Sabria Chowdhury Balland :
“You know, everybody has setbacks in their life, and everybody falls short of whatever goals they might set for themselves. That’s part of living and coming to terms with who you are as a person.”
-Hillary Clinton
The setbacks from the goals which Hillary Clinton had set for herself in the Presidential elections in 2008 have not, as her above quote indicates, incapacitated her. This has become more and more apparent throughout her political trajectory.
Clinton has yet to announce her run for the Presidency but she is already staffed with huge Democratic talent, some straight from the Obama White House. Although she plans to postpone campaigning until late summer, the former Senator, Secretary Of State and First Lady has already assembled what can be referred to as a Dream Team, in addition to her existing substantially solid support. Some analysts, for example from the Washington Post, have commented that although Clinton’s run is not official yet, her campaign is beginning to resemble that of an incumbent’s reelection. At this point, she has already settled on a campaign chairman, a campaign manager, a chief strategist,
a lead media advisor, a communications director, a deputy communications director, a focus group director and a communications strategist.
It seems safe to say that Clinton will be running largely in support of a sitting president and his agenda and has been hiring a considerable number of President Obama’s former aides. Although there are some concerns to her beginning her campaign rather late, there is another facet to the situation. Clinton is a tenacious and highly appreciated would be-candidate who consistently polls as a favorite politician. She is well-known and respected by the American people and internationally.
Her last name is associated with booming economic times due to her husband’s sound and successful economic policies and she is unique in that she may well be the very first female US President.
These are substantial positive aspects to Clinton’s candidacy, particularly at a time when the conservative Republican war on women has caused even Republican women to be unfavorable to their party’s consistent denial to grant women liberty and respect. Clinton thus adds a freshness and uniqueness to the Presidential race. To add to the strength in her campaign, she is utilizing President Obama’s former team members who brought her down in the elections of 2008, when she lost the Democratic nomination for President.
This brilliant strategy of bringing on board precisely those who contributed to her loss gives her the edge to steer clear from mistakes made during her run in 2008.
What could possibly be the biggest challenge for Clinton is to not fall into the trap of Democrats and repeat their error which occurred in the midterm elections of 2014 for Senate and Congress. In other words, alienating herself from President Obama’s supporters in order to distinguish herself from the President. The track record of the Obama administration has been exemplary on a multitude of issues, both domestically and internationally.
Thus, basing her core agenda along the same lines can only be beneficial to Clinton’s support base and campaign. As can be well expected, her critics will obviously comment on her being royalty, establishment, for being lazy, for not having earned the highest office. However, the reality of the matter is that Clinton is a seasoned, experienced politician who has invested earnestly in a long career of hard work for causes she believes in.
What Clinton’s critics need to recognize is that after her defeat in 2008, she did not sit back and mourn her loss but rather swallowed her pride and accepted a job as Secretary Of State working for President Obama, her former opponent, after an arduous and bitter campaign. Furthermore, hiring the same people who helped her lose last time around demonstrates that she has attentively analyzed her previous errors and will do her best to not repeat them. Therefore, whatever her critics may say of her, the one thing they would be wrong in doing is assessing her as a weak candidate.
What Hillary Clinton has going for her in addition to her vast political experience is her tenacity and her ability to accept and scrutinize her errors and to overcome them successfully. Definitely assets for a successful leadership.
