Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over, hoping for a different result

It looks like Hillary is doubling-down on "experience":

Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton attacked rival Barack Obama as all talk and little substance on Wednesday, trying to slow the momentum that has given him 10 straight victories in the race for the party's presidential nomination.
"We don't need on-the-job training for the next president of the United States," Clinton said.
Hillary has been whipping this dead horse for six months now: she has experience and Obama does not. Let me clarify something for the Clinton campaign:

Nobody cares.

I don't know if it's because "change" is more powerful than "experience." I'm not sure if it's because Democrats aren't convinced that Obama doesn't have experience. Maybe it's because they don't think that Hillary has any experience or, if she does, it's not the kind of experience she wants to brag about.

Here's my theory: it was all fine-and-good for Hillary to blur the lines on her own policies when she was the "inevitable" candidate. After all, why stick your neck out during the pro forma primaries when you'll have to dive for the center during the general election? This opened the door for Obama who, essentially, has the same governing philosophy than Hillary but is so much more likable.

It's the political equivalent of Buridan's ass: with no defining issue to differentiate the candidates, Americans gravitated towards the one you'd like to have a beer with and watch a little football.

So now Hillary wants to talk about solutions and extol her years of experience as a Wal-Mart lawyer and silent partner in the Clinton White House.

As Carole King sang: it's too late baby, it's too late.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

As Carole King wrote (sort of), Hillary Clinton and John McCain thought that supporting Bush's Iraq war was a lasting treasure. Now they're finding out it was just a moment's pleasure.

Anonymous said...

Then there's another Carole King songwriting credit: "The Locomotion." John McCain has got his hands gripping George W. Bush's waist from behind, and he's chugga-chugging right into oblivion with the hapless pariah. Clinton's further back, but she's trapped in the same chain.

Hillary and McCain both went "all in" on fear, back when fear was a good bet. And they're both going to lose.

Anonymous said...

Experience is vastly overrated as a predictor of presidential quality

Lincoln, FDR, Truman, Reagan, Eisenhower(Little to no experience)
[Good pres's BTW)

Clinton, Hoover, Buchanan, Harding, Pierce
(Tons)
[Not so good]

There are converse examples as well...

Anonymous said...

Yeah, those 12 years Bill Clinton had in the awesome position of Arkansas Governor really kicks the stuffing out of Harry Truman's measly 11 years as Missouri Senator and Vice President.

???'s suggestion of "Clinton, Hoover, Buchanan, Harding, Pierce" as "not so good" Presidents inspires nothing more than the old Sesame Street song, "One Of These Things is Not Like the Other." (And if you think the odd man out is Buchanan because he was unmarried, keep guessing.)

Anonymous said...

Harry had 0 years of executive experience and was VP for less than 4 months before he ascended into the position

Hoover was a great style diplomat president, but a poor executive

How about W. Wilson 1 years of government experinece essentially just president of Princeton, and governor for less 2 years... You write with logical falicy since my argument was that it is a poor predictor, Lincoln and Eisenhower are essentially all that are needed to prove the point. I wouldn't vote for Hillary if she promised me the world

Eric said...

Carole King wrote "The Locomotion"? I did not know that.

Anonymous said...

Anon wrote:
You write with logical falicy since my argument was that it is a poor predictor, Lincoln and Eisenhower are essentially all that are needed to prove the point.

Eisenhower's an interesting cite for you, since it would be very difficult to put any historical space between him and Bill Clinton as "good Presidents." Care to try?

Anon:
I wouldn't vote for Hillary if she promised me the world

Ah, and now we glimpse Anon's real rationale for the ludicrous "Clinton = Hoover = Pierce" premise. Never mind.

The crucial question here is, how would Burt Bacharach rate the Presidents?

Anonymous said...

"Eisenhower(Little to no experience)"

Eisenhower had little or no experience? 5-star General Eisenhower? Supreme Allied Commander?

yikes.

Snoop-Diggity-DANG-Dawg

JorgXMcKie said...

I suspect Hillary's problem with experience is that she must be of Bourbon descent: "They forgot nothing, and they learned nothing."

Anonymous said...

2nd Anon - Are you high?

1. Reagan was governor of the largest state in the country.

2. FDR was probably our 2nd worst president and did an incredible amount of damage to the Republic.