So Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee. A year ago the speculation was in November 2008 we would be deciding between 2 New York candidates, Hillary Clinton vs Rudy Giuliani. Instead we will have a first term Senator from Illinois and a 4 term Senator from Arizona. But how did this happen? For Rudy it was a poor decision to stay back and bank on Florida hoping the other candidates would split the states prior to FL. Instead John McCain caught a wave and rode it all the way to the beach head. For Hillary it was a combination of facing a young idealistic candidate with nothing to lose really and a since of entitlement and arrogance that she was a Clinton and the Democratic Party owed it to the Clinton’s. But it wasn’t meant to be. Even with Barack’s crazy pastor, it was still not enough to derail the Obama super train. Instead Hillary will be simply the junior Senator from New York, a seat she only ran for with the intent of using it as a springboard to the Presidency. The question is will she still be motivated and enthusiastic to be ‘just’ a Senator? Does she hold on to the seat and hope for a McCain win in November so that she can run again in 2012? If Obama wins in November this sets her clock back to 2016, by then a new generation of Democrats will be on the scene with the likes of Harold Ford Jr., and such. By then age will not be a friend to Hillary or Bill for that matter. The Clinton legacy will be 16 years removed by then. The irony, Hillary’s best chance to become President sooner is for her to vote for McCain this year and run again in 4 years. Even with that she and Bill have probably worn out their welcome with the Democrats at this point. Humility goes a long way, unfortunately for the Clinton’s they lack that.
How Hillary Lost
So Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee. A year ago the speculation was in November 2008 we would be deciding between 2 New York candidates, Hillary Clinton vs Rudy Giuliani. Instead we will have a first term Senator from Illinois and a 4 term Senator from Arizona. But how did this happen? For Rudy it was a poor decision to stay back and bank on Florida hoping the other candidates would split the states prior to FL. Instead John McCain caught a wave and rode it all the way to the beach head. For Hillary it was a combination of facing a young idealistic candidate with nothing to lose really and a since of entitlement and arrogance that she was a Clinton and the Democratic Party owed it to the Clinton’s. But it wasn’t meant to be. Even with Barack’s crazy pastor, it was still not enough to derail the Obama super train. Instead Hillary will be simply the junior Senator from New York, a seat she only ran for with the intent of using it as a springboard to the Presidency. The question is will she still be motivated and enthusiastic to be ‘just’ a Senator? Does she hold on to the seat and hope for a McCain win in November so that she can run again in 2012? If Obama wins in November this sets her clock back to 2016, by then a new generation of Democrats will be on the scene with the likes of Harold Ford Jr., and such. By then age will not be a friend to Hillary or Bill for that matter. The Clinton legacy will be 16 years removed by then. The irony, Hillary’s best chance to become President sooner is for her to vote for McCain this year and run again in 4 years. Even with that she and Bill have probably worn out their welcome with the Democrats at this point. Humility goes a long way, unfortunately for the Clinton’s they lack that.