The Comeback Family

I've profiled several candidates so far in this blog, but I have not yet written about the the most divisive, most highly charged, most highly anticipated candidacy this season. Let's start today.

Hillary.

That's pretty much all you need to hear, and your blood pressure goes up, either with excitement or dread. According to the polls, half of you are silently saying, "I hate her and everything she stands for" while the other half is thinking, "I can't wait til she gets in that Oval Office and fixes this mess".

After 15 years in the national spotlight, you'd think I'd have a more established opinion about her. I don't. I sometimes think I'm the only one still making up my mind about her. The reason I haven't ruled her out as a viable option - I call it "Right Wing Backlash".

When it comes to the Right's coverage of anything Hillary (or Bill for that matter), I am reminded of the Shakespeare line, "I think thou dost protest too much". Are Republicans worried that without Hillary as their 2008 general election opponent, they will have lost their most effective fundraising bell to ring - fear of Bill with power again?

I don't like some of the unfair treatment I see her getting. Recent example: I don't typically watch the cable politi-tainment shows, but I surfed past Sean Hannity interviewing a Clinton staffer. He asked this question: "Wouldn't an American victory in Iraq hurt Hillary politically?" His overt implication, and the idea he hoped to imprint on his listeners, is that Hilliary is actively engaged in sabotaging the American efforts in Iraq to secure her chances of being elected. I am an admitted cynic, but are you kidding me? Hannity asked the equivalent of the classic backhanded question, "Do you still beat your wife?", and he works for the 'fair and balanced' network. I have already had 2 friends launch preemptive strikes, letting me know that consideration of a vote for Hillary was either treasonous or plain stupid. And this is before I even raised the subject.

If this represents the early level of divisiveness that I can expect during a Clinton administration, perhaps that is enough reason to reject her candidacy. She could have great plans (not sure she does), but her odds of implementing anything meaningful while the Right distracts America with demands for Independent Counsel investigations on everything from Bill's pardons to Hillary's choice of shoes could be too much to overcome.

I will listen to her, and allow her to make her case. I will also review her actions over her past years in Washington very closely. As a good HR professional, I know that past performance is the best predictor of future behavior, so Marra and I will need to delve beyond the speeches and the public displays. We'll need to weed through the conservative hate books and the liberal love letters. We will have to look at her record, one issue at a time.

Since Hillary's money is sure to hold out for awhile, I'm sure I'll be writing again about her soon. Love her or hate her, I hope I get her picture with Marra.

JS