There was a moment in time when I thought Hillary should run; a moment in time when, in fact, I thought she would have made a decent president. That moment was 2004.
Sure, she’d already sold us out by voting for the Iraq war, but she still could have got away with it; made a few outraged speeches about how she’d been lied to, vowed to bring the war to an honorable close, etc…
I suppose it was logical of her not to run. Stay in the Senate a few years, build up the old resume, not look overeager. But, we needed her then and she wasn’t there. She could have won the nomination. She’s not exactly a honybucket of charisma, but compared to John Kerry she’s downright magnetic. She probably would have won, too.
Except, she didn’t think so. If she thought it was going to be a Democratic year, she would have gone for it. The woman is a political animal and she’s wanted to be president her whole life. So, she stayed out, and the rest is history.
When 2008 rolled around, I supported her in the beginning. The ‘electability’ argument. I was disenchanted with her, but figured she could win and, despite her political cowardice, would make a halfway decent president. But when Obama took Iowa, I figured “Damn. If a black guy can win in Iowa, maybe he can win anywhere.” And I got behind him.
She probably figured she had it in the bag this year, with Obama not running. Surprise, surprise, surprise.
I feel a little bit bad for her, knowing how bad she wants it, how much she feels entitled to it, but she blew it. It wasn’t a failure to hire the right campaign manager in 2008, it wasn’t a failure to get enough endorsements or say the right thing in the right place at the right time.
Quite simply, she missed her moment. Her moment was 2004.
www.gurukalehuru.com 