The recent Quinnipiac University poll on likely
2016 presidential candidates seemingly had some good news for the GOP and bad
news for thousands of Democrats. The poll found that Hillary Clinton's
popularity had nose-dived nearly 10 percent in the past few months. The poll
even gave Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
backers some hope. In a head to head match up with Clinton they were in
striking range of her in vote comparisons.
This is heady stuff for
two rumored GOP presidential candidates who were widely viewed as candidates
with too little national appeal, too on the fringe politically and one, too
straight jacketed with the name Bush. The only other Democrat mentioned as a
possible 2016 presidential candidate was Vice President Joe Biden. His rating
plunge was high speed downward. So much so that Paul and Bush in a hypothetical
match up would trounce him.
Clinton's popularity drop
was not much of a surprise for reasons that tell much about the GOP and
Hillary. The GOP zeroed in on her in a clumsily designed stealth campaign long
ago with one aim, and that was to knock her out the box as a viable
presidential candidate in any season. The campaign began during Hillary's years
in the White House with then President Bill Clinton. The attacks from Whitewater
to the Lewinsky scandal on Bill as well as in the carping, digs, and finger
pointing, and investigations of and at him, Hillary's name was often as
prominently mentioned as Bill's. The aim was to implant in the voting public's
mind that Hillary was a co-partner, even co-conspirator, in the alleged wrong doings
the GOP tried to pin on Clinton. This was done with a long range eye on a future
Clinton presidential candidacy.
The hits on her
accelerated when she tossed her hat in the presidential ring in 2008. The GOP
dredged up all their old manufactured Clinton dirt. Some thought that this
would make her an easy mark if she won the Democratic presidential nomination
that year. But other party insiders thought the opposite. That is that Clinton
would have been even more formidable than Obama primarily because of her appeal
to women and the blue collar Democrats who had doubts and ambivalence about
voting for an African-American presidential candidate. Obama's win didn't
totally dispel that fear. He still did poorly among white male, blue collar
voters in the several win swing states. This was the case again in his
reelection win in 2012. The women and white male blue collar voters in those
states are still crucial to a Democratic presidential candidates' White House success.
There's more, though,
to the GOP's worry about Clinton than her appeal to two key voting blocs. The
more is Hillary. Millions still have a deep respect, admiration, and
appreciation for her tireless work as a women's rights advocate, her fight for
health care reform, civil rights, and international diplomacy. Before the
Democratic Party leadership and much of the media abandoned her in 2008, she
was the clear presidential choice of most rank and file Democrats and millions
of voters who spanned all racial and ethnic lines. Despite being outgunned and
out spent during the primary campaign war with Obama, she still retained much
of that support.
Her positions on health
care and corporate reform, her mea culpa for her early support of the Iraq war
and willingness to oppose it later, her experience in international relations,
and her hands on administrative experience in White House policy affairs
insured the allegiance of millions of voters to her. She was then the one sure Democrat
who could beat any GOP contender, and hit the ground running once in office.
Millions of women also saw Hillary as the gender Obama. Her presidency would
have marked a historic presidential breakthrough for women. She would have been
a role model and inspiration for millions of women young and old. She would
have proven that women can hold the world's top political power spot and govern
as well if not better than a man. Her administration would have been savvy,
moderate, and capable of skillfully navigating and winning the blood battles
with Congress.
President Obama
recognized Clinton's prodigious ability and the experience that she would bring
to any administration post. She proved invaluable as his Secretary of State in
shoring up his then paper thin resume on foreign policy issues. During her tenure at the State Department, Hillary
maintained a steady but quiet profile, as the voice for Obama administration
foreign policy.
She was not forgotten
by the GOP, though. There was little doubt the first chance it got it would
seize on a real or manufactured Obama foreign policy flub and make her their
hard target. Benghazi proved to be the alleged flub and the GOP pounced. The
aim as always was to embarrass and discredit her not because of her alleged
missteps as Secretary of State, but as a 2016 presidential candidate.
This proved again that
Clinton is the one Democrat most feared by the GOP in 2016. And with good
reason, if she runs she can win. That's why the GOP's Hillary hits won't end.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political
analyst. His new ebook is America on
Trial: The Slaying of Trayvon Martin ( Amazon ). He is an associate editor of New America Media. He is a weekly
co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on American Urban Radio Network. He is the host
of the weekly Hutchinson Report on KTYM 1460 AM Radio Los Angeles and
KPFK-Radio and the Pacifica Network.
Follow Earl Ofari Hutchinson on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/earlhutchinson