When and Where Clinton Went Wrong

Hendrick Hertzberg notes that "it is not too soon to ask" when and where Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign went wrong.

"Well, here's one answer: eight years ago, in New York. If she had chosen, instead, to move to Illinois, where her accent is familiar and her connections deep (Chicago's her home town, after all), she could have settled in and sought her Senate seat there, in 2004. She didn't do that, presumably for reasons both marital (Bill's not really a Second City kind of guy) and political (she would have had to run for President as a first-term senator rather than as a reëlected one). But Barack Obama would still be a local or regional up-and-comer and, most likely, a Hillary supporter. Here's another: five and a half years ago, in Washington. If she had opposed authorizing the Iraq war, the activists -- grassroots and netroots -- might have mobilized for her rather than against her. She might have cruised to the nomination, and the Democratic Party might now be basking in the warm glow of being about to make history by electing the first woman President."

May 12, 2008 | Related News




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