http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/conscience-realist/2013/nov/15/benghazi-wont-stop-hillary-clinton-becoming-presid/Friday, November 15, 2013 - The Conscience of a Realist by Joseph Cotto
OCALA, Fla., November 15, 2013 — Hillary Clinton is said to be making
the rounds in advance of a 2016 presidential run.
Whether or not her chances of securing the Democratic nomination are
good is anybody’s guess. Some pundits and politicos believe that she is
a shoo-in, while others think she is wasting her time.
Today’s Democratic Party is a world away from where it was when the
Clinton machine was running full-stop. The Democratic Leadership
Council, a centrist political action group which bolstered Bill
Clinton’s interests, is no longer operational. The Democratic base has
swung far to the left with few, if any, apologies.
Perhaps most importantly, Democrats rely on ethnic and racial identity
politics now more than ever before. Two WASP men from the South — Bill
Clinton and Al Gore — could never become president and vice president,
respectively, on a twenty-first century Democratic ticket.
It is difficult to claim that the former’s wife, popular a first lady
as she was, will have few difficulties overcoming the tribalism of
today’s Democratic Party.
Certain Hillary Clinton critics don’t pay mind to any of this.
Instead, they claim that her handling of the Benghazi attack as
President Obama’s secretary of state will allay public support.
They couldn’t be more wrong.
Sad as it is to admit, most Americans probably don’t remember much
about what happened in Benghazi. Even though the attack took place not
much more than a year ago, it is old news to all but right-of-center
voters.
Just in case anyone forgot, our Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and
several Marines protecting him died after Islamist militants attacked
his residence. The situation was known to be dangerous prior to the
siege so help was requested, but did not come. Just why this is
remains a mystery, and probably will forever.
Seeing as Clinton was in charge of American diplomacy, she was
rightfully blamed for the security botch. Since retiring in the wake
of Obama’s winning another term, she allegedly began laying the
foundation for assuming his job after the next election.
The fact of the matter is that voters increasingly don’t care about a
candidate’s history or qualification for public office. Rather, they
seek out personal benefits, namely government handouts, and vote
accordingly.
Should Clinton manage to lavish enough voters with whatever it is they
are seeking, then she will probably win. If another politician crawls
out of the woodwork to out-lavish her, then she is all but certain to
lose.
This is what it all comes down to, and not a thing more. The American
Dream, for all too many, has become a clever scheme.
