2015 is going to be the first stretch in the 2016 horserace
for the White House. The GOP will be
sorting out their candidates as the establishment and Tea Party wings battle it
out in primaries and debates. Every poll and handicapper are agreeing on the Democratic
side. Hillary Clinton is the overwhelming odds on favorite. If she does not balk at entering the starting
gate, it will take an unforeseen earthshattering stumble to keep her from
getting the nomination.
Republicans who fear her
candidacy in the November 2016 presidential derby have done their best to lame
her. The GOP’s strategy for the past two
years has been Benghazi, Benghazi, and Benghazi. The attempt to tie her into the unfortunate
death of Americans, including the much respected Ambassador to Libya, in a
terrorist attack in September, 2012, has flat out failed. She was charged by
many in the GOP with orchestrating a cover up.
The November 21, 2014 the Republican led House Intelligence Committee
issued a final report that exonerated the State Department and placed the failure
on the CIA. The report conclude the CIA failed to provide more security
personnel even though before the attack the State Department had made such a
request that was still pending at the time of the attack. The CIA had not
turned down any requests for help before or after the attack. Neither the
Department of Defense nor the CIA turned down any requests for help or air
support during the attack. Ambassador Susan Rice’s inaccurate statements on a
talk show were based on “the best available intelligence at the time”, edited
by the Deputy CIA Director, and the CIA was at fault for not getting more eye
witness accounts that led to faulty conclusions of the nature and motivation of
the attackers.
What is left to the GOP is a regurgitation of old news long
overcome by the Clintons: Whitewater, impeachment, and innuendos and personal
attacks. Post 2008 Hillary Clinton moved
on, stepped farther out of the First Lady shadow, and made her mark as an
independent, competent, leader of the State Department that gained her respect
of her colleagues, employees, and women worldwide. The GOP charges that she
accomplished little should be directed toward President Obama who set the
course she faithfully followed.
It is way too early to predict the presidential derby winner.
Much depends on the nature of the GOP’s outcomes or even if unexpectedly
Clinton drops out. She will need to overcome dynasty fatigue but a Jeb Bush run
would neutralize that. She needs to establish she is indeed a champion of the
middle class, especially if the GOP’ candidate favors economics that trickle
down from an enhanced 2% rich. If the GOP’s candidate persists in turning off
minority voters needed to win enough electoral votes, she would gain an
advantage. As horse races are
unpredictable, so are Presidential derbies.
Just ask George W Bush who watched the economy go into a near death dive
in the latter days of the 2008 campaign.
https://intelligence.house.gov/sites/intelligence.house.gov/files/documents/Benghazi%20Report.pdf
http://www.factcheck.org/2015/02/boehner-and-benghazi
http://www.factcheck.org/2015/02/boehner-and-benghazi
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