Potential Presidential Candidate 2016 Hillary Clinton - Research Paper Example

Potential Presidential Candi Hillary Clinton The American media as being a potential presidential candi for the 2016 elections have touted Hillary Clinton and while this has been received in anticipation and excitement from a number of democrats, this has not been the case in some circles. Most of the instances of pessimism concerning her candidature have been developed from the fact that she is a woman candidate who is unsuitable for the position of president of the United States. The latter opinion has arisen especially from the conservative spheres of American society who believe that a woman is not capable of handling the highest leadership position in the nation. While this has been the case, Clinton may end up being the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party because of her long established track record as a competent leader. In a recent meeting, Clinton made her interest in the presidency apparent when she voiced praise for many of the issues that have been high on the agenda of the Obama administration (Eskew). Among the issues that she voiced support for include the expansion of pre-kindergarten programs and equal pay for women, an attempt to make affirmative action become reality in the United States. The remarks that she made may have been a signal that she has the intention of remaining aligned with the Obama agenda, despite the latter having been her rival during the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries. However, while this was the case, Clinton took a divergent view concerning some issues concerning the economy, and this seemed at odds with the preferred stance by the Obama administration. Clinton made a point of protesting against the high unemployment rate among the youth of the United States as well as the deplorable state of cities. In addition, she pointed out that there were pockets of economic and educational inequality in the rural areas of such states as West Virginia. Clinton has also in recent times spoken of the ending of the gaps which have divided the American society along partisan, cultural, and geographic line, since there have been detrimental to the development of the nation. While she has not made any direct reference to her political future, Clinton seems to be calling for the development of more opportunities for women to excel in the society. She has been noted as stating that such opportunities for women and girls are some of the great unfinished businesses of the twenty first century (Balz). She has been noted as stating that the participation of women in politics causes a ripple effect throughout the society. Many of the issues which she said she would deal with are hardly new to her agenda as she has always put such issues as childhood development, the empowerment of women and economic development among the top of her priorities were she to be elected president of the United States. It is quite possible that if Clinton were to run in 2016, her campaign will adopt the stance of being victims of vicious attacks from the Republicans, especially the Tea Party. She will likely capitalize on the fact that the Republican team will have continuously led a smear campaign against Clinton by stating that her weakness in matters of policy as well as attacking her personally concerning the events in her past to which she has confessed to and regrets (Will). Furthermore, it will be most ironical that the Republican team might end up making such claims against Clinton since this will give her the opportunity of playing victim to their attacks hence receiving public sympathy. It is quite possible that Clinton, if selected as the Democratic candidate, will attempt to divert attention from the weak points of her campaign such as her refusal to back down from a make-dominated sphere, namely running for the presidency, among others. The claims against her that the republicans are likely to make may just work in her favor especially considering that they will be attacking a relatively popular presidential candidate by making vicious attacks against her. This might not go very well with the public because of the fact that Clinton’s controversial issues, such as the Benghazi attack on the United States embassy, have already been dealt with and accepted by the public during her tenure as Secretary of State and raising these issues further will only help the her campaign (Wemple). Recent polls asking who had better personal character to assume the presidency have shown that Clinton would more likely be elected than any of the candidates that the Republican are likely to offer. Polls are used to determine the trend that voters are most likely to follow during an election but these polls are becoming insignificant due to the new voter registration laws which are being put in place especially in vote swinging states such as Pennsylvania. Many likely voters in the swing states will most likely vote for Clinton but it is these who are most likely to be excluded from the voting rolls due to their ineligibility to vote under the new laws. If Clinton is chosen as the Democratic candidate, she will have to make numerous visits to swing states in an attempt to get a larger share of votes within these states than her opponents (Martin). But while this may be the case, it is a fact that some governors, such as in Florida, have made it harder for former felons to vote and since most of these ex-felons are either of Latino or African American descent who tend to vote Democrat, it means that Clinton will most likely lose crucial votes in these states (Lawrence). It is not known exactly how many voters are aware of these new electoral rules because of the fact that very few people follow news about the upcoming elections and they tend not to be aware of the changes, which have been made to electoral laws. It is suspected that many people who are expected to vote for their preferred candidates (in this case Clinton) might be turned away because of the fact of their ineligibility. The new election laws have been pushed by Republicans in order to suppress the ability of Democratic voters to vote in large numbers, thus ensuring Republican victories in these states. In an attempt to put a stop to what will likely be a successful Clinton campaign, the republicans might decide to select a prominent member of the Tea Party, as their potential presidential candidate. While these may prove to be the strongest Republican candidates, this choice may end up destroying any chances that the Republicans may have of salvaging their campaign by focusing on the economy. Instead, because of the Tea Party influence, it will probably focus more on attacking the current Democratic policies than on tackling any real issues concerning the economy that is currently the most pertinent issue. By attacking the strength of the Republicans, which are issues concerning the economy, the Clinton campaign might push the Republicans into making a disastrous choice for a presidential candidate, turning the scales in favor of Clinton (Dionne). While the Republicans will most likely have chosen a Tea Party candidate to counter the power of the Democrats, they will probably fail because of the fact that Clinton will be the most likable candidate during the 2016 polls. The media has tended to portray the Republican campaigns as being hypocritical in their stance against the comments and policies of the administrations of the Democratic Party. It is a fact that if Clinton were to choose to run, she would most likely be the favored Democratic candidate is a sign of the strong support that she has among the members of the party. She is likely to face a strong showing from the Republicans who will make it extremely difficult for her to ascend to the presidency and she will have to do her best to ensure that she remains the most favored candidate. It is possible that the Republican candidate will try to take advantage of Clinton’s failures in her capacity as Secretary of State to ruin her reputation in the eyes of the public and potential voters. The Republicans tend to make personal attacks against their rival candidates as seen during the previous presidential campaign that ended with the second Obama win (Nicholas). However, when their rivals attack them themselves, the Republicans tend to protest against such attacks on themselves. When similar members of the Republican Party such as Herman Cain do actions, there were no condemnations or comments from the ranks of the party but when the members of the Obama administration did the very same things, the Republicans heavily criticized them. This shows that the Republicans are selective in what they perceive to be the wrong policies, keeping quiet when it is one of their own, and making unsubstantiated comments when it is a member of a rival party. In the previous election campaigns, the call by the Romney campaign to stop any personal attacks during the remaining period of campaigns can be considered ironical because of the fact that it is the one, which concentrated more on these personal attacks. It is hoped that the Clinton campaign will not end up being the victims of Republican personal attacks during the 2016 campaigns. Works Cited Balz, Dan. "Three Years and Counting on Hillary Clinton." The Washington Post Aug 11 2013. Dionne, EJ. "Women in Waiting." The Washington Post Jul 15 2013. Eskew, Carter. "What Hillary Clinton Needs." The Washington Post Aug 13 2013. Lawrence, Jill. Whats Keeping Women from Getting Presidential Buzz? Hillary Clinton. Washington: Atlantic Media, Inc, 2013. Martin, Jonathan. "In Iowa, Hopes that a Clinton can Close a Gap." New York Times Aug 10 2013. Nicholas, Peter, Carol E. Lee and McCain N. Colleen. "Confident Biden Team Lays Plans for 2016." Wall Street Journal Aug 19 2013. Wemple, Erik. "Hillary Clintons Hair: Fair Game Or Prejudicial?" The Washington Post Apr 09 2013. Will, George F. "Clinton. Christie. Cringe." The Washington Post Sep 08 2013. Read More