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And Then That Happened

January 20, 2007 2:55 PM

illary Clinton announced that she is, officially, forming an exploratory committee. That's not very surprising, obviously. But check out the video on her webpage. I think there are some pretty interesting things going on there. I tried to find a transcript of her announcement, but was unsuccessful. Therefore, all quotes from her announcement were transcribed by me. Sorry for if I get anything wrong.

The first thing I noticed was that the camera movements are incredibly annoying. I know it's not anything substantive, but I found that pretty annoying. Moving on.

"I'm not just starting a campaign, though, I'm beginning a conversation. With you--with America. Because we all need to be part of the discussion if we're all going to be part of the solution."
This sets up the theme to her announcement: it looks to me like she's trying to affirm the fact that she's a Democrat while simultaneously trying to be more inclusive. She's clearly setting herself up as the non-Bush-like candidate, moreso than being the Democratic candidate. I have no idea if she's actually going to move further to the center, but she's definitely trying to make herself seem extremely moderate. I think it's a good strategy, but I think it's a little obvious and ham-fisted here. Just a little, though.

"Let's talk about . . . how to make us energy independent, and free of foreign oil. How to end the deficits that threaten social security and Medicare. And let's definitely talk about how every American can have quality, affordable health care."
Maybe she's not moving very far to the center at all, but I think that's to her credit. She's got to stick to her guns for her to have credibility. Still, she's being very careful about how she says these things. She's couching these goals in very carefully thoughout ways, making universal health care sound extremely uncontroversial, for example. It's almost as if she's taking a stand, but not really. I think this is fine for now--it's just an announcement everyone was expecting. But it'll be really interesting to see what happens later, once she's forced to take hard stances on topics.

There's nothing about education, though. That's surprising, I think, and it's more disappointing. If this announcement is to set the tone for her campaign, I'm disappointed that making public education better isn't going to be one of her promises.

She mentions George Bush, which I didn't think she was going to do. Still, she's not losing any voters. It just furthers her theme of being the anti-Bush. I think that might pay off, but only if the Republican nominee is someone very Bush-like. Personally, I think the Republicans are smarter than that--I bet they'll run their own anti-Bush. (Hey--what if Cheney resigned and Bush appointed his chosen successor to the job? That way, that guy would have the VP cred that could make the difference. Wouldn't that be a mindfuck?) Anyway, Ms. Clinton's attempt to win voters, maybe even some Republican voters, on the theory that she's the anti-Bush could backfire if the Republicans run a better anti-Bush.

Then she invites "us" all to talk, noting that "the conversation has been a little one-sided, don't you think?" Honestly, her attempts to appear like a "normal person" or "just one of us" fall flat for me. That was one of George W. Bush's strengths, right? That you wanted to have a beer with him? I think Ms. Clinton's appeal to that same emotion is ill-advised at best.

So, while the gyst of the announcement isn't very surprising, some of the details are pretty interesting. At the very least, it looks like the 2008 campaign is going to be really interesting--probably the most interesting campaign in my life time to date. That's something to look forward to, although I still think that the outcome is far from certain, especially that there still aren't any serious Republican candidates. But I'll say it right now. If Ms. Clinton gets the nomination (which she will) and the Republicans come up with a non-Bush-like viable candidate, the Republicans will win.

3 Comments

tRJ said:

This will definitely be the most exciting election cycle of recent history. Both parties will likely have several candidates in the primaries, something that hasn't happened in a long time. Hopefully all these options will translate to high voter participation.

January 20, 2007 5:38 PM

Lily Graypure said:

I hate the "get a beer with him" thing. It makes me want to smack voters.

January 22, 2007 12:48 AM

TheExpat said:

Hey now, I'd have a beer with W, doesn't mean I'd trust him to pay the tab. Hell, I wouldn't trust that little rodent to drive me home, much less be the president. And Hilary? Sadly, I fear she's a little like Kerry, i.e. she'd have to make sure there was a clear majority of constituants who thought she should have a beer with me before she decided to go.

As far as the primaries go, I'm an independant, so I don't do the whole pick the candidate thing. If they both suck I'll probably just vote for whoever I liked anyways. Either that or Daffy Duck. That mofo can drink.

January 25, 2007 3:27 AM