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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

HIllary Clinton nostalgia grips leading Democrats as Obama fails and fades

Posted on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at 11:59 PM

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Hillary Clinton is looking more and more like a lost leader for the Democrats as Obama continues to flail.

There was more bad news for the president yesterday with an opinion poll showing that only 26 per cent of Americans approved of his job on the US economy.

It is not hard to see why that number is so low.

Americans are hurting in record numbers and Obama seems strangely lackluster and unable to come to grips with the problem

Obama seems increasingly like a one-trick pony. His repeated cries about why can't we all get along has been flung in his face by Republicans.

Now like the little boy who has tried but failed to settle an argument by being the smartest kind in the room, he seems totally deflated.

Compare him to new Irish leader Enda Kenny.

Kenny was a long time opposition leader who, when he got his shot at power,grabbed it.

In opposition, unencumbered by power, he clearly developed a knack of knowing what ordinary people were thinking.

Thus, when yet another another scandal in the church blew up, Kenny spoke out in one of the most remarkable speeches ever made by any Irish leader.

It was brave, it could have rebounded, but it came across as a stroke of genius.

Obama in a similar situation would no doubt have parsed and analyzed the church crisis to death without saying one straightforward word in case he offended someone.

But let's forget about Obama and Kenny.

More and more the question is asked WWHD, What Would Hillary Do?

A better job I suspect

The Daily Beast web site and The New York Times have had two articles in recent days on the issue. The conclusions of the Daily Beast one can can be capsulated by a quote from one Obama supporter;

" Looking as if she were about to cry, an 83-year-old Obama supporter shook her head. “I’m so disappointed in him,” she said. “It’s true: Hillary is tougher.”

The New York Times is not sure Hillary would do much different as president but I beg to differ.

Certainly on the debt ceiling crisis which triggered the latest financial crisis and first-ever downgrade, her husband pointed the way out for Obama,

That was to interpret the 14th amendment as stating that he had the constitutional right to raise the ceiling and let the Republicans sue if they wanted.

On dealing with Republicans, Clinton would have no illusions. She was steeled by what she saw during the impeachment battle her husband undertook.

Paradoxically, she was one of the most bipartisan senators in the senate when she served there.

That combination of knowing her enemy but also being able to find compromise would surely have served her well as president

Richard Benedetto over at Real Clear Politics says the solution is to have Hillary replace Biden as VP,

"Clinton would add some much-needed pizzazz to a tough campaign that [Joe] Biden does not. More importantly, she would shore up a shaky Democratic base, a huge part of which consists of disappointed women who still believe the secretary of state should have been president and would have done a better job than Obama,"he wrote

I don't think that works for many reasons but there is still a glimmer that Hillary might get in the race if some other candidate bloodied up Obama sufficiently in the early primaries.

It's a long shot but it may ultimately be all Democrats have if Obama continues to drop in the polls.

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23 comments

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maloney | Aug 22, 2011, 03:11 PM EDT

Obama has worn out the Dem's wecome in DC. The Repubs are close behind. Tea time has come to all branches of govt. in DC.

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falconflash | Aug 21, 2011, 05:45 PM EDT

As yet another baby killer (abortion) Hillary is not good for America or children of America.....

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AengusOg | Aug 21, 2011, 12:28 PM EDT

The voters are paying closer attention now than when President Obama was elected. Fiscal responsibility is the single most important issue. The concept of 'entitlements' is anathema to the independent voter. We want politicians who administer the economy the same way we administer our own budgets. If all the President can do is blame a 'dysfunctional Congress' and lobby for more government spending disguised as a stimulus package, it's time for him to go. What is needed is an overhaul of the financial structure. Banks need to be fire-walled from investment companies. Public accounting firms should be partnerships rather than be permitted to incorporate. With the burgeoning revelations about the degree to which regulators were in bed with those whom they were entrusted to regulate, all governmental oversight regulations need to be made much more stringent. Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac should not be needed in a healthy economic system. Without true regulation, FDIC becomes another bank bailout. Speaking of bailouts, had the public had a say, they never would have given.

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themurphia | Aug 20, 2011, 04:53 AM EDT

The Washington HillBillies maybe...? No...? Oh...OK!

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themurphia | Aug 19, 2011, 02:22 PM EDT

The HIM/POTUS pehaps...?

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themurphia | Aug 19, 2011, 01:12 PM EDT

If Hils was POTUS what would that make Bill...?

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Pittsburghkid | Aug 19, 2011, 07:39 AM EDT

It does not work. It is a last ditch effort to save the Democrats, and RINO Republicans. The Tea Party is going to cruise to victory, taking the Congress, Senate, and Presidency. An add bonus will be more State Government will turn Tea Party.

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ksnyder | Aug 19, 2011, 04:15 AM EDT

dems need to cut loose the toxic "won" and Hillary needs to be at the top of that ticket. Now as far as the debt ceiling, had she been POTUS who even says there would have been a need? She would have had people back to work investing in our infrastructure people working means LESS govt handouts (spending) needed, means revenues would have been UP due to increase in workers. And that's just one thing... that 1.3 trillion dollar boondoggle of a healthcare plan that pelosi said they needed to pass so we could all see what was in it... would not have been needed... so so many things... yep.. pelosi, reid, and the rest of the dems screwed not just America but they've screwed themselves as well... WE warned them though... dems need to find away to impeach him, let Joe finish out the term- hell he can't do much worse ... Hillary can campaign and then walk in in 2012..

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Carolynirish | Aug 18, 2011, 08:51 PM EDT

Boy have the comments changed!!! I tried to tell you months ago that Obama needs to stop spending the tax payers money on vacations and start dealing with the problems of the economy and unemployment. He promised change but I do not like the change, especially our new credit rating, one for the History books.

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peterson | Aug 18, 2011, 02:30 PM EDT

Obumma and his friends take an expensive "vacation" at a very expensive resort at Martha's Vineyard after telling Americans that "they should tighten their belts". Previous presidents usually went to Camp David which has many amenities, for time off. His own liberal party is upset about his about his wild personal spending habits.

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Nicomax | Aug 18, 2011, 02:13 PM EDT

It's a bit like a manager in baseball calling for the wrong pitcher to start an important playoff game. HRC was the best pitcher on the team in 2008 and should have gotten the start, but now asking her to relieve in the seventh inning, will not likely work, since it may be too late, and her heart is not in it as much as if she had been the starting pitcher.

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PhlutiePhan | Aug 18, 2011, 01:01 PM EDT

From sites on the interent, it is a done deal that Biden wil be dumped from the ticket. There are various scenarios on who will replace him. Cuomo wants the job and there is a chance that it has been promised to him. Hillary would probably win the election as head of the ticket.

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MegK311 | Aug 18, 2011, 12:34 PM EDT

Anybody but Obama though I don't think Hilary is the answer.

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FastEddy | Aug 18, 2011, 12:02 PM EDT

We could have had Ron Paul.

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Searlit | Aug 18, 2011, 11:52 AM EDT

While I haven't completely given up on Obama's ability to 'snatch victory from the jaws of defeat', it is true that Hillary would probably have agreed with her huband, taking a stand against the Republican controlled congress. Thank yourselves, voters, who contributed to this take no hostages approach to government. Personally, I don't think she would've blinked. She would have let them have to eat their hat. Wall street and the Fed were ready to act. All they needed was a word from the executive branch. On the other hand, maybe we don't want more compromise. The people have sacrificed too much already. This whole meltdown process maybe a leap in the evolution of politics, bypassing former criteria for change to happen.

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