Thursday, January 25, 2007

what I would want to ask 'Hillary' if I had a conversation with her

Senator Clinton, you recently announced the creation of a presidential exploratory committee, and you have said, "I'm in to win." Just over two months ago, you were re-elected as the junior senator from New York, a campaign during which you said nothing about your presidential aspirations. The other senators who have expressed interest in the presidency, such as Senators Biden and Obama, were elected four and two years ago respectively. If you were to obtain the nomination, you would spend countless days on the campaign trail, far away from the Senate floor. How are the good people of New York, who assumed that you wanted the job for the full six years, not to think that you falsely represented yourself to them when you knew full well that you'd be running for president in 2008 and would only be their senator for another two years?

4 comments:

  1. How are the good people of New York, who assumed that you wanted the job for the full six years, not to think that you falsely represented yourself to them when you knew full well that you'd be running for president in 2008 and would only be their senator for another two years?

    How dare you ask such questions?!? :-)

    Greetings from VT. Just noticed a referral from your blog, so I popped over. I don't know how you ever stumbled onto my blog, but I appreciate the link!

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  2. Anyone who voted for HRC this fall in the belief that she wouldn't run is myopic at best. Of course she was going to run! It was clear tha she wanted to at least attempt a run as far back as 1999! (It's a huge mistake on her part, IMHO, but that's another post for another day.)

    This (juggling election and present position) is the old struggle faced by many politicians, and I don't see a good answer. GWB had to juggle governor duties and the campaign trail in 2000, and I remember thinking that I did not envy his having to make decisions about his state (or death penalty cases, such as Carla Faye Tucker) while kissing babies and flipping pancakes.

    I'm unlikely to vote for him, but here I think John Edwards has the right idea. He's in the race, but currently does not hold elected office. At the same time, why elect someone to office who doesn't presently hold a position? A toughie.

    P.S. How old is the goldfish?

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  3. D: I can't remember how I found you, but I liked what I saw, so you got a link. Thanks for stopping by!

    Lemming: I don't know how old the goldfish was when we got her, but we've had her (we're caling her a "her," even though we don't really know) a year and a half now. I know what you mean about Edwards - he's a likeable fellow, but unlikely to get the nomination.

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  4. Lemming,

    This (juggling election and present position) is the old struggle faced by many politicians, and I don't see a good answer.

    I'll hand this to Hillary, she's done two related things very well. First off, she's remained politically 'veiled' enough that she can really morph herself as her candidacy develops. At least part of that owes to her 2nd big win - being the junior senator from NY. Even in her 'own' state, people are almost unaware of her.

    At the same time, why elect someone to office who doesn't presently hold a position?

    Yeah... being the anchor leg on a losing ticket usually ain't a good launchpad for the next race.

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