On the last day of Hillary Clinton’s time as Secretary of State, Dr. Jason Johnson of Hiram College discusses her legacy and her potential 2016 future.
Hillary Clinton
2016: Hillary Clinton Goes “A Few Good Men” on the Senate Benghazi Hearing
There are only a few people in America who really truly care about the Benghazi testimony of Hillary Clinton in front of the House and Senate yesterday. Once you get past the reporters and the political class, and of course the families of men and women who are and were directly affected by the attack, the vast majority of weak partisan America doesn’t necessarily care to see Hillary Clinton get grilled over an open fire for a tragedy that she may or may not have been totally responsible for. I believe that is why she took such relish and time in going head to head with the Senate in particular in her testimony and responses. This was Clinton’s great big “You can’t do anything to me anymore so ‘Eff You” moment in Washington and she did it with Clinton style relish.
The Benghazi attacks on the U.S. embassy in Libya on 9/11 were unexpected and tragic and very likely lives were lost due to incompetence or slow reaction time on the part of the state department. The problem however was that since these attacks occurred during presidential election season, Republicans, as is their wont, took a legitimate issue and tried to stretch it into a condemnation of the entire Obama administration. Romney unsuccessfully tried to say that the Benghazi attacks were indicative of larger problems with all of Barack Obama’s foreign policy, which rang hollow to a public that had seen the president take out Qaddafi, Osama bin Laden and a whole HMS Pinafore of Pirates in Somalia. Obama took the heat for Benghazi because it was an election season and it would have been unseemly for him to let Hillary Clinton take the heat (mind you, she didn’t go out of her way to cover for him) but legitimate questions remained that were addressed yesterday.
That’s essentially all the secretary of state said, and in the grand scheme of things, I don’t entirely disagree. Clinton’s entire mantra throughout the hearings, especially with Senator Ron Johnson (R – WI) and John McCain (R – AZ) was: People died, and our concern was looking after them and getting who did it, who cares if we screwed up or lied about how or why the attacks happened. In a big way she’s right. To Clinton and the State Department’s credit, they have been open to criticism and a government accountability review board slammed their response to the crisis and gave them recommendations which Clinton did not dispute. When you make a mistake and say you’re sorry, and then go about the process of trying to make sure it doesn’t happen again, what else can be said? To be fair, no matter how exasperated Clinton sounded she was clearly lying about not asking and wounded embassy workers about the true nature of the attacks, and she was definitely lying about having no involvement with Ambassador Rice doing the PR circuit on the Sunday morning talk shows. So Clinton and the administration lied for a few days before coming clean and taking their medicine. A lie that lasts a couple of weeks, that you eventually recant and take your medicine for is a lot better than a lie you maintain for months and only admit to when all of the evidence is brought against you (paging Manti Te’o and Weapons of Mass Destruction).
In the end, Hillary Clinton knew she was only 24 hours from leaving the administration, so she had no problem going head to head with her old Senate colleagues. They can’t touch her now, and she will not face these men and women again unless or until she is running for president in 2016, something that Joe Biden, Martin O’Malley and a surprisingly subdued during the hearings Marco Rubio might have something to say about. Until then, she won this round, and we can get back to the business of keeping Americans safe abroad.
This article originally appeared online at Politic365.com.
Barack Obama Fares Okay in Post-Christmas Focus Group
As I have pointed out in many previous posts, the holiday season is the perfect time to get a read on the political feelings of the country. Thanksgiving and Christmas are America’s focus groups, where we sit back, talk and discuss what is going on in disparate regions of the country that relatives come from, and get a pretty good idea as to what the economy is doing.
In my case I know my focus group is a little biased: I have a Black family and a Black family means that most folks are voting Democratic, at least on the presidential level, so there aren’t many independents and leaners in my household. However, between friends and family I did get two very interesting assessments that paint a not too unrealistic picture for Obama heading into his re-election bid.
My two focus group participants were:
Bob (Fake names to protect and better harass my friends and family): My best friend from college, a 30 something year old doctor in New York City with a wife and toddler. Far left Democrat from Democratic leaning family.
Uncle Carl: (Another fake name, although doesn’t everyone have an Uncle Carl? I’ve met a few) Late 50’s black male business executive with 30 plus years at Ford Motor company living in Detroit. Married father of two.
