Hillary Clinton Beginning to Gear Up

In the early polls, Hillary Clinton is already leading other Democrats in the race for the 2008 presidential nomination. Early polls, of course, are notoriously unreliable. There has been criticism of Hillary's support of the war in Iraq and her version of policies that some critics call Republican-lite. Her support of a flag burning amendment is one example of pure politics that critics believe is unnecessary (when someone burns a flag, it usually backfires as a political statement and has become a rare event). Pandering to the right is a political strategy many feel is best left to Republicans who in any case increasingly find themselves isolated on a wide range of issues. Bush, of course, specializes in political stunts that obscure his actions and the growing problems that face our country, and some Democrats fear an October surprise this year. More and more Democrats, though, believe the best way to deal with Bush is to face him head on.

Perhaps noticing the growing criticism of her stance on several issues, Hillary Clinton is beginning to shift her ground. Ronald Brownstein of the Los Angeles Times has a story on recent comments Clinton has made about Iraq and Democrats:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) said Friday that this month's congressional debates had narrowed Democratic divisions on the war in Iraq, and she charged that Senate Republicans had "abdicated" their responsibility to question President Bush's management of the conflict.

(snip)

"I actually think we have come out for a more effective road map to the goal that all of us want, which is a successful outcome — an Iraqi government that can govern itself, keep its country together, and fend off insurgents and sectarian violence," Clinton told reporters after a speech at the annual conference of NDN, an advocacy group formerly known as the New Democrat Network.

Clinton has opposed a firm timetable for complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. But, like many Democratic senators, she moved closer to critics of the war by supporting a resolution, sponsored by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), that urged Bush to start troop redeployment.

On Friday, she said the measure showed Democrats coalescing around a message that seeks "success in Iraq" but stresses that the Iraqi government must understand "it cannot have an open-ended, unconditional commitment from the United States."

(snip)

Clinton on Friday encapsulated many of the emerging Democratic arguments. She charged that the Senate deliberations revealed a willingness among GOP senators to "blindly follow the president" without asking questions about the war's direction.

"The Democrats may have somewhat different views about how we succeed in Iraq, but we are … unified in fulfilling our constitutional responsibilities to engage in a legitimate debate … and to offer honorable, responsible positions," she said.

Joe Gandelman of The Moderate Voice notes a poll that says 47% of voters would vote against Hillary; that is not a good sign. Although I have to admit a bias in favor of John Edwards, I remain open-minded about 2008, but Hillary Clinton has her work cut out for her. It's doubtful that the politics that got Bill Clinton elected in the 1990s will work in 2008; much has changed since then and those candidates who understand where our country needs to go in this era will have the advantage.