The era of Hillary begins
The next two months will be all about Hillary Clinton. So will the next year if she wins the Democratic nomination. Can she take it? Can you?
By Michael Scherer
Nov. 2, 2007 | WASHINGTON — Note it in the history books: In the month of October, in the year 2007, the American political battlefield was reshaped. A die was cast, a donnybrook begun. Old agreements were broken, new alliances formed. And one powerful political force appeared solitary on the horizon, as magnetic and polarizing as anything this nation has ever seen. With Tuesday’s debate in Philadelphia, the era of Hillary Clinton officially arrived.
Now we as a nation must deal with it. For the next two months, in the clumsy holiday stumble toward the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, the specter of Clinton is destined to overwhelm the nation’s news broadcasts, the pundit round tables and the cluttered debates. For both Republicans and Democrats, she will lurk behind all discussions, testing the willpower and endurance of the American people. The hatred she can summon, the hope she can inspire, all of it, will be on display day after day. And no matter how they feel about her, voters will be forced to endure sense memories of the ’90s, flashing back to that era’s exhausting fog of anti-Clinton rhetoric.
Wonks and political scribes have seen this coming for months. There have been many story lines so far in the 2008 campaign: the rise of Barack Obama, the re-creation of Mitt Romney, the collapse and resurgence of John McCain, the legitimization of Rudy Giuliani as a Republican contender. But in a way, these were all just diversions from the main plotline: Can anyone — Democrat or Republican — stop Clinton? And can anyone, besides faithful Hillary supporters, deal with the Hillary fatigue to come?
For Republicans, another Clinton’s candidacy was always a blessing in disguise. They knew her as a masterful politician, a policy expert, a formidable foe. And a gift. No one could unify the despondent GOP rank and file as well. Seven years of George W. Bush has infected the conservative movement with confusion and despondency. Clinton was the antidote, a savior to be championed. Months ago, Karl Rove raced through the city streets, singing her name. Clinton is coming, he cheered. Clinton is coming. The Republican candidates followed suit, calling her out on the trail: a socialist, a big spender, liberalism incarnate. [more]