At a business/social gathering following Super Tuesday I heard from a variety of Massachusetts residents regarding Hillary Clinton and other politicians:
- (from a Bernie supporter) it would be nice to have a president who didn’t actually have an office at Goldman Sachs
- (from a Trump Supporter) I’m sick of working to support people who don’t work. (Her after-tax income was definitely less than value of housing, food stamps, and health insurance received by a successful Boston-area welfare family. Sadly she was past her child-bearing years and would not have been able to go down the most reliable Massachusetts road for getting cash without working.)
- Hillary and Congress will be making laws that benefit their friends in ways that I won’t even be able to understand. But I know that I’ll be paying for this.
- Ronald Reagan ruined American politics by introducing religion. I can never forgive him for not mentioning the word “AIDS” until after more than 22,000 Americans had died, including a lot of my friends. (This statement regarding Reagan may not be accurate. This article says Reagan talked AIDS in 1985 (same year that a blood test was approved for HIV) and so does this organization, which also notes that about 13,000 Americans had died to that point.)
- (from a Bernie supporter) At least Trump probably won’t try to do that much once he is in office except enjoy being President.
- If Hillary gets elected we should buy stock in Goldman Sachs and Berkshire Hathaway and other companies to which she is connected. We know that they’re going to do great for the next eight years. [See “Warren Buffett’s Nifty Tax Loophole” (Barron’s) for the complexity of Berkshire Hathaway’s relationship with the tax code.]
[Funniest statement of the evening, from a travel industry executive: “We’ve been advertising on PBS…”]
There was no affection expressed for Hillary, even among those who said that they voted for her. The kindest thing that was said that she would be more likely to get legislation passed with Congress than would Bernie Sanders be (hardly anyone was willing to admit to supporting Trump).
With support for Hillary this weak in a passionately Democrat state just one night after Super Tuesday I wonder if she will have a tough time in November. But on the other hand other recent U.S. presidents have been elected without charming everyone. Nixon, for example. George H.W.? George W?
Readers: What do you hear in your neighborhoods? Are voters excited about Hillary or just voting for her because they like other candidates even less?
A lot of women vote for her in part because she is a woman.
The people I know that are supporting/voting for her are mostly doing so either because:
a) they’re republicans and appalled by Donald Trump
b) they’re democrats, realize Bernie has no chance in a general election, and want to make sure Donald Trump doesn’t win
The small remainder of people I know supporting her are doing so because they actually think she’s a good choice.
Actually, Hillary reminds me a lot of Nixon – the same paranoid style, e.g. “vast right wing conspiracy”. The private email server was an own goal similar to the Nixon tapes. Both are/were very intelligent but intelligence is not the #1 attribute in a President. It was said of FDR that he had a 2nd rate mind but a 1st class temperament. Hillary does not have a 1st class temperament.
Hillary is the smartest human to run for POTUS since Thomas Jefferson and possibly Herbert Hoover. Hillary has flaws. Big ones. But Hillary’s flaws are trivial compared to all the others. Republicans are a thinly veiled version of American Taliban. Their freedom to believe in 1st century myth is guaranteed by the Constitution. However, when myth is used as justification to make law it’s a problem. Abortion and gay rights are two glaring examples. You can’t argue with dogma. Intoxication with dogma is what allowed 19 sober adults fly fully loaded passenger jets into buildings on September 11, 2001. It’s also used to justify abortion doctor murders and gay person killings. These people (adherents) believe they’re doing god’s work. And therefore not personally responsible for their choices and actions. Dangerous.
Iraq War Vote — I believe Hillary voted for the Iraq war because she’s a women and didn’t want to be seen as weak. Bad move. Also, POTUS Bill Clinton’s borderline success in Bosnia probably nudged her toward use of force. I think she’s learned her lesson.
Republicans, none of which ever served a day in uniform, are itching to show ISIS what a bad-ass they are. Can’t wait to send thousands of Jessica Lynch types (young women from Palestine, West Virginia looking for a few years of college) marching around the desert killing 7th century dogma intoxicated bad guys.
The Reagan-haters will hate Trump for similarly ridiculous reasons.
@paul
If she learned her lesson from Iraq then explain Libya. If it was patently obvious that Iraq was a mistake by (presumably) 2008, why did she push for intervention in Libya in 2011?
Hillary being smart does not necessarily follow that she would be good for the American people.
@paul kramarchyk is a parody, right?
“Hillary is the smartest human to run for POTUS since Thomas Jefferson and possibly Herbert Hoover. ”
I thought that was Obama. Are we already done with Obama?
“I thought that was Obama. Are we already done with Obama?”
Has there EVER been a Republican candidate who was not dumber than the Democrat (in the eyes of Democrats)? Leftists especially for some reason want to see their rulers as smart – perhaps smart enough to fix EVERYTHING (bring hope & change, etc.). Stalin, Kim Jong Il, etc. – they are all world historical geniuses.
Obama beat Hillary so he’s obviously much, much, much, much smarter than her. That’s just a fact, and it wouldn’t hurt to point it out now and then this year. But I guess running as “the smartest human to run for POTUS since Barack Obama” lacks a certain impact in 2016.
It’s the lousiest set of likely candidates since Bush v. Gore. Hillary couldn’t beat a ham sandwich but unfortunately the GOP isn’t smart enough to nominate the sandwich.
If you haven’t seen it, George Lakoff has the thinking man’s version of Trump hitting ’em with chairs: http://georgelakoff.com/2016/03/02/why-trump/