The progressive blogs are brutal to Hillary Clinton. I spent some time considering
Wes' recent post about her versus Joe Lieberman. I agree - Hillary is no longer a favorite of mine - she exudes some of the qualities I dislike about Bill, though I love Bill.
I have to wonder if she can see herself realistically at all. An article/analysis of her I read some time ago said that isolating yourself from reality and from people who tell you negative things about yourself is a survival mechanism inside the white house (it seems to be the Bush M.O.), and that explains why she still does that. The problem is, that she is not getting the feedback that she needs to have in order to grow as a leader - as long as she isolates herself from feedback, she possibly still sees herself as the darling of the liberals that she was in 1993. Unfortunately, she is no longer that.
Check out
this post article, especially the following:
It is a reality that Clinton's advisers are confronting as they seek to position the former first lady for a possible 2008 presidential run. They expect that any campaign would begin after this fall's election, in which Clinton, a Democrat, is running for a second Senate term from New York.
Never has a politician stepped onto a presidential stage before an audience of voters who already have so many strong and personal opinions about her, or amid arguments that revolve around the intangibles of personality and the ways people react to it.
Clinton's assets are formidable: an unrivaled ability to generate publicity and money, and approval ratings that are notably strong, given her polarizing reputation and the controversies she has weathered over 15 years in the national eye. In recent public opinion polls, she handily leads potential Democratic rivals.
Beneath these positives, however, there is evidence of unease -- about her personal history, demeanor and motives -- among the very Democratic and independent voters she would need to win the presidency.
A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll highlighted the paradox. Fifty-four percent of those responding view her favorably, and a significant majority give her high marks for leadership (68 percent), strong family values (65 percent), and being open and friendly (58 percent). At the same time, only 37 percent of Democrats in the poll say they would definitely vote for her for president.
A Gallup poll from last summer also highlighted a perception that she is too divisive, with 53 percent of respondents saying they do not view her as someone who would "unite the country and not divide it."
While these don't address Wes' concerns that it is her positions about the war, about flag-burning, her focus on issues other than the real issues of the day, which respond to the hearts of the Rapture Right and not the needs of the USA, that are the problem, they address what seems to me to be a core issue - What does Hillary really care about? What does Senator Hillary stand for and what would she stand for as president? If she is not truly a progressive, she is not who we need. We do NOT need someone who sacrifices what we know we need to move forward for what triangulation says will be popular. We need a LEADER - someone who tells us we have to do the hard thing and support us through the wrenching change.
I really do still want to love Hillary. I really do want her to be the shining progressive saving light for the dems. But right now, I have to say I support Feingold most of all, since Hillary seems to have sold her soul.
Will the real Hillary please stand up? If you really want to run, we need to see you and be assured of your authenticity.