My Hillary Clinton Enigma

Though I don't really have a horse in this race, I have a clear opinion about each of the candidates, nearly all of which I've made clear. But the only candidate I've not really shared my feelings on is Hillary Clinton and I'll tell you why... I don't know what to think. I believe in Barack Obama, I like John Edwards, I respect John McCain, I find Fred Thompson boring, I hate Mitt Romney, but I don't know about Hillary Clinton, and it makes it difficult for me to write about her and her campaign strategy with ease.

Bill Clinton was a good President. If he's kept his pants zipped he might have been a great President. But I try to evaluate Hillary without the Clinton brand, because as much as I'd like to see Bill Clinton have another shot to enter the pantheon of great Presidents that won't happen under a Hillary presidency. He wouldn't be Secretary of State, he'd be First Gentleman, and one who probably spent a lot of time out of the spotlight so as not to usurp it from his President wife.

So let's look at Hillary. Surprise result for her in the New Hampshire primary. It's crazy how quickly the news stories turn around from 'Mark Penn is about to be fired, Carville and Begala poised to come back, Clinton campaign about to undergo post-NH defeat re-assessment' to a restoration of Clinton as an equal front-runner with Barack Obama. Hmm...I realise I'm still avoiding talking about Hillary herself.

Do I like her? I don't know. A lot of Americans don't. A lot of Americans hate Hillary Clinton a whole lot. I don't find her very inspiring. I think she's a competent candidate who obviously has a lot of appeal if you view her from a disinterested perspective, but I don't find anything about Hillary that makes me inspired. I wouldn't cheer at one of her events, I would listen respectfully. She evokes a more reasoned approach to choosing a President, not a passionate one. Perhaps that's a good thing, perhaps passion is misplaced in making the best choice about who the next President should be, but I personally disagree. In choosing a Prime Minister, who doesn't have all the symbolic power and awesome position of the President, perhaps disconnect creates better results. But if you can't connect with your President, the symbol of your nation, then there's an issue.

I'm loathe to repeat the media line about Hillary's 'humanising' choke-up moment, but it did make me respond to her a little more. My jury is still out on Hillary Clinton. I do want to be won over by her, as I feel that she probably would be a good President. But she's not succeeded in making me a fan yet. I shall continue to struggle with it, until I come to a Clinton conclusion.