General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: This message was self-deleted by its author [View all]StevieM
(10,577 posts)First, I don't think anyone thought Hillary was inevitable in 2006 and early 2007. She was polling in the mid-30s. Obama entered the race at about 20 percent, and many people speculated that he could win. Hillary had planned to do the whole "waiting for the front runner" thing, where she didn't enter the race until several months in, like Bush/Gore/Dole did. When Obama entered the race she wound up entering in January.
The narrative of inevitability didn't come until late 2007, when Hillary opened up a wide lead, held it for months, and the election date was drawing near. And she didn't spin the media into that--they were simply reciting the polls and recognizing the fast-approaching start to the voting.
Second, Hillary never had a lead in 2006-2007 that even comes close to the one she has now. The reason she is being called inevitable is because she has a shockingly large lead in the polls that is unprecedented in presidential primary history.