President Hillary Clinton. Sound good? Alarm bells going off? Enormous sense of relief? Either way, a Hillary Clinton presidency would pose serious structural issues to the American body politic. Let me explain.
American liberal democracy arose in the 18th century as a response to the corruption and power structures of Europe’s feudalism-come-aristocracy and its many transgressions against the liberty of a people. The feudal structures were characterized by rule via royal family, nobility, and privilege, and often justified under the idea that the rulers were inspired by God. As a result, European governments were frequently defined by family rivalries for the throne. Entire nations watched and their fates were guided by family dynamics.
In a similar way, American politics and foreign policy is in danger of becoming the plaything of two prominent American families: the Bushes and the Clintons. When George W. Bush’s presidency is completed, the office of the president will have been occupied by a Clinton or a Bush for twenty straight years. Add the vice presidency of George H.W. Bush, and you have these two families in power for 28 years. A Hillary Clinton presidency, for all its potential merits and pitfalls, would inescapably add 4, perhaps 8, years to that tally. We are contemplating three decades of Bush-Clinton presidential leadership. This is not good.
The Bushes carry direct responsibility for the family dynamics of the oval office. Before the 2000 election, it was candidate George who defined the policy about Iraq: "Iraq is a uniquely American problem because they tried to kill my dad." In feudal and aristocratic Europe, countries went to war over slights to their honor. Family feuds were acted out on the battlefields of history. Thousands would die defending the honor of one. George W. Bush turned American foreign policy into an instrument of personal vendetta.
Further, the Iraq War can be seen through the perspective of a father-son dynamic. The wiser elder Bush avoided the quagmire of Iraq. The younger, more impetuous Bush walked right into it. How many Americans have suffered and died, how many families in America are missing family members so a son can work out the psychological issues he has with his father?
These are failings of the Bush family in particular, but they also define the historical moment in which Hillary Clinton is running for president. Unfortunately for her, it makes for an inauspicious moment. A victory for Clinton in November would inescapably put the country into a situation where two families have held national power as president for almost three decades, and for 36 years if you count George H. W. Bush as vice president. Such dynamics are characteristic of feudal cultures, not our American democracy.
Lest one think this an unimportant side note, consider this: American culture through the last eight years has become increasingly receptive to ideas, actions, and structures that are more similar to authoritarian dictatorships than they are to democracy. We have invaded two countries, restricted our rights (Patriot Act), approved torture as a method of interrogation (Military Commissions Act), allowed unwarranted searches and seizures, and allowed our electoral system, which was once the envy of the world, to decay into a global electronic joke. And while all this is going on, no political party has addressed the issue, and only two fringe candidates for president, Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul, have addressed it at all. Kucinich, who addressed these issues at the DNC meeting last week, was roundly booed during his speech.
At a time when so many anti-democratic currents are running in the culture, Hillary’s problem with history is that her election would seem to further reinforce the non-democratic structures that have been developing in the country and the culture. No matter her strengths, weaknesses, or merits as a candidate and potential president, she cannot explain away this problem. The issue is all the more poignant because she has not addressed it at all. No other major candidate has either, but their families have not been alternating the office with the Bush clan, either.