Closing the book on Hillary .... and Bill, for now
Sunday, June 8, 2008 at 07:49PM Assuming -- and it's a pretty good assumption -- that Barack Obama doesn't put Hillary Clinton on the ticket, where does that leave Hillary and the Clinton legacy?
Was Hillary's loss a repudiation of her alone, or of the Clinton presidency as well? Was it a product of Clinton fatigue, or simply the product of a mismanaged campaign?
There's no doubt that the Clinton legacy took a hit in this campaign. Bill Clinton tarnished himself, and the vaunted Clinton Machine doesn't seem nearly as vaunted anymore; they'll both have a lot of fences to mend before they're totally square with the Democratic base again. But does this mean the end of the line for the Clintons' as national players?
Probably so for Bill. I can't imagine him getting involved in any meaningful way at the national level after this pitiful performance. Like an aging athlete who refuses to acknolwedge the passing of time, Bill stuck around for one too many seasons, and it showed. He may still stump for Democratic candidates here and there, but his days at the party's guiding light are over. As Chuck Todd said, this is Barack Obama's party now, and it's not big enough for Bubba and Obama.
Hillary, on the other hand, has lots of options. She can return to the senate and become a powerhouse, much like Teddy Kennedy following his failed run in 1980. Or she could run for Governor of New York and rule in Albany indefinitely. Who knows, maybe someday she'll sit on the Supreme Court or serve as Attorney General. But as far as running for president again, this may have been her last, best chance.
Assuming Obama wins in the fall, it means that Hillary would be 68 in 2016 -- certainly not too old to run (McCain is 72), but not a slam dunk, either. It's hard to see her running at that age, but it shouldn't be ruled out.
Should McCain win, however, there's no doubt that some of the blame will be placed on Hillary for beating up Obama during the primary season. How much blame really depends on how hard she campaigns for Obama, but it will certainly determine if she has any standing within the party to run again in 2012. No doubt that Hillary understands this, and will likely go all-out for Obama -- or what appears to be all-out -- simply to preserve the option of running in 2012.
Reader Comments (2)
Hi, Nick!
You might create a post about selecting a VP in general. How much freedom does the candidate have to choose? How much power does the party have in the selection? In over-riding the candidate's choice? I recall that Kennedy was forced to accept Johnson, though he didn't want him.
Thanks!
Definitely a good and topical post. I did an earlier one speculating on McCain's potential Veep picks, and did a segment on Fox News about it. Time to probably speculate on Obama ...