A feather in her cap, or a fire in her belly:
Such are the twin engines of a possible Hillary run.
They won’t both fire, though; only one.
If appetite consumed her, she’d have made her decision.
If a feather is her motive, she’ll surely lose.
Mrs Clinton is on tour promoting her book Hard Choices
published by Simon and Schuster.
Say, those are very interesting words and a great way of expressing what a lot of people are most likely thinking.
Thanks, Sam–Much as I admire Hillary, I take a dim view of her prospects–it’s a gut feeling. I am oddly tired of her campaign already–just think how we’d feel on election day if she were actually to run!
Plus I think that if she were impassioned about the condition of the people, she would not be worrying about her image–she would be out there doing! And nothing but.
Enjoy this beautiful summer weekend,
Susan
Right now she seems to be acting very, very cautiously, not herself at all. As Secretary of State she was bold, spoke wisely, and had an aura of complete strength and confidence . . . . I’m a Hillary fan myself, but now she seems to be tired and hesitant.
Perhaps the book tour is her swan song . . . It would be shocking if Hillary decided against running.
Were I in her position, I would drop completely out of sight and rest for an entire year. Then I would allow myself to be drafted and run a “front-porch” campaign!
Related: Running for President Is Hurting Hillary Clinton’s Presidential Campaign (The Wire.com)
I like the term “front-porch campaign”; what is it? . . . . Your idea about her resting for a good period is smart. I saw her the other day on TV doing an interview and afterward she had trouble getting out of her chair—she was tired and is overweight. . . . Organizing a “draft Hillary” campaign would be a capitol idea !!
Believe it or not, Sam, presidential candidates (in the nineteenth century) used to rely mainly on prominent supporters and proxies to campaign for them. The candidate himself would still give speeches and make appearances, travel and respond to invitations, but generally it fell to others to go out into their states and “stump” for their man (and it WAS always a man back in those days).
As railroads enabled candidates to travel long distances and appear in more places personally, a range of choices sprang up about hos to campaign. Now, with airplanes, presidential candidates wear themselves out appearing every place personally.
The most famous stay-at-home candidate was President McKinley, who in the 1896 election deliberately chose to stay at home while his opponent William Jennings Bryan made hundreds of appearances across the country.
McKinley’s brilliant lieutenant Marc Hanna concentrated on raising money, and on inviting hand-picked delegations to visit McKinley at home in Canton, Ohio. Something like 60,000 delegates made their way on the railroads (often using discounted tickets that the campaign had supplied) to visit McKinley and be photographed with him out of his home.
Meanwhile, Hanna saturated the countryside with billboards, posters, and other ephemera bearing McKinley’s image. McKinley won the election.
According to Wikipedia, there are modern-day instances at the state level of candidates winning office without appearing to campaign.
Thanks for your comments,
Susan