Let's try to be realistic for one second here. Can we all at least agree that IF Hillary Clinton was a terrible politician and generally terrible person to work with, then most top democratic politicans would know about this?
How, then, would one explain the historically unprecedented levels of support that Hillary Clinton has had from the democratic establishment, giving her a massive lead amongst superdelegates even before the race started?
How would one explain Barack Obama almost demanding of her that she became Secretary Of State at a point in time where he had already won the election and she actually refused his first attempts to convince her?
How would one explain Barack Obama calling her the most qualified person to ever seek the white house and clearly taking great joy in making the case for her bid?
Sure, there is partisanship. Sure the Clintons are a powerful factor in the democratic party. However, the Clintons are also getting old with no heir to their political dynasty (Chelsea seems uninterested). Had Clinton lost this primary bid, it would likely have meant the end of the Clinton dynasty as we know it. If democratic politicans thought that Hillary was awful it seems very very far fetched that they would support her almost unanimously from the beginning.
I'd actually argue the other way: if Hillary Clinton is so beloved by Democrats, why did it take her so long to secure the nomination from a 74 year old socialist that started out with very little name recognition and very little in the way of organization? Why does the admired Hillary Clinton find it so difficult to win over the support of young voters? And why the apparent necessity to assign all those superdelegates to Mrs. Clinton
prior to any primary or caucus taking place?
As to Mr. Obama calling her "the most qualified person to ever seek the white house" and "clearly taking great joy in making the case for her bid", what choice does he have? Yes, within the establishment, the Clinton name goes a long way, and Hillary has enjoyed a base of unshakable support within the ranks of the establishment from the beginning. But if you're going to try to make the case that among the list of top-level names in the Democratic party, that Barack Obama is extremely happy about backing (and would have
prefered to be backing) Hillary Clinton over anyone else, I'd respectfully disagree. I believe that the high level of Clinton support really comes down to two simple factors: name recognition (Bill Clinton remains a very popular ex-president), and Hillary's ability to raise money (what Democratic candidate wouldn't want to tap into the Clinton money machine?) Hillary's support has very little to do with any abilities she's displayed as an executive, any laudable successes she's had as a legislator, or any deep felt attachment she enjoys with voters.
That's the way I see it, anyway.
