Is Hillary hoping to face Jeb?

[BlueSwan]

Now, on the surface, there's no reason to believe that any democrat would prefer to run against a moderate and sane republican who has the backing of the entire republican establishment.

However, let's face it, Hillary doesn't have too many concerns. One concern is her age - not much to do about that one - but another concern is her name. While the Clinton era is generally remembered fondly by most, she might lose the anti-dynasty vote to someone like Christie, or infact to anyone who doesn't go by the last name of BUSH. In a Clinton-Bush battle, Jeb is facing an uphill battle of lastnames for sure. The Clinton legacy is remembered much more fondly than the Bush-legacy.

Also, 2008 proved that a strong candidate like Hillary can lose to a fresh upstart who inspires the masses. Now I'm not suggesting that the GOP has a candidate with Obamas qualities, but one thing is for certain: that candidate is not Jeb. Jeb is the candidate of moderately conservative America. As such, he is a strong candidate, but he is not one to spark great excitement. The closest thing to such a candidate that the GOP has is Christie, I believe.

I guess, I'm basically making the argument that Christie is still the candidate to be most feared by Clinton - if he is not totally destroyed by Bridgegate.

[IceSpear]

Christie was