Hillary vs. Obama in 2012? It’ll Never Happen — I Don’t Think

Posted: August 23, 2011 in Featured, Political Opinion

I come to you today, my friends, with good news and bad news.  First the bad news.

If Hillary Clinton looks at the polls and decides that Barack Obama is Jimmy Carter all over again, and if she figures, what the hell, and makes a run against him, she will win.  Not just the Democratic nomination.  The whole thing.

Hillary can beat Mr. Obama and anyone the Republicans nominate.

In the primaries liberals wouldn’t even have to feel (too) guilty about abandoning America’s first black president.  They could convince themselves that with the economy in the dumps, Mr. Obama can’t win in 2012.  And it’s not as if they’d be dropping the president for some vanilla white guy.  They could feel good about themselves knowing that in 2008 they made history by helping to elect America’s first black president … and in 2012 they would be making history again, this time by helping elect America’s first woman president.

As for the general election, while Republicans would turn out in droves to vote for anybody but Hillary, she’d certainly get a huge percentage of the party’s base (except for some black voters furious that she ran against Mr. Obama) and more importantly, she’d probably pick up enough of those crucial independent votes to become President Clinton.  Independents, after all, went Democratic in 2008.  And just because the polls show a majority of them no longer support President Obama, that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t vote for Mrs. Clinton – especially if the Republicans go crazy and nominate Michelle Bachmann or Rick Perry.

Of course none of this would be good for the country, since Mrs. Clinton would try to impose her liberal worldview on all of us just as President Obama has.  No, she’s not as liberal as Mr. Obama, but she’s liberal enough to drive conservatives nuts.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is this is a crazy drama that will never play out.  She won’t run.  No way.  I don’t think.

But if President Obama continues to drop in the polls, if Americans continue to think he’s doing a terrible job handing the economy, you never know.

Nah!  Can’t happen.  At least I hope it can’t.

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  • Ralph Hahn

    I agree with you, Bernie. Hillary would win the Democrat nomination and would probably beat the Republican challenger 14 months from now. Just a couple of months ago, the lamestream media and Democrats (is there a difference?) were crowing right after Obama ordered Usama killed that he was untouchable in 2012. Now with the Dems running for cover, there could be a Draft Hillary campaign, that would begin underground and build from there. Like you, I’m not starting a Draft Hillary committee.

  • Mark C.

    If Hillary ran for Dems in 2012 she will lose. Enough blacks will stay home on election day to put the GOP over the top. Also don’t write Perry off so quick. I don’t like the guy but he has never lost a political gunfight.

  • Paul Courtney

    Anyone else notice that suggesting Marco Rubio for VP drew ten times, and poking birthers in the eye drew 100 times, the response of suggesting Hillary could run for POTUS? She needs a new publicist.

  • RecknHavic

    There’s about as much of a chance of Hillary Clinton running for President as there is of her turning a 10k investment in cattle futures into 100grand..oh wait…

  • Darek

    I used to think Bill Clinton was one of the worst presidents we ever had… and I couldn’t stand Hillary… (I am a solid conservative)… but now, quite honestly, both Bill and Hillary seem far more “reasonable” than what we have with Obama. He’s not just clueless, he’s dangerous. I agree with much of what Bernie wrote.

  • IndependentLasVegas

    There is more of a chance of Santa Claus running against BO…Hillary is not going to fight the race card that AL Sharpton will be blabbing about..

    • Michael

      Al Sharpton and MANY others I’m sure. They TOTALLY kicked Hillary under the bus the last time.

    • Joe

      Did anyone ever think that maybe Hillary might believe in much of what Obama is doing. She might not like Obama – and I’m sure she is power hungry (or used to be)… but beyond that, she appears to be more ideological driven than say Bill. I think Bill likes the game of politics – many in Congress enjoy it as well.

    • Nancye

      IndependentLasVegas:

      But she has her own “card” to run on. Which do the Dems want? Another black president or a female president? Can the Dems diss both?

  • Michael

    Dr. Suess 2011- I do not like this Uncle Sam, I do not like his health care scam. I do not like these dirty crooks, or how they lie and cook the books. I do not like when Congress steals, I do not like their secret deals. I do not like ex-speaker Nan, I do not like this ‘YES WE CAN’..I do not like this spending spree, I’m smart, I know that nothing’s free. I do not like their smug replies when I complain about their lies. I do not like this kind of hope. I do not like it. nope, nope, nope.
    If Hillary is in, I’m in! She is the only real “hope” we have.

  • Phil

    Bernie: I think Hillary would win if she did run. Can’t say she’d be much different than The Messiah, though.

    • Doctor Smith

      Agree – she could be more dangerous because she is smarter.

  • Phillip

    Bernie,
    You wrote “…especially if the Republicans go crazy and nominate Michelle Bachmann or Rick Perry.”

    While I can understand your thought (but don’t necessarily agree) of being crazy to nominate Michelle Bachmann I do not understand the same for Rick Perry. Can you please explain?

  • Tuhar Mukherjee

    @Shirl I like the SOS because she carries out the duties of POTUS no matter how flawed it is. She knows whos the boss!

  • Cmacrider

    I am somewhat surprised that Republican/conservatives are trembling at the thought that Mrs. Clinton may run and be the Democrats nominee for President. As Sec. of State she has been at best a non-entity. Look at America’s current non existent foreign policy. The woman could not even make a trip to Canada without ending up looking foolish as Prime Minister Harper dismissed her in two sentence. As a Sec. of State … how does she rate against George Schultz, James Baker, Warren Christopher, Coling Powell, Condi Rice ????

    Good Lord … Republicans should be able to demolish her if she were to become the Democratic nominee. She just the same thing as Obama except in a pant suit.

  • Shirl

    There’s no difference between POTUS and Hillary; progressive liberals with the same goals! I’ll vote for any Republican that runs, period.

  • Tom Riggs

    I really hope you are wrong …. the thought of it makes me cringe, I was shocked when her husband won a second term …. to think she could become President …. well …. I don’t want to go there.

  • Neal Angel

    One thing’s sure. She didn’t become SecState for nothing. She has larger ambitions. It’s just a matter of timing.

  • robin in fl

    i wish she would run against him..”NEVER say NEVER” Bernie,,,cause’ you just “never’ know :)

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  • Gaspare Ingoglia

    Mr. Goldberg you are truly the voice of reason. Anything and everything I have ever head you say on the Factor was exactly what I was feeling. thank you

  • Alan Kellogg

    Keep in mind the old Vulcan saying, “Only Nixon can go to China.”

    President Clinton could do surprising things in office, such as cut spending and balance the budget.

    • Lizzie

      Yea because Newt Gingrich made him see the light.

  • EddieD_Boston

    It would make the primaries interesting, to say the least. Although I’m no fan of her’s I think she’s smart enough to be a moderate president, just like Bill was. Plus, she sees how badly Obama has fared trying to shove his leftist agenda down America’s throat. Obama might be the best thing to ever happen to her and her ambitions.
    Say what you want about the Clintons but they ain’t dummies.

    PS. Remember when the words brilliant and Obama went hand in hand? Didn’t last long did it.

    • Brian

      Hillary was the best Democratic candidate in 2008. I remember several co-workers telling me that they refused to vote for her in the primary and chose Obama because they disliked her husband. I imagine others did too and now look what we have in office.

  • Kathie Ampela

    Now if I were a conspiracy theorist, I would say that this was the plan all along…but I’m not a conspiracy theorist ;-)

    Not sure your analysis is correct due to voter anger, the new power of the tea party and a large percentage of the electorate is sick of liberalism and progressivism. And there is this new contraption called the Internet. Doubt if Bill Clinton would be have won re-election if the internet hadn’t been in it’s infancy back in 96′ but you never know. Hillary’s friends in the media might abandon Obama for her…

    • Kathie Ampela

      God just sent us a warning here on the East Coast, I think. Too bad Congress is on vacation. (although Obama is in MA!)

      • Susan

        I read that there maybe a crack in the Washington monument due to the earthquake – several of my friends commented that it almost seems symbolic of what Obama is trying to do to this nation.

        • Steve

          Oh that’s so silly. Obama didn’t crack the monument, God did. Oh wait, no, it was the devil.

  • Nancye

    It sure would be fun to watch Hillary kick Obama to the curb.

  • Morior Invictus

    As long as Republicans hold the Congress and hopefully the Senate it won’t matter much if Hellary or obuma gets the job. The really big issue is Supreme Court nominees. That alone is why we need a Republican as President instead of a democrat. Of course the EPA needs to be drawn down to 1975 levels. Just a start….

    • Steve

      The way the tea party is going, the Republicans may well be ruined for 2012, including in the house. They started with a reasonable stand — pay attention to the debt — but ended up off in the abyss, and will take reasonable fiscal conservatives with them. The tea party will help Obama win again in 2012.

  • Gerry

    Hey Bernie, great minds… I was speaking to a group of folks yesterday and, a lady asked if I thought a woman would ever be elected prez. And I came to your same conclusion. Myehhhh…. Hillary could do it now. But will she? Big question.

  • Ron Kean

    Even I liked her determination in standing up to Obama all the way to the end. And even with the flaws, I still like Bill Clinton. Caving to pressure from the Republican congress good things were done.

    So I don’t think it would be all that bad…bad…but not all that bad if Republicans won the Senate.

    I went to one tea party demonstration and liked the people I saw there. I like Sarah Palin. But I’m staying in Romney’s camp for as long as I can see right now.

    • Steve

      The difference between Bill and Obama? When Obama caves to congress, it seems only bad things happen.