The latest from pundit-land is “no” since up to 50% of Americans say they will definitely not vote for her.

But for those of us who have watched her public appearances over time, from speeches to debates, the answer isn’t so clear.

Here’s a good analogy: If you’ve seen the original Rocky movie on DVD (or VHS), you may recall a scene where Apollo Creed, the heavyweight champion, is not taking his upcoming fight with Rocky very seriously. But while Apollo is basically enjoying himself with friends, one of them has broken away for a moment and is watching TV intently. Seeing Rocky training regimen and his deadly earnest focus, he realizes that the champ is in trouble. He tries to call Apollo away from his entourage, but nobody’s listening.

Now the analogy is imperfect because Hillary, unlike Rocky, is not an unknown entity, and there is no Republican equivalent to Apollo, ie an incumbent who is the overwhelming favorite.

Nonetheless, when it comes to Hillary, not enough Republicans are watching the TV screen carefully. They’re not seeing her disingenuous but awfully shrewd positions on Iraq. They’re not seeing her debate performances, where she stays calm and cool and in control while the others, led by Barack Obama, compete over who can stick their feet in their mouths first. Most important, they’re not seeing how all she has to do to pull ahead of Republicans is to drive down her negative poll numbers by just a few percentage points.

The New York Republican Party made precisely the same mistake in 2000. Result? First Lady Hillary Clinton became U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton.

Can Hillary win? Yes she can. Three issues may decide the 2008 election — Iraq, the war on terror, and the economy. Iraq favors the Democrats today. That could change but then again, maybe it won’t. The war on terror favors the Republicans, as Hillary herself admitted this week. But as for the economy, if we have a recession next year, that will favor Hillary, thanks to the fact that her husband presided over an economic boom, albeit not of his own making.

Message to GOP: Don’t obsess, but take Hillary seriously as a truly dangerous opponent, unless you want her to be your next Commander-in-Chief.

Tags: Bill Clinton, Future, Homeland Security, Hillary Clinton, Political Parties, Charles Gordon, Barack Obama, Campaigns, Groups & Parties, Iraq, Defense Policy, Conservatism, GOP, War on Terror, Economics, Democrats, Tax Reform, Election 2008

1. During such a time as this…the year 2007, with reality splattered before our eyes, and bombarded into our ears by the self-serving Media Machine…anything is possible. Spin it, shine it, and saturate the people with the images and explanations of what you want to create…and there you have it. It is real. It is created and made to be real.

   What was that quote of Advertising Guru David Olgilvy….”The consumer is not a moron, she’s your wife.”

   I wish it wasn’t true but whoever pays their bill to the Creators…can be the President of the USA. It’s a road we ventured down as TV took possession of our hearts and minds and there is no way back. The quality of our leadership at all levels has suffered from this. As this trend continues poor leadership will cost Americans dearly.
   Hopefully, after we are attacked again, we’ll see why. Hillary sitting in the Oval Office in 2008 is a step in that direction and nothing would make the enemies of this country happier.

   Comment by Gruber — September 7, 2007 @ 3:39 am

2. I may know where that large sum of money, came from. Joel Rosenman, a New York venture capitalist and one of the four people that produced Woodstock 69, has a lawyer in Overland Park Kansas that works on Rosenman’s intellectual property issues for his deals. This lawyer is one Lawrence Swain of Shughart, Thomson & Kilroy. Swain has a client that he works for by the name of Community Foundations of America, which recently changed its name to GivingNet, Inc. CFA uses a vendor named Kintera, Inc., out of San Diego California, that is one of the premier developers of software for creating databases of charitable giving. Both CFA and Kintera are in the business of developing access to large sums of money through “charitable giving”! Tax deductible!

   Therefore, if you wanted a pathway for this money I would say GivingNet, Inc with the use of Kintera software harvests the funds from “charitable giving.” The money then goes to Rosenman, possibly via way of Swain. Hsu becomes the bundler of these funds and uses his list, like the Paws, to camouflage the source. Hsu then donates the funds to Clinton Etal the scheme is not unlike the Islamic charities, here in the U.S., which previously funded terrorism with generous contributions from Americans. This “alleged scheme” was found by researching the social networks of the people. The research hit paydirt when it discovered that CFA (GivingNet, Inc.) provides professional services to the Tides Network! Recall, Teresa Heinz Kerry is a big donor to that organization based in
   San Francisco.

   Political donations are not tax deductible but the blessed Multimillionaires make donations into a charitable foundation, takes a tax deduction the foundation takes a cut and funnels the funds into selected political campaigns and political national committees through bagmen.

   Question; where are the IRS, FBI, and or the Federal Election Commission.

   Comment by Billgls — September 18, 2007 @ 9:44 am