Gathering Data on Clinton

[liberateanimum]

Alright, so I'm pretty confused as to why there are people out there opposed to the idea of Hillary Clinton running for president, aside from those who hatedemocrats/alwaysvoteGOP (there are people like this on each side

Comments

[semer]

Not my own perspective

http://mediamatters.org/items/200606150009

[craobhruadh]

Mike Savage is kinda, well, batshit insane, and I doubt his views are an accurate representation of any mainstream group in America. Or at least, I hope his views aren't an accurate representation of any mainstream group in America

[semer]

Well, yes. But it IS a view point, none the less.

[craobhruadh]

I don't know for sure, as I haven't talked to a huge number of politically active democrats (the ones who aren't really radical tend to be less forthcoming about their political views than most politically active Republicans, in my very limited experience). However, I get the impression that while Obama or Bill Clinton both have this charismatic grassroots "Washington outsider" appeal, Hillary comes off as more of an ambitious politician, worried about her own power and supporting popular causes rather than, say, "following her conscience" as per the ideals.

I'm not saying this is necessarily the case (there was a NYT opinion article recently that gave a different view), but that's how she comes off

[pandoradeloeste]

BBC for the win. Also NPR.

[pandoradeloeste]

Something that caught my attention yesterday: there was an NPR report about how different presidential candidates were dealing with reporters' questions about their votes for the Iraq war. Hillary did something interesting: she basically refuses to express any sort of regret or say that it was a mistake or anything, and flat-out said that if all people cared about was someone who expressed remorse for voting to go to war, there were many other candidates to choose from. That was a little strong in my opinion - I understand not wanting to look weak or flip-floppy, but that's not something you say if you want to win people over. It may be an isolated incident, but if she responds that way to other questions (I'm not sure if she does, I don't follow these things as closely as I ought to) then that would certainly turn people against her.

[ra1330]

Because my general reaction to Hillary is knee-jerk dislike, I'll try to provide what independent-ish data I can.

First, Info from a Gallup Poll about 6 months old, Democrats' biggest issues with Hillary were her supposed wishy-washyness, her overbearingness, and just simple dislike.

Taking the sources from the H.C. wikipedia article (as opposed to just trusting the article itself), it seems some of her critics oppose the amount she played a role in her husband's presidency (which probably goes to the whole "overbearing" thing.

Clinton apparently at one point suggested the government should take money from people for the "common good", which apparently some conservatives see as a promotion of, at the very least, larger government, if not socialism

[semer]

Yeah, and to add to that, I think some people feel uneasy about the idea of a former president's wife then becoming president. It feels to some almost like a sneaky way to get around term limits.

Now, I don't agree with that sentiment, but I'd imagine people who didn't like the first Clinton wouldn't want the second one either. :P

[ra1330]

I realize, technically, that not all of the above answered your question (namely, "why [do] the Clintons have undesirable platforms[?]"). However, I'd also argue that, even if you do agree with all her policies, that is not sufficient reason to vote for her: one may think she has great ideas without agreeing with the way she'd go about getting them done (a la overbearing).

[zero_the_fool]

Who people want as President doesn't have a whole lot to do with their platform, these days.

[craobhruadh]

I'm almost certain it has everything to do with their political affiliation. My observation is that except for swing voters, most voters just care about one thing: whether or not their candidate is from the same party as they are. Thus, they'll gladly vote for the candidate, and if that candidate wins, they'll blindly follow him like a god, and if the opposing candidate wins, then that candidate's probably the anti-christ.

Do I sound cynical to you?