What did I learn from my unofficial, completely unbeknownst to them focus groups that I conducted while eating Christmas dinner and snacks? Obama has both huge problems and no problems with his base. My friend from college is so thoroughly disappointed with Obama you’d think the president borrowed Bob’s favorite shirt then lost it at the laundromat. He said:
“He hasn’t been a leader, at all. On anything. I know he’s done some good things, but, I don’t know, maybe I expected more, his people certainly played into people’s high expectations and didn’t try to downplay them at all.”
And then the kicker….
“I honestly think that Hillary Clinton would have made a better president. I think she would’ve been a better negotiator.”
Yep, that sounds about right. While disappointment with the presidency of Barack Obama is pretty universal his Generation X liberal White base is significantly more disappointed than any of the other core constituencies that the formed his winning coalition in 2008. The president is going to get these voters again, my friend and his ilk are too educated and politically committed to either not vote or vote for a Republican. But, they’re not going to volunteer, give any money and certainly won’t be enthusiastically telling their friends the vote the way they were in 2008. You know – broken hearts and all. Now, Obama’s other constituency is represented by my Uncle Carl, who had the following to say about the Commander in Chief:
“I don’t think people understand, maybe outside of Michigan. That if the president hadn’t done what he did, like take over the auto-industry, the loss of jobs would be much, much worse. This country needs a middle class because they take on the brunt of the taxes. Rich people they aren’t going to pay it all. There aren’t that many of them. ”
When I asked him if the president had saved the auto industry from total annihilation, Carl wouldn’t go that far. But, he did say:
“Well … look. What a lotta people don’t understand is that every job in the plant, all those workers, for every union worker that people think is lazy and is making so much more money than them – and they aren’t – those people have about 50 other jobs depending on them.”
We went on to talk about how the loss of auto-factory workers would affect how many supplies are sent to a plant, which affects truckers, suppliers, maintenance staff and on down the economic food chain, not to mention the families and small businesses that are affected by auto workers losing their jobs. Obama’s got Uncle Carl’s vote, and he would have his volunteer time too if his job didn’t prevent him from getting all political in the workplace.
So what did my little American Focus groups teach me? Well, first: of course I have a biased sample. All of my friends and relatives are employed and are professionals so they don’t reflect some of the real pain and frustration out there.
However, what I did hear was that Obama is not going to win this election by getting people excited about him anymore. I think that ship has passed. I’m not even talking about bringing things back to where they were in 2008 (which is almost impossible). I’m talking about he will have to fight hard to bring his core constituents back to the phones and computers to push him over the top in key states across the country. Even people who acknowledge his success are disappointed that he hasn’t done more, and that he’s appeared so darn weak in the process. His saving grace just might be that he’s likely running against someone who’s even worse off. Mitt Romney barely has any supporters to disappoint, so I can only imagine that his focus groups are even more depressing than mine.
This article originally appeared online at Politic365.com.
HBO’s Game Change: A Look Back At The 2008 Campaign Reality Show
As a college professor and political junkie I am a huge fan of campaign movies. Let me be specific: I like “Campaign movies” – not movies about politics, or insider shenanigans, but actual films about how campaigns work from the inside. Whether it’s a documentary or an actual fictional film I have either watched it or it’s in my queue on Netflix.
There are thousands of campaigns that have happened in this country over the last 30+ years that are worthy of films, documentaries and movies, but none of them is more deserving than the presidential campaign of 2008. So I must admit, I was a little excited to see the new trailer for the Book-turned-movie “Game Change” when it premiered on-line yesterday.
The fully titled book, Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime came out in 2010 and was written by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. The book included over 300 interviews with campaign insiders and provided all sorts of juicy gossip about the campaigns that may or may not have actually happened. The movie version of parts of the book will premiere in March on HBO and you can see the Game Change trailer here.
The cast looks pretty good so far, you got Ed Harris as John McCain and Julianne Moore playing a much more subdued Sarah Palin (I was at the Republican convention in 2008 and she was a bit more lively than this clip indicates), but it doesn’t quite pull me in yet for a trailer, which is what it’s supposed to do. The 2008 campaign was a manic, must see TV experience and any movie that purports to capture that moment in time needs to blow you out of the water from scene one or trailer one.
