Former US president Bill Clinton and former US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton’s formidable political machine has gotten them to a governor’s mansion, the US Senate and the White House — but their long legacy and deep network could now be a liability.
A steady drip, drip, drip, of senior staff are leaving US President Barack Obama’s White House to join Hillaryland — the latest incarnation of a US political dynasty to rival the Roosevelts, Kennedys or Bushes.
However, the past few days might have given those heading for the campaign trail pause.
The Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation has been accused of accepting millions of dollars in donations from Persian Gulf states with questionable human rights records.
Embarrassingly, the painter of a famous Bill Clinton portrait revealed that it included a veiled nod to Monica Lewinsky’s semen-stained dress, as he described Bill as “probably the most famous liar of all time.”
Then came revelations that Hillary Rodham Clinton had used a personal e-mail account to conduct public business while secretary of state, perhaps to avoid making some of her correspondence public.
None of the revelations alone should be enough to wreck Hillary Rodham Clinton’s expected bid to become the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee next year, but they underline that with perennial candidacy comes permanent baggage.
Political foes are helping voters connect the dots between scandals, painting a pattern of impropriety and a self-serving quest for power. Electoral strengths — valuable philanthropic work, a politically formidable former president fighting in your corner and experience as the nation’s chief diplomat — have all been rendered weaknesses.
“Part of the reason that Hillary lost in 2008 is Democratic power brokers thought that she was too divisive and had too much baggage,” Real Clear Politics analyst Sean Trende said. “This dredges up those memories and could cause some to look around for an alternative.”
So far Hillary Rodham Clinton’s fabled network has come up short, as it did in the 2008 race when she was also the prohibitive favorite.
The White House, the US Department of State, US Secretary of State John Kerry, legislators. spokespeople and well-deployed political commentators have been unable or unwilling to say why Hillary Rodham Clinton used a private e-mail account.
When the likely campaign starts in earnest, her operations will crank up several gears and may yet prove its worth.
“I think her strengths — the Clinton machine — will overcome any problem that these flaps generate,” said former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, who ran against Hillary Rodham Clinton and Obama for the party’s nomination in 2008.
“They are a formidable political machine and its two of them,” he told reporters. “It’s stronger now I think, because of her record, because she was secretary of state, I think [Hillary Rodham] Clinton has become more popular, she may be the first [female] president.”
However, Richardson is among those who believe that she must face a primary challenge to be fit for the general election.
“Hillary Clinton is the overwhelming favorite and what she does not want, in my judgement, is a coronation,” he said. “It makes sense to have her beat somebody: That will keep her fresh and competitive and hustling, as long as that opponent does not draw blood or seriously damage her.”
“She will be scrutinized endlessly and it is better to focus on a race that she is having than her inevitability as a candidate,” he added.
If she remains the prohibitive favorite to win the Democratic nomination today, it is largely because of a lack of other competitors.
Privately, Democrats mention the possibility of US Vice President Joe Biden running, but admit that it would likely be as a safety net in case Hillary Rodham Clinton’s candidature implodes.
Richardson believes another name could yet emerge.
“I don’t think the field is complete yet. I think somebody will get in that will be the alternative, not necessarily a strong serious alternative,” he said.
When a candidate does emerge, their first task will be to defeat the Clinton machine, if it does not defeat itself first.
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