No more dynasties.

Please.

What's wrong with caution and incrementalism? I think we've had enough of recklessness and "boldness" over the last 8 years.

I like Hillary Clinton and cast an enthusiastic vote for her in the '00 NY Senate campaign but I would prefer a candidate who has not been in a secret service bubble for 16 years running the country. How can you understand and lead ordinary people when you haven't circulated among them in a decade and a half?

Oh come on. How many of these candidates have any idea of the lives ordinary people lead? John Edwards in his gazillion dollar mansion in North Carolina? Harvard Law Grad Obama?

"When she became a Senator... she worked with Republicans as well as Democrats on... better health care for our veterans. Or at least help give more and more veterans the opportunity to use health care. Over 25,000 in fact."

With this post we can finally answer the immortal philosophic question: How many anonymous Clinton operatives can fit inside a single comments thread at Tapped?

Hillary and Bill only care about themselves and what they want. After 8 years in the white house they have decided they are entitled to it again for 8 more years. How utterly selfish and self centered.

After 8 years in the white house they have decided they are entitled to it again for 8 more years. How utterly selfish and self centered.

Yeah, really. How dare she? What kind of a country does she think this is, the kind where somebody can just run for president if they want? Without even having their motives cleared by vwcat? The nerve!

He absolutely convinced me-- I'm voting for Bill Clinton.

No vision beyond getting elected no goal other than to be president.

HRC's election would be historic but I imagine she would be nothing more than a average president. At this time the Democratic party and the country need much more.

Paging Al Gore and the ghosts of Tip O'Neil, Shirley Chisolm and Bobby Kennedy. Please report to the DNC.

"But since I'm genuinely quite hard on Hillary"

Fixed your typo:
But since I'm genuinely unfair to Hillary

Some "liberals" are throwing everything they can at the wall. No matter how shaky or absurd. Something’s gonna stick. And that’s their hope. One of the problems with that is we don’t end up with the best candidate just the one that managed to survive the lies.

Klein and others think it’s their duty to save us from Hillary. Report the facts. We can make our own minds.

"Klein and others think it’s their duty to save us from Hillary. Report the facts. We can make our own minds."

What facts would those be, exactly? I think most liberals (somewhat understandably, after the ongoing Bush horror show) have forgotten that Clinton was an average president at best, and a below average president if you were a liberal.

His wife still seems to be working on the assumption that betrayal of your political base on social issues and a blind fealty to the bond market on economic ones is an effective governing strategy.

I would like to elect a Democrat that would govern on liberal values, not on whatever is required to "maintain their political viability within the system."

brewmn,

Sounds like you already have all the Hillary "facts" you need. Do you mind if the rest of us look things over and make up our own mind?

"I would like to elect a Democrat that would govern on liberal values, not on whatever is required to "maintain their political viability within the system.""

You don't get to build the perfect candidate. We have to go to the polls with the candidates we have. Klein's factless anti-Hillary jihad isn't helping dems make an informed choice.

"You don't get to build the perfect candidate. We have to go to the polls with the candidates we have."

yes, and we get to choose between them. If you want to defend hillary, calling Klein names isn't going to do it.

dbt,

"yes, and we get to choose between them. If you want to defend hillary, calling Klein names isn't going to do it."

Defend Hillary? Take the hate goggles off for a minute. Klein used "some say" and "a Democratic pollster said" to trash a dem nominee for president. That's crap and Klein knows it. If Klein or anyone attacks a dem nominee with baseless crap the only thing a real Dem can do is call them on it.

Hating Hillary will not put a dem in the white house in 08.

Ezra: My question is always whether among her sacrifices have been the boldness and courage that animated her former self, whether the blows and the battles of the Clinton years have laced caution and incrementalism into her worldview.

Boldness and courage gone? maybe.

Caution and incrementalism likely? Yes, that is probably the case.

Most likely to win the Dem. nomination? it seems that way.

Most likely of the Dems to win the 08 election? Could be, but Edwards and Obama are fine prospects too.

Not progressive enough for core Dems? Seems that way.

So what then? Give Hillary a large Dem. majority of progressives in Congress, and she will surely not veto their programs. If she proposes mild policies, make them more spicy through the law.

"Hating Hillary will not put a dem in the white house in 08."

I agree. That's why I will try to walk a fine line between needlessly trashing her and quietly opposing her on principle.

I do think we overpraise bill Clinton in hindsight because he won, though. He was not a very good president for believers in FDR/LBJ style liberalism. Hell, we wasn't even a good president for those of us who believe in Eisenhower/Nixonian style liberalism.

But he was a very good liberal president in a conservative era, with a conservative house and senate. Given all that he was up against, he accomplished an enormous amount. And I challenge you to look at the economic statistics during that period. Unemployment down for African Americans. Home ownership up. Income gap narrowed. I could go on and on.

We all wished he did more, but given he was up against a Republican House and Senate (voted into office when Clinton tried to go too far on health care and there was a backlash) we can only hope that the next Democratic president does as well.

In 2008, we will rewrite all the rules of American politics when we elect a woman president. With this radical action, we will radically change the narrative about gender in America. I am proud to support Hillary for the nomination and the presidency.

This is gonna happen, folks.

goddammit I miss bill clinton.

interconnecting.evaded Winehead?tokens Donovan,reprover junta

My family and everyone in it are supporting and will vote for Hillary for President.

One only has to review the astounding work Hillary has done for women, children and families over the course of her life to know there isn't another candidate (Democratic or Republican) who can measure up to her.

And according to the polls, it seems most Democrats agree.