OK I have given it some time and now think Hillary would make a fine prez

[NNN0LHI]

You all know I am a lot more liberal than she is. I didn't like the idea of Bill at first either. You can't always get what you want. She will grow on me just like her old man did I guess.

Don

[WI_DEM]

1. Well, maybe she will grow on me too, but I'm not convinced that

she should be the nominee at all in 2008. Let's put the Clinton's and the Bush's away. It's time for new blood.

[jobycom]

3. She's not a Clinton she's a Rodham. Different blood.

[WI_DEM]

9. I stand by what I said

Enough Clinton and Enough Bush's--we need new blood. She is Identified with the Clinton years, obviously and her husband, as First Husband, would be an even bigger reminder.

[jobycom]

16. Fine with me. A Rodham and a woman--new blood tied to old expertise

Beats the Hell of Clark/Edwards, or some such silliness.

[Nightjock]

2. I will back whoever the Dem nominee is

but she is my LAST choice. More troops to Iraq? F**k you Hillary!

I should say she is my next to last choice. Only Lieberman would be worst but he would never get any "Joe mentum" because most dems (outside of CT) know he's a bush bootlicker, sellout, embarressment, shit sandwich.

[cwydro]

4. Hey

I think she would be good...if for no other reason that she would be the FIRST female...gotta do it right. She is smart and connected and as I have said before...the health care thing is the right thing to do.

[phiddle]

7. Yeah, but she BLEW health care 1st time around.

Given her philandering with the reactionary right, I'm not willing to give her another chance as long as another Democrat is standing.

[leesa]

26. Wrong. Had her health care plan gone through, we wouldn't have a

collapsing health care system now. The Republican controlled House blew health care.

[phiddle]

29. I beg to differ

During the period Hillary's health care plan was under consideration (Sept 1993- Sept 94) both the House and the Senate were Democratically controlled--George Mithchell, majority leader and Tomn Foley, Speaker of the House.
Despite the perfidy of the Republicans, there were many problems attributable to Hillary's handling of the issue:
1. Means: The comission which she put together met secretly, fueling suspicion. More importantly, the it did not include any legislators who would ultimately have to pass the legislation. She should have included a few Dems, and also moderate Repubs, such as John Chafee, Durenburg, and Danforth.
2. Timing: Clinton's big speech to Congress was in early Sept of 93, but the legislation did not appear until late October. These 6 weeks allowed the Repubs to solidify a counter strategy, and meanwhile, Whiewater, Somalia and Paula Jones' initial suit distacted the public and slowed the momentum of the initial push. The legislation should have been ready at the time of the speech.
3. The plan itself: Brad deLong, a high Clinton treasury official now at UC Berkeley, said words to the effect of (check his blog): "If there were an easy way to do something and a complicated way, they chose the complicated way every time". This left it open to charges of being another bureacratic mess.
4. Marketing: Calling it "Health CARE Reform" rather than "Health INSURANCE Reform" at a time when most Americans were satisfied with their care but dissatisfied with the financing, was a crucial marketing mistake. This left her plan exposed to the predations of the Harry and Louise ads, and blurred the lines. Additionally, if the idea was to structure a market-based (as distinct from single payer) reform, then they could have squelched some Republican opposition by noting similarities with the Nixon plan of '72.

Sorry, but I still think that she (and Bill) blew the best chance in a generation for reform in health financing. And, the failure of this was among the factors which led to the Republican takeover of '94.

[KerryReallyWon]

5. I hope you have room for oil rigs where you live because

I live in Fla, where the fight is on....and Bill is the one who opened up the known tract Area 181 in the Central to Eastern gulf for drilling off of Florida's shores. He did this quietly before he left office, and you never hear his name connected to it. We need to get this out..Bush = Clinton = Bush = Clinton...get it?

Now Jeb, is backtracking from being "against his brother, the pRez...to protect our shores. Now he no longer objects to being inside the 200 mile impact zone! We will need a can of turpintine for the bottoms of our feet, when we leave the beach and get in the car. My friend kept a can in the trunk when she lived in Texas and visited the beach at times. NO HILAEY NO IRAN CONTRA

:puke:

[cwydro]

8. Clinton had something to do with that???

show me something to prove it...sorry, I just don't believe it.

[cynatnite]

6. I prefer her not to run in 2008

I don't like the idea of two families dominating our leadership like this. It makes me very uncomfortable. If Hillary ran and won, then won a second term it would be 28 years of power by two families.

I loved Clinton as president and I do like Hillary, but I can't get over the uneasiness I feel thinking about that.