I have long said that the 2008 presidential campaign, especially the primary battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was the greatest reality show in American history. We all certainly watched it like it was the hottest show since E.R. and everybody – I mean everybody – was talking about that campaign.
True story: I remember being at the African American history museum in Detroit during the primary and overhearing two 50-something year old security guards discussing how the Super-delegates in that state might influence Obama’s chances. Of course, one of the reasons the campaign became water cooler talk wasn’t just because of the candidates involved but because of an often overlooked element of Hollywood. The Hollywood writer’s strike ran from November 2007 until February 12th of 2008, which meant that during the hottest times in the primary, the Iowa Caucuses, the early debates and even Super Tuesday there was NOTHING else on television. We got all of our drama, romance, adventure and action from the campaign in those early months because there was no Desperate Housewives, Nip/Tuck or Smallville to occupy our time. By the time new shows started coming back on the air, the nation was hooked.
I know you can’t read that much into a trailer, but I’m not picking up that energy so far from the little bit that has been shown. Maybe by the time everything hits post production and gets on the air by next March the movie will seem more exciting, but until then I’ll just have to get my campaign fix from re-watching Ides of March.
This article originally appeared online at Politic365.com.
Draft Hillary Clinton 2012: The Meme Shall Never Die
If there is one thing the Republican Party knows how to do, it’s making misleading and election altering robo-calls. The most recent entrance in the GOP Hall of Robo-call Fame comes from an anonymous phone call that has come through in major swing states calling on voters to sign a petition to draft Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2012.
The calls, which conspicuously don’t mention Barack Obama by name, touch upon themes that rile up his often frustrated base, namely compromises with the GOP and the struggling economy. All recipients of the call are encouraged to go to the draft Hillary website which gives them a chance to sign a petition that will be handed to the current Secretary of State. The site itself is of incredible low quality and simplicity – it looks like something that any bored housewife could’ve made on Word Press on a lazy afternoon.
Moreover the site lists an amazing array of things that never would’ve happened if we had a ‘fighter’ in the White House instead of a “Lecturer in Chief.” According to the draft Hillary site:
1. A plan to reduce global warming would have passed with investments in upgrading the national electricity transmission grid to deliver wind and solar energy throughout America. And, millions would be employed right now on this critical effort.
2. Instead of the cry of Beltway “gridlock” there would be the clarifying call for national progress through strong leadership.
3. Instead of academic discussions about “post-partisanship” there would be calls to action. We would not have lost the House in 2010.
4. Peace and prosperity would reign across America, Dog and Cats would be living together in harmony, Ice cream cones would never melt in the summer and the Cleveland Browns would win the Super Bowl.
Okay you got me … I made up the second one. The fantasies expressed by this site would be even more hilarious if it weren’t for the fact that esteemed “journalists” and “consultants” have been trying to make the same arguments for almost three years now.
However, those with more sober minds would likely recognize that the rise of the Tea Party would have happened with a Hillary Clinton presidency, as well, because it was as much about the fissures in the GOP as it was about facing the possibility of an 8-year Democratic presidency. Hillary supporting analysts like to say that she has more of that Kobe Bryant Killer Instinct than Obama, and that Hillary wouldn’t have negotiated and capitulated to Republicans as much as the president has.
On that level I might agree. But, funny thing about Hillary and Kobe for that matter, they’re incredibly talented but lousy teammates who can’t get along with anybody after a couple of months. Hillary Clinton (whose relationship with her own party leadership during the 2008 election was as bad – if not worse – as Obama’s is with Democrats in Congress now) likely would not have any better chance of passing legislation than Obama.
Whatever Republican operative set up these calls (and you know that is who’s behind them) is just a touch too late for the political zeitgeist of 2012. A year ago, before the Republican field made their debut and right after the mid-term shellacking there were plenty of calls for Obama to step aside and let Hillary run.
However, on the eve of the 2012 elections for anyone who is actually bothering to vote it’s not about Obama versus the imaginary Clinton presidency part 2 – it’s about Barack Obama versus whomever the Republican nominee will be. Any die hard Hillary Clinton supporters out there still pining away for her imaginary presidency dropped off the Obama bandwagon three years ago.
This article originally appeared online at Politic365.com.