|
Edited on Thu Jan-25-07 08:11 PM by Meldread
I would tell her that she should not admit that voting for the IRW was a huge mistake, for the same reason you listed. If Hillary wants to win in the General Election, she will need to show the following qualities (this goes for every candidate):
* The ability to be resolute and strong in her convictions, but at the same time appear flexible and open to new ideas. This shows that she works from a strong foundation, and does not sway with the wind. This is difficult to pull off without either believing it (and becoming like Bush) or seeming like a total fraud. I think Hillary is doing a good job of this already, when I saw her on ABC after the State of the Union Address - I could see her as the next President of the United States.
* That brings me to my next point. She must APPEAR Presidential. This is something that I feel that she does very well already. It requires a certain amount of maturity, statesmanship, confidence and poise - this is something that Hillary has in abundance. I really do believe the old saying is true, "If you believe something hard enough, it will come true." If Hillary believes she will be the next President of the United States, and begins acting like it - people will begin to see her in that light and it will in turn translate into votes.
* Hillary must not engage Edwards or Obama directly. They both outshine her with their charisma and charm. This is where Hillary is lacking. She does have a certain amount of appeal, but if she stands next to them her appeal turns into that of a cold fish. Instead, she must pretend that she has already won the Primary. Just pretend it is over and instead put her sights on Bush himself. She must constantly contrast herself to him - because like in 2006 the Presidential Election of 2008 is going to be a referendum on Bush. We are going to have a Democratic President, there is little doubt in my mind about this, it is only a question of who it will be - and already we have many qualified candidates.
If Hillary contrasts herself with Bush and pretends that Edwards and Obama don't exist they will get less coverage. She will continue to grow her war chest. She will increase her chances of becoming the Nominee by a large percentage.
* Hillary must find her own voice. She must find her moral center and stand her ground. If she BELIEVES something should be a certain way and people disagree, it is her duty to bring people to her side. That is the difference between a leader and a follower. Leader's pave the way and find people to follow them. A follower waits for someone else to pave the way and then follows.
* Hillary must combat Obama and Edwards and their populist campaigns. Hillary cannot run a campaign like them. It just won't work for her, so she has to find a way to convince people that she has their concerns at her heart and that she wants to improve their lives. She has to combat the perception that she is just seeking to further her own career and name.
* Hillary must get to Iowa and New Hampshire to begin wooing Primary voters. Like last time, whoever wins those states is likely going to win the primary. Hillary has an insane amount of cash to spend, and it will just keep getting larger. Spend it there. Outspend the others 2 to 1. Drown their message, kill their campaigns.
* Hillary must not feel afraid to shoot from the hip. Like Bush, Hillary is a heavily scripted individual. Everything that she does is highly corographed a head of time. People can tell the difference when someone is speaking from their heart and when someone is speaking from a script. She must learn to shoot from the hip, to deviate from the script - especially when she sees an opportunity in which she can perform in a way that will woo potential voters.
* Hillary must position herself as a left leaning moderate. Despite public perception, people are sick of the right wing zealots. They don't like them. They don't like the Republican party's association with them. She should not seek to bring over Bush's Republican base, but instead play to those on the left and the moderates.
* Hillary must prepare to aggressively defend herself against attacks. She is a lightning rod, and Republicans are salivating at the possibility that she could be the Democratic Nominee. She should not allow herself to be swift boated, and she should answer each attack launched against her with a counter attack. Let no accusation or attack stand. Be aggressive, and if necessary, fight dirty.
* She needs to woo the military vote, which despite the fact that many of them are angry at Bush and the Republican Party, many are still Republican Voters. Republicans are perceived as the "pro-military" party. Hillary must do all that she can to show support for the troops. She must take as many pictures with them as she can, and bring to light the suffering that Bush has put them through. She must also get Jim Webb on her side, and get him to campaign on her behalf to land the military vote. If she can get a picture of a "strong manly soldier" crying on her shoulder over the loss of a fellow comrade, while comforting him and appearing motherly - that would be the photo op of the century. She must not hide from the bad things going on in Iraq, but instead do everything she can to bring light to them. All the suffering and all of the pain must be brought to light, and she must be seen as the "motherly figure" who can make it all better. Everyone loves their mother, and everyone knows that when something goes wrong that a mother's support can go a long way to make it better - Hillary can capitalize on this emotion. This is something her male competitors cannot.
Hillary has a long road ahead of her. The nomination is far from in the bag, but I do believe that she will eventually transform herself into the front runner. The real race is between her and Obama, Edwards couldn't win the Democratic Primary last time - how does he intend to win this time against both Obama and Hillary? I don't see it happening. Hillary should offer Obama the VP seat if she wins, form an alliance with him to knock out the other contenders.
Hillary's main opposition would appear if Gore entered into the race. He is the one candidate that I believe would unify the party behind him regardless of what Hillary attempts to do. However, I think one thing is certain: Hillary only has one shot to do this right. If she fails all bets are off for a future Presidential run. If Obama loses he could easily try again like Edwards, but if Hillary allows herself to be demolished by her opponents her political career will suffer.
It is definitely going to be an uphill battle for her, because she must balance pleasing the Democratic base (us - her main opposition) and the General Election voters.
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
