Yup, it's here. The glorious or inglorious season of political unrest is upon us all.
In 2008, I wanted Hillary Clinton to win the party's nomination. She didn't. Now she's running for president and she's carrying a load of baggage with her that she may or may not be able to toss aside to win this election.
The first and most difficult piece of baggage is her public perceived entitlement to the presidency. By that I mean she sometimes comes across to the voting public as someone who has paid all the dues and now she has earned the seat at the head of America. This perception –whether true or not – will be difficult to escape. She must convince a skeptical nation that she wants to be president because she has the 'Right Stuff' and not because she deserves it because she's a Clinton or because she's been in the eye of the public for many years or because she was Secretary of State.
The next obstacle, Clinton business practices. How did the Clinton's amass their fortune and what about the nonprofit company they own? How honest are they? The Right will beat this issue till the horse is dead...then continue beating it cause that's what they do. [see Benghazi below]
Then: Benghazi. Was there a cover-up? Even though this is old news and it should be dust, it keeps cropping up on Fox News. After all, there must be a fire cause there's an ember giving off smoke. We all know that's a dead topic and Hillary was cleared of any wrong doing, but the Right doesn't let go that easily. As long as there is a conspiracy theorist out there, Hillary will get blamed for those dead Americans. It isn't fair, but that's the truth.
Finally, there's Bill's past reputation. Many people thought Hillary should have dropped Bill like a hot potato after the Lewinsky debacle. She didn't. She stood by her man and that turned some people on, but a lot of people were not as noble thinking and blamed her for being a fool for putting up with his behavior. Also, people who don't really understand politics or how the government works believe that if Hillary was president and she died, Bill would be president once more. That, of course, could never happen. In fact, Bill couldn't even be on the ticket with Hillary. But facts don't win elections anymore...personalities do.
The one saving grace for Hillary is the list of probable GOP candidates. There is nobody on their side that can beat Hillary at this juncture. But that doesn't mean they couldn't trot out a candidate that could give her a tough run for the money. This election isn't won yet by a long shot.