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<\/a>My first thought was, \u201cI guess she\u2019s running,\u201d when I heard about\u00a0Hillary Clinton\u2019s highly publicized criticism of President Obama\u2019s foreign policy in The Atlantic<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\nMy second thought was of Dick Cheney\u2014not that Hillary’s\u00a0comments are in\u00a0the same league as Cheney\u2019s relentless attacks. But there\u2019s the same failure to take responsibility for a mess both\u00a0helped create in launching war against Iraq. Plus\u00a0a knee-jerk hawkishness and reliance on the illusion of American exceptionalism. This dismays me about Hillary even more than her dissing of the President.<\/p>\n
My third thought was to wonder if Joe Biden is really too old, his candidacy truly unviable.\u00a0 Or if a bid for the presidency by Elizabeth Warren would make Nixon\u2019s 1972 rout of George McGovern look like a cliffhanger.<\/p>\n
I want to be pragmatic, to bank on winnability. That\u2019s why I was not an early supporter of Obama, believing that a black man whose name rhymed with Osama bin Laden could never be elected President. Gradually I saw how this view was less pragmatic than borderline racist and certainly self-defeating, enabling the very views I abhorred. I became a fervent admirer of Barack Obama, and worked hard for his 2008 and 2012 victories. I thought highly not only of his policies, but also of his intelligence, calm demeanor, decency, and capacity for nuanced thinking and self-reflection. Most of all, I loved that Obama appealed to the better angels of our natures.<\/p>\n
Now I am not so confident that the better angels of our natures can prevail. It is a futile endeavor, but one I undertake anyway, to wonder if President Hillary Clinton might have succeeded where President Barack Obama has been stymied. Mostly I think not\u2014the economic and foreign policy disasters are too immense, the virulence toward Hillary almost as strong as the virulence toward a black man. Perhaps there would have been no difference.<\/p>\n
But the one thing I reluctantly come back to again and again is that Hillary might have done better because she is more hard-nosed. She would not have wasted time and energy trying to make friends with a Republican Party hell-bent on destroying her. She might\u00a0also have more room to maneuver as a white woman than as a black man in a country that is arguably more racist than sexist.<\/p>\n
Pragmatism counts, and Hillary is nothing if not pragmatic. She\u2019s smart, hard-working, dedicated, and, unlike faux feminist candidates like Sarah Palin, a true champion of women\u2019s issues. Some of her personal qualities, however, give me pause as well as hope.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not sure I\u2019m ready for Hillary. But what are the alternatives?<\/p>\n
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How do you feel about Hillary and the presidential prospects for 2016?<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My first thought was, \u201cI guess she\u2019s running,\u201d when I heard about\u00a0Hillary Clinton\u2019s highly publicized criticism of President Obama\u2019s foreign policy in The Atlantic. My second thought was of Dick Cheney\u2014not that Hillary’s\u00a0comments are in\u00a0the same league as Cheney\u2019s relentless … Continue reading