The Rise of Hillary Clinton: Big Sister is Watching You

Recently someone (and the identity of that someone is a subject of debate) posted what was alleged to be a Barak Obama campaign ad on the Internet. The ad is a takeoff on the old Apple "1984" ad that introduced the world to the Macintosh. In the ad, we see a group of gray faced, gray clad, mind numbed people marching into an auditorium to hear the latest wisdom of the Great Leader. But in the modern ad, instead of Big Brother, the Great Leader on the video screen is Big Sister in the form of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Then, as with the previous ad, an attractive young woman in a red and white track suit runs into the auditorium, with black clad police in helmets and carrying Plexiglas shields and batons in hot pursuit. As before, the woman stops and hurtles a hammer into the video screen, shattering it. In the modern version of the ad, the caption reads about how 2008 will not be like 1984 and gives the address of Barak Obama's web site.

The Barak Obama Campaign deny all knowledge of the ad. Some people (the usual people) speak darkly of secret, Republican conspiracies--probably coming from Karl Rove's office--to embarrass both Obama and Clinton.

Whoever did the ad must be a genius, because it captures the very essence of Hillary Rodham Clinton perfectly. It captures not only her insatiable lust for power, but total and complete banality.

Hillary's big problem is that she doesn't so much want to become President of the United States as she wants to become Goddess Empress. Americans do not like people who have pretensions ro royalty, however. Besides, Hillary cannot carry it off. She comes across less like a Glorianna than a nagging wife who is alwaya informing not only her man, but everyone that she knows better what is what and what needs to be done. It is no wonder that the numbers of people who declare that they will never vote for the woman remain stuck in the mid 40 percent range.

She has none of that spark that compels men to want to fall to their knees and pledge their lives to her. For someone who can carry it off, watch any film or TV show about Elizabeth 1st of England, preferably staring Glenda Jackson. She could say, "This land will have but one mistress and no master!" and make you like it. For a more modern and democratic examples,.look at Maggie Thatcher.

Hillary will just screech about the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy or drone on about health care or education and you'll want to run from the room, hands over the ears, screaming. No one would or could have the inclination to sink the Spanish Armada or circumnavigate the world for the glory of Hillary Clinton.

Another problem Hillary has is her complete incompetence when it comes to public policy. Back in Arkansas, when her husband was misruling that state, Hillary was placed in charge of education and, perhaps as a result, students in Arkansas performed just about the worst in the country. Undeterred, when Bill slicked his way into the the Oval Office, Hillary found herself in charge of health care reform and proceeded to make a mess of it. Knowing that the country would not stand for a Canadian style, Stalinist health care system, Hillary tried to arrive at it from the side with a complicated, almost impossible to fathom system that would have been so unworkable that people would have thrown up their hands and accepted ones medicine being doled out by the same folks who run the IRS and the Department of Motor Vehicles. Fortunately the embryonic new media took measure of the proposal and it collapsed eventually of its own weight just before the Gingrich Revolution in 1994.

After an undistinguished term as Senator from New York, Hillary is now running for President (or Goddess Empress.) She may be a good enough politician to pull it off, especially if the Republicans nominate a loser to oppose her. (Of course the Democrats may throw her over for Obama, on the theory that she's yesterday's woman and Barak is a fresh, new, exciting face,) But one thing is for certain. She would be a horrible President, the sort of President that wrecks economies and loses wars. And that's a risk that cannot be taken.