself from President Clinton during his campaign.

Clearly Team Hillary is not too afraid of using Bill, since he recently released a 5-minute video endorsing her candidacy and telling the story of her career in public service. This same video has already received strong criticism from Christian groups, because Hillary includes footage of herself with Mother Theresa in it.          (see rest of post for video)

Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a comment »

A First Gentleman?

May 10, 2007 · Filed under Angela Merkel, Bill Clinton, democrats, Denis Thatcher, female politicians worldwide, female vs. male politicians, Hillary Clinton, Joachin Schauer, limelight, Margaret Thatcher, poltical husband, Uncategorized, world opinion

Bill has started thinking about what his role will be when he returns to the White House– not as the ouBill Clintonr political leader in charge, but as her devoted husband. As this NYT article points out, the main change will be that he will not continue working; instead, he will pay his expenses out of the Clinton savings account and focus on representing the United States of America by Hillary’s side. He seems to be handling his journey from democratic frontman to the weaker half of a political dyad quite well; who knows, maybe having the charismatic lady-killer focus on PR while his less scandal-prone wife runs the country would turn out to be a stupendous idea?
This unique Clinton dilemma– a former President’s return to the White House as an unelected sidekick– made me wonder how ‘first husbands’ in other parts of the globe choose to adopt to and treat their newfound roles.
Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a comment »

Is a Hillary-Obama ticket possible?

April 25, 2007 · Filed under campaign strategy, democratic nomination, democrats, Hillary Clinton, Hillary vs Obama, Obama

I was listening to NPR’s Talk of the Nation today, and one caller asked the question, “If Obama or Hillary Clinton ended up getting the Democratic nomination, would a joint ticket be possible?”
Read the rest of this entry »

Comments (1) »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.