Originally Posted by Cypress
The ready from day one is lame and empty rhetoric.
I think Rudy Guilliani ran the worst campaign in recent history.
Naah Fred Thompson took that Oscar.
See, I don't think so. I knew long ago, based on what I was reading, that Grandpa Thompson was a lazy campaigner, a man without substance, a undistinguished one-term senator, and a man without the neccessary drive to reach the peak of any of his chosen career paths: from acting to the Senate. He was always on the B-list. So, outside of his momentary bump in the polls, I suspected he was doomed to become a late night punch line.
Rudy was America's mayor. He was dominating the polls for two straight years. He had the resources, the infrastructure, and he had Fox News on his side. And he spent 50 million dollars to win one delegate. Nobody....Nobody is in that league of failure. Not Hillary, not John Edwards. Christ, not even Ron Paul.
On Hillary Clinton: One of the few (apparently) correct predictions I ever made, was that she wouldn't be the nominee. I thought early on that Obama was going to be a phenomena, and I think even edwards in a two person race, could have competed against her. Obama is a phenom. Something we haven't seen before. I think he would have crushed ANYBODY in this particular Democratic primary. He's got the midas touch, he's an amazing orator, and he has a sympathetic media. And no doubt, he's managed a good campaign. Imagine what he would have done to Guilliani or Romney. He would probably crush anybody. Yes, Clinton had a lot of establishment money and support. But, the fact that she's even competing on an even par with Obama is a testament to her strength and credibility. I've never been one to think that Hillary hate went much beyond the rightwing, the anti-war crowd, and educated cyberspace armchair pundits. Her favoribility among rank and file working class democrats, latinos, and african americans has always been strong. The Chapdogs and the Superfreaks of cyberspace are not a representative demographic. I think our experiences in cyberspace tend to misinform us as to the depth and scope of hillary hate. Although, admittedly, she is a somewhat polarizing figure. So was George Bush in 2004, and he won the presidency. Bill Clinton was polarizing, but had enough of a governing coalition to become the first two term Democratic president in 50 years. Polarizing is not the death knell of a candidate.
In short, it's entirely possible that Clinton totally mismanaged this campaign. Some seem to think she relied too much on DLC consultants, and not enough on organizing in smaller states. I certainly don't think she's been a disaster. But, a loss is a loss. It won't be looked at kindly. I thought as much as 18 months ago that she wouldn't win a Democratic primary against two extremely strong and charasmatic contenders like Obama and Edwards. But, I'll give her some props for making history and coming a cat's whisker from being the nation's first viable woman candidate for prez.
