Article: Hillary's Baggage: Bad Votes, Scandals and Polarization

This debate needs a few more degrees of detail added. The candidates should differentiate their interpretations of "change" and "experience" -- does "change" mean we're going to investigate Bush/Cheney violations of law and seek criminal accountability? Not likely from Hillary - the Clinton's laundry list of scandals past are extensive.

Though she's hit Obama with all she has already, for example trying to magnify his tie to a slumlord, Obama has been far less "probing" towards Hillary's past, failing to battle-test Hillary's candidacy for the attacks we'll surely see in a general election: Whitewater, Filegate, Travelgate and the Pan Asian donor scandal for starters. The newly reported improprieties at Rose Law may bring back public debate on Hillary's ties to several convicts not to mention the overnight millions she allegedly made on timely stock tips.

Right wing talk radio would be ringing with the names Vince Foster, Katherine Willey, Paula Jones and more, whether fair or not. Monica Lewinsky is the one scandal they may leave off the table because it could backfire, eliciting sympathy for Hillary. But just think of how low the conversation will go. They want Hillary so bad, they're literally voting for her in the primaries.

For me, the issue of "character" is not just the construct of a vast right-wing conspiracy. I never liked the meteoric rise of Arkansas-based Wal-Mart to it's status as the #1 largest US corporation, by far - after the US expanded trade with China. There are eight years worth of policy decisions which will be again second guessed and debated - but I have never heard satisfactory explanations for the pardons on the last day of Bill's presidency.

And what of Hillary's "experience"? I don't think I'm being cynical when I say the government is dominated by two-faced politicians - indeed, the money-tainted campaign system in place almost requires it. Hillary's between-the-lines message therefore implies that we NEED her because she is tough, she knows the ins and outs of hardball "crook" politics in DC and can negotiate her way better among this sea of two-faced thieves and cronies then Obama or Edwards who will be chewed up and spit out. Sadly, she may be right.

Electing Hillary is antithetical to the ideas of presidential term limits, a measure clearly designed to prevent dynastic power brokering and exactly the plan the Bushes hatched by running a "fortunate son" to inherit so much name-recognition and built in party support. This reduces responsiveness to the public and gives more power to the government and party bosses.

Hillary is also much more vulnerable to a loss in the general election then Obama in a rock-paper-scissors kind of way. She polarizes America into red or blue zones almost as badly as Bush. She is a politics-as-usual Democrat like Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer and I believe DC corruption is best fought by getting rid of those high ranking Dems who have failed too.

I'd like to hear from Hillary supporters to discuss this more thoroughly - let's get some intelligent debate on the table!

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