[leeroysphitz]

22. Excellent point. n/t

[laura888]

10. No Way. Her stance on Iraq means a no vote from me.

She does say "stay the course", no?

[Pastiche423]

15. That October 11, 2002 vote did it for me

Plus the fact that she is DLC means she ain't out for the little people.

[second edition]

11. Not for me and I've given it a lot of thought. Actually, the more

I think about it the more I find wrong with her and her positions or lack of the same.

[Richard Steele]

12. I've never said she wouldn't be an OK prez.

She certainly wouldn't be my choice,
but she's not the WORST out there.

The problem is, SHE WOULDN'T WIN!

She is an absolute FOCUS of RightWing hatred.
She would inspire Freeper turnout like we've never seen;
her opponent wouldn't need DieBold to achieve a landslide.

And she just doesn't have the Message or charisma
to get thinking people equally motivated.

[NNN0LHI]

13. In another 3 years if she promises to lower gas prices the freepers...

...will vote for her.

Don

[jobycom]

17. So which Democrat wouldn't be the focus of right wing hatred?

That's just silly. She's got the name, the fundraising skills, the novelty of being the first female president, the perception of ability, a tie to the last time America was worth a damn, and the experience and understanding to survive the outrageous lies they will spread about any candidate.

I think she or Gore are the only two who could win, and I'm not sure about Gore. I'm not too worried about making Freepers happy with my choice. If that was my goal, I'd have voted Bush or Nader.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

14. Not my first choice

but better than many. I'd vote for her if she won the primaries.

[Rowdyboy]

18. Exactly my feelings....I like her but she's way down my list of preferred

nominees. Will back her whole-heartedly if she's nominated.

[orpupilofnature57]

19. Mario would of made a great prez too, but while we live in a country..

where Shrub can be slid in by Diebold and the ? % that helped Poppy get his BB Boy elected, we won't jump the hurdle's necessary.

[Roland99]

20. She won't grow. She'll fester.

[NNN0LHI]

21. And just for the guys who are worried about being labeled as sexist...

...for thinking I am full of beans don't worry about it. Don't let anyone try and shame you into thinking that crap and getting you defensive about it either. If you don't think she would be a good president I trust your motives. Your opinions are as important as anyone else's.

I also think Obama would make a great VP. My two Republican parents even like both of them. We are in Illinois though so take that into consideration. They both voted for Obama for senator. Kerry and Gore too. Generally Illinois Republicans are not like your average Republicans.

Don

[leeroysphitz]

23. Illinois sounds like a nice place. n/t

[mattclearing]

24. It's not Hillary as a president I have a problem with.

I have a problem with her as a candidate. I simply cannot envision her winning a national election.

She has less appeal in the South than John Kerry, and carries way too much baggage from her first stint in the White House.

I simply do not see how she wins, unless the Republicans put up fucking Satan himself, which might be an improvement on the last five years.

[leesa]

25. Nope. She won't admit the war is illegal and immoral...she thinks it's

fine, just poorly planned. We don't need any more of this warmongering crap.

[Armstead]

27. More of the same

It'll just be another case of musical chairs.

GOP -- Weak Democrat -- Worse GOP -- Weak Democrat

She doesn't represent any change from the corporate status quo.

[Tinksrival]

28. You have a right to your opinion but heres how I feel....

I wasn't active politically till Bush. That is, I voted, but didn't really follow. But something told me Bush was big trouble for our country. I started paying attention to everything he did since he stole the election in 2000. When he started beating the war drums for Sadam I knew to look close at what they were doing not what they were saying. It wasn't that hard to see through the bullshit. I could not believe the Senate gave him the authority! I watched the hearings. I listened to Clark and Pearle give testimony. The truth seemed plain as day to me. I believed Clark. How many here on the DU bought their bullshit? Were so many in the wmd mindset on the DU?
That "Shock and Awe" was one of the most disgusting moments in time for this country and every thing since. Look what this war has cost us! America is forever tarnished by these actions. I will fight for the right to vote for a candidate that chose Clark and not Pearle! I didn't buy the bullshit then why should I have to now.
I often call the Clinton presidency "the salad days." I think he was a great President that was unfairly hunted. Unfortunately for everyone, Bill's Achilles heel was women, and that played right into the religious right wings moral high ground hands. Thats partly how so many blindly support this idiot. We need to turn this page. The democratic party needs to return to the days of JFK when the whole country rallied behind a beloved president. Do you really think we can do that with a Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton. Enough already. I want to move on. I don't think this country can take any more of this division. I know I can't.