Hillary, the Petulant Puppeteer

Anyone exhibiting the courage to come forward and run for President of the United States should receive kudos just for trying.  Maybe they are serious, maybe they are ridiculous, maybe they are funny or maybe they just have more money than they know what to do with.  Whatever brings them into the political ring is usually irrelevant and always entertaining.

The excitement of the upcoming 2008 Presidential Election permeated early 2007.  Murmurings of who might run and why abounded; supposition and speculation fueled coffee shop conversations and local papers.    That excitement boiled over when two candidates in particular, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton stepped up to the plate making US history in their respective attempts.    The race at first was exciting as candidates jockeyed for position.    Excitement grew as the first primaries approached,  and when the gates opened, the field broke wildly.

Obama, Clinton and Edwards broke together , but after the initial run Edwards fell back a bit and Clinton stumbled badly.  She recovered, regained her stride, taking over the lead for awhile.  Instead of settling into a reasonable pace for a long run, spectators got a not-so-surprising sight:   Hillary Clinton is not happy just barely in the lead.  In fact, what looked like a healthy, spirited race between two exceptional candidates has turned into a mean-spirited exhibition of Hillary pulling a very weary-looking Bill Clinton out of her arsenal, brushing him off and parading him as her Big Gun.

Has her Big Gun backfired?

For all Hillary´s talk of putting the people first and playing fair, she is doing anything but.    Bill Clinton, who has spent the last eight years cultivating a legacy of philanthropy and humanitarianism, now presents as a bit of an ogre showcased by a candidate obviously skilled in puppetry.  It appears her campaign is only about winning now, not about the issues.  The smear strategy takes us all right back to dirty politics that as a people we eschew  The burning issues suddenly appear secondary to her overwhelming ambition to claim the White House. 

Isn´t that what happened last election?

Former President Clinton would do well to back off from the slimy campaign tactics.  Supporting his wife in her endeavor to become president and make history is an honorable task.  Bullying for her on the political playground is not.  We humans are fickle and tend to remember the last sordid event in a person´s life, not necessarily the magnum opus.  It would be a shame for Bill Clinton to be remembered as the schoolyard thug rather than the philanthropist he has come to be.