Who can possibly keep Hillary Clinton from calling the White House home once again?

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Posted 1/22/15

The presumptive Democratic nominee for president in 2016 is unquestionably Hillary Rodham Clinton. In a prospective primary season, there have only been two other viable potential adversaries …

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Who can possibly keep Hillary Clinton from calling the White House home once again?

View on the news

Posted

The presumptive Democratic nominee for president in 2016 is unquestionably Hillary Rodham Clinton. In a prospective primary season, there have only been two other viable potential adversaries mentioned by most political experts for the Democratic presidential nomination – nascent Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb.

Warren, a former Harvard University professor, has been bandied about as a possible exception to the inevitable Hillary rule. Bright, brash and opinionated, Warren has fast become the darling of left liberal Democrats.

An enemy of big banks and formerly the admonishing head of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), Warren would be saleable as a champion of the everyman in a campaign. She has spoken out in support of those who have endured unfair treatment from mortgage holders and credit card providers. As presidential appointed advisor to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, she led an aggressive effort to enforce compliance by financial institutions under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. As a result, she was targeted politically by financial interests.

Warren can be marketed as a champion of the beleaguered middle class. She has stated that, “Wall Street CEOs wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs.” In speech after speech, the senator speaks of further legislative action needed to equalize wealth, increase taxation of the upper class and lessen the tax burden of the middle class.

These points are contrary to the positions of Mrs. Clinton. In her autobiography, “Living History,” Hillary recommended extensive latitude when it came to financial services. Stating the importance of Wall Street as a driver of the economy, she has straddled the fence between protesters and institutional finance. Clinton is vulnerable in this regard.

Also, to those who strongly believe that it is time for a woman to be chief executive, Warren obviously qualifies. Furthermore, she is well supported by unions. She was the featured speaker at the AFL-CIO National Summit earlier this month, and galvanized the crowd with the populist themes of raising wages and lowering middle-class taxes. With widespread union backing probable, the Massachusetts senator could steal the nomination away from the former Secretary of State.

The other serious Democratic challenger to Clinton is Webb, who aside from his prior time in the Senate is a former Secretary of the Navy. Webb already formed an exploratory committee last November. With an extensive military background, he is considered a leading expert in defense matters. He is a prolific writer and an Emmy award-winning producer of military documentaries. Additionally, he is a decorated Marine Corps officer from his valiant service in the Vietnam War.

During the Bush administration’s peak mishandling of the Iraq War in 2006, Webb was ultra critical. He received a backlash from legislators on both sides of the aisle. Most of his critiques at the time regarding strategy and application of manpower eventually proved correct.

Clinton, also a senator at the time, was lawyerly and generally supportive of the Bush administration. Webb could raise this issue, along with the lack of protection for the American Consulate in Libya under Clinton’s watch at the State Department. The four Americans dying needlessly for lack of Clinton’s due diligence on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, coupled with her support of the ill-fated strategies in Iraq, could be a one-two punch to her candidacy.

On the Republican side, the current frontrunner in polls is the former governor of Florida, John Ellis “Jeb” Bush. Unlike his intellectually incurious brother, Jeb speaks three languages, completed college in 2-1/2 years, and has an extensive background in banking, business and real estate.

After serving as Florida’s Secretary of Commerce, Jeb was elected governor for two terms. During his tenure in office, Bush lowered taxes, reduced the overall size of state government by almost 7 percent, and spearheaded an effort to set caps of litigation awards regarding medical malpractice. The latter led to significantly lower liability insurance rates for medical doctors and resulted in more availability of medical services.

In regard to education reform, Bush instituted strict testing standards and universal requirements for graduation on three grade levels. His reform has been used as a template for the national Common Core Standards.

Jeb Bush will be diametrically different than tax-and-spend Hillary. He would undoubtedly run on a record of government efficiency and practical austerity. These themes could prove difficult for Clinton to battle. Also, and not incidentally, Jeb speaks Spanish as if it was his first language. Considering the growing Hispanic political clout in our country, his prowess with Spanish is no small attribute.

Also on the Republican horizon of contenders to stop Hillary from occupying the White House again are New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

Gruff, rotund, abrasive, blunt and self-righteous, Christie never shied away from a fight. Or for that matter, Christie has never failed to convey a point in a pugnacious fashion. Marred by the George Washington Bridge scandal in which a local mayor had his town’s traffic flow severely impeded as a punishment for not supporting Christie, the governor has a well-deserved reputation for retribution. Lauded for his handling of Superstorm Sandy, yet criticized for his politically opportunistic commercials regarding the disaster, Christie is consistently controversial.

However, Christie is perceived as a straight talker. His plain speech regarding his outright enmity toward overly compensated public sector union employees has drawn many business supporters. Also, his station as the head of the Republican Governors Association has given him access to moneymen and power brokers. Thus, he should be able to be well financed in the presidential campaign, even on par with Clinton.

Also possibly standing in Hillary’s way is Walker. Similar to Christie, Walker has made an extraordinary effort to rein in the cost of public sector pensions and expenses. Correlatively, Walker was successful in limiting collective bargaining. As a direct result, Walker stood for recall election. In the end he prevailed and retained his chair. Following that, he was re-elected for another term as governor. His resilience in Wisconsin might indeed translate to national politics. What he can display contrary to Hillary is an accomplished administrative history that the former first lady does not possess.

All in all, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president in 2016 is at this time undoubtedly Hillary Rodham Clinton. She is well known globally considering her experience as first lady, senator from New York State and Secretary of State. Despite this universal recognition, her ascension to the most powerful job in the land is not inevitable. She may be surprised by Warren and Webb, depending on how many Democrats will want to move on from the old guard of the left in favor of more dynamic mindsets.

Should she gain the nomination, she will still have to contend with a political brawler, a revolutionary administrator or an old name with new ideas, all of whom could keep her from once again addressing her envelopes with 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. as the return address.

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