”Will 2016 be the year of Hillary Clinton?” asked Dirk-Jan van Baar. “With the Clintons, you get two presidents for the price of one; an offer you can’t refuse.”
2015 was the year of Angela Merkel. Will 2016 be the year of Hillary Clinton? I’m glad that I’m no political spokesman because Western politics is beginning to get more and more monotonous. After 10 years of pantsuits in Berlin, we’re now heading toward eight years of pantsuits in Washington. Why hope and change? Women sometimes complain that they always have to be better than men, and that is what Hillary also advises. Otherwise, we might as well let it be a man.
To Merkel, there is no alternative. I don’t always see the gain of women in politics, but when it comes to preserving the peace, Angela is the best. She has set a new standard in politics and has extinguished any desire for strong men. For years she has been compared to Margaret Thatcher, but this role model is from the past. Women must pacify, and not start any new wars. With that being said, this theory is debunked with Hillary. She’s a shark, unlike the man she wants to succeed.
No Softie
Hillary Clinton (born in 1947) is no softie. Whoever runs a second time for president at 69 years old must be strong-willed, especially after the grueling years as secretary of state under Barack Obama (born in 1961). That raises the question of why Hillary thinks she can do better than the man 14 years her junior by whom she was thwarted in 2008 in her race to the top. Revenge is in order. And why not? She still has a bone to pick with the male world even after all these years with Bill and is someone who thought eight years ago that it was her turn for the highest office. Now it’s overdue.
The question is whether the voters also think so. They have however fallen prey to mutual discord, giving the Democrats a good chance. Maybe it’s a sign of weakness that they only send seniors into the ring, but that still holds some promise for baby boomers. The Clintons have an eternal youth and that’s something no one needs to feel sorry about. Everyone, then, has a new future ahead of them, something that resulted in a new American “Spring” under Ronald Reagan.
A Second Kennedy
It is a misconception that everything comes from youngsters. When John Kennedy became president in 1961, America broke into a period of race riots and war. It’s not much better with the messiah, Obama. Then there was Bill Clinton, who in 1992 was welcomed as a second Kennedy, a more fortunate choice. America has never known a more carefree time than that. Add the support of wise Bill in the background “leading from behind” to the maturity of Hillary, and fortune smiles on America once again. With the Clintons, you get two presidents for the price of one; an offer you can’t refuse.
I won’t predict whether or not this will actually be the outcome. I was certain in 2008 that Hillary would be George W. Bush’s successor, but that didn’t happen. As secretary of state, she didn’t make a strong impression, but she was a friend of Israel and sat in the White House basement as Osama Bin Laden was caught. Compare that to her successor, John Kerry, who hasn’t made any progress in the Holy Land, and we can be happy that this rich kid was not elected in 2004. That would have been a setback for Obama and of course for the Clintons. In that light, you can say there’s a guardian angel watching over Hillary, who has made her once again a favorite in 2016. Then you are to surely have the blessing of the gods, which is always good in America.
Dirty Laundry
Hillary doesn’t do too much for me. I can think of many reasons why she also won’t win this year. She has been “second best” too often. Her husband has been said to be a “comeback kid” but she has never gone away. This is also what gives her power. She was always there, including when Bush sought support for invading Iraq. There’s no one more loyal than Hillary. She has sworn eternal loyalty to Bill, and their daughter Chelsea is already preparing for a political future. Things are good with the Clintons in terms of family values. Furthermore, Hillary has been dragged through the mud like no other. The chance that she has any skeletons left in her closet is small. With Hillary, you know what you are getting. Her little lies are known, as is her email history. Like Bill, she can get away with anything and she has her career as first lady under her belt.
Whether women in 2016 will also make a difference is on Hillary. She’s been dubbed the second choice. But in politics, that’s often the best option.
Yes, Hillary is definitely a shark. But what makes the writer think that Obama doesn’t also have a deadly bite? He “can liquidate American citizens without due process, detain prisoners indefinitely without charge, conduct ‘dragnet’ surveillance on the American people without judicial warrant, and engage in unprecedented—at least since the McCarthy era—witch-hunts against federal employees through the so-called Insider Threat Program”(Mike Lofgren, The Deep State). Moreover, he has financially ruined and/or imprisoned more whistleblowers than all of his presidential predecessors combined. I’d call that overkill. If he sometimes looks weak or soft it’s because he never did have the necessary experience for the job.
Hillary has more than enough experience. What she sometimes appears short of is judgement. That’s already showing in her GOP-like responses to the threat posed by Bernie Sanders. If she can’t keep herself under control when confronted by a pussycat like Bernie, how’s she gonna deal with the real threats?
Hillary may have spent four years as the nation’s chief diplomat, but I doubt we’ll see her exercise that in office. I think military action and/or punishing sanctions will be her first rather than last resort. There’s a lot of anger in her.