The Mrs.

Having gone through the list of Republican nominees (and dismissing most of them as harmless), it’s now time to play….Rate the Donkeys!

And who are our players?

First up, from Illino—I mean, the great state of New York, here she is….the Lady from Chappaqua, the Fightin’ First Lady, potentially the First Woman President Ever, the Comback Kid’s Best Gal….Hillary Rodham Clinton!

Hillary Clinton’s got everything you want in a political candidate. She’s incredibly smart, funny (really- she is), tough, impeccably educated, wise to the ways of Washington and has the potential to be a stellar President. On the flipside, she’s cold, calculating, a political animal if there ever was one and monstrously ambitious. (Of course, anyone running for President of the United States can be described as monstrously ambitious but…she puts ‘em all to shame.) She’s gone through more than you or I or anyone you know will ever go through (unless you happen to know Hillary) and she still standing. She survived eight years of the most acrimonious, nasty political era in modern history and she’s coming back for more! You gotta love that kind of chutzpah.

Of course, she also voted in favor of letting George have his way in Iraq, voted against the Levin Amendment (which would have required the President to conduct vigorous diplomacy at the U.N., and would have also required a separate Congressional authorization to unilaterally invade Iraq), voted for the Patriot Act (and subsequently worked to change it/fix it later), voted against John Roberts and Sam Alito to the Supreme Court, voted against the surge and has consistently voted to withdraw troops from Iraq. Still the vote for the war has long been a weight around her neck and she knows it. And not reading the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq? That’s just stupid.

And then there’s Bill. As previously discussed, he’s her greatest asset and her biggest problem. We love him, we hate him, we can’t help loving him…and then we remember what he did to her and to us. Deep down, a lot of us wouldn’t mind Bill back in the White House (and make no mistake, it would be him as much as her). But is she electable? Can anything stop the lumbering beast of anti-Clintonism that will come rising out of the swamp if we nominate her and the slobbering behemoth it will morph into if we actually get her elected? I dunno. Looks pretty nasty from this perspective.

Okay, I make no bones about supporting Barack over Hillary and, yes, I admit to suffering from a twinge of Clinton fatigue, too. I am equal parts amused and distressed to think that, since 1980, there hasn’t been a presidential ballot without a Bush or a Clinton on it. I mean, that’s crazy, isn’t it? We nominate Hillary and that’s EIGHT elections in a row!

Still, if she grabs the brass ring, I’m behind her all the way. Not because I necessarily think she’s the perfect choice. (My guy has big ears and a funny name.) And not just because she’s better (far better) than the alternatives. But because I believe, really believe, that if elected, she can do a great job.

No kidding.

Next up…the Junior Senator from Illinois!