A part of me wants this lady to go away, another wants her to continue to give the Democratic Party migraines; shes also great for boosting the GOPs enthusiasm. Hillary Clinton just continues to make her way into the spotlight. With the latest accusations of sexual misconduct against Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, and Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Hillary decided to give her two-cents on Rita Cosbys radio show last week, noting that accountability has to be exacted regarding these allegations. I bet you can guess what happened next? Cosby asked about the allegations surrounding her husband. It was an appalling lack of self-awareness because we all know the Left gave Bill a pass on his alleged sexual abuse. Why? Well, hes a Democrat, of course.
On Hugh Hewitts radio show this morning, the former first lady circled back to the 2016 election. Hewitt was conducting an interview about her book, What Happened. And she once again plays the blame game, noting that the Obama presidency made it hard for her to run a real campaign with a message. She does take some responsibility for not being able to articulate a coherent campaign message, but blames other factors. Were back to this, albeit in a much lower intensity situation. Clinton was careful not to be too harsh on her former boss, but its quite clear that she blames the former president for soaking up the hope and change atmosphere that animated the Democratic Party base, which she could not, not even on her best day [emphasis mine]:
HILLARY CLINTON: I have high regard for the campaign that we put together, and all of the people who were working in it so hard. But I think it is fair to say that it was hard to break through. Maybe some of that is on my shoulders, and perhaps some because of the campaign as well. But I think a lot of it, Hugh, is that it was really hard in the environment in which this 2016 campaign played out to break through in a lot of ways. You know, I have, Ive said a few times that this was the first reality TV campaign. My opponent was the first reality TV candidate, and I was, for better or worse, the candidate of reality. And I think it was a shortcoming of the campaign that the work that Ive done my entire life. The passion I feel for helping people, the record that I have of doing just that never really could break through.
HUGH HEWITT: You write in What Happened about navigating the tension between continuity and change, and thats about not disrespecting President Obama or disparaging his accomplishments, while at the same time saying theres a very dangerous world out there. Do you feel like the former Obama aides may have urged you to tend to caution and thus favor the continuity argument to protect President Obama as opposed to making the case that weve got some huge challenges here that have not been addressed?
CLINTON: Well, again, I think thats a very astute question on your part. And I think two things. One, I was proud to serve in the Obama administration. I did not agree with everything that President Obama decided, but on balance, I really think he did what had to be done to rescue the economy, which as we all remember, was in desperate straits. He did chart a course in the world that favored diplomacy and negotiation, something that I think is important. But it is true that when you run to succeed a two-term president of your own party, you have a historical headwind blowing against you. And I refer to that in the book, because its not just this campaign can be set apart from everything thats ever happened in our politics. It is a challenge. If you are both the candidate defending a lot of the areas of agreement, but also putting forth an agenda for change, which is what I tried to do, it is often difficult to get the second part of that message through. So I do think it was a problem.
Maybe thats because people didnt trust you, Hillary. Were glossing over where this messaging pitch might have been successful if you didnt have an unauthorized and unsecured email serverand then get caught in a series of falsehoods and trip-ups explaining it. A nearly yearlong stay in the bunker, avoiding press conferences unlike your opponent, followed after this email fiasco was first reported in the press. This issue is what characterized you as untrustworthy, inauthentic, and rehashed all of the negative attitudes that were attached to you (and Bill) in the 1990s. Second, your opponents within the party, and there were a lot of themthe Sanders supportersdidnt trust you, felt the whole primary was rigged, and lo and behold they turned out to be right. First the leaked Democratic National Committee emails on the eve of the partys 2016 convention that showed DNC staffers plotting ways to screw over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Clintons hard left primary challenger at the time, to confirmation by Donna Brazile, the interim DNC chair, who has now written about it in her book. Third, and this is the most obvious, you didnt have an economic agenda. You were banking on the Access Hollywood tape putting you over the top, along other attack ads taking swipes at Trumps personal behavior. They didnt work. They still dont.
For arguments sake, the agenda Clinton had on her website, that she rarely discussed on the stump, was pretty much a carbon copy of Obamas. It may not be a pod person clone, but it was pretty much the same. There is no doubt that Obama could have won a third term. For Clinton, it failed. Maybe it wasnt so much the messaging, as people not liking the messenger. Clinton may find solace with supporters greeting her in the most liberal corners of America, but overallshes not liked. Never has been. And the more she stays in the spotlight, the higher her unfavorable rise. Some people are just not meant to be president. Clinton is one of them. And this notion of facing historic headwinds because your campaign is at the back of a two-term president of the same party isnt true either. George H.W. Bush won the 1988 election after the tremendous presidency of Ronald Reagan.
Now, this is only Hillary. Despite his many flaws, Bill is a talented communicator and a shrewd politician. Lady Macbeth doesnt have a shred of that. And defeating Rep. Rick Lazio (R-NY) in the 2000 Senate race isnt a demonstration of political skill either.
Oh, and she hasnt stopped stepping on the rake regarding her emails. As Cortney wrote earlier today, she said her email server was secure. It wasnt.
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Also, a clue that it may be time for Hillary to pack up shop.
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Hillary Clinton: I Couldn't Run A Real Change Campaign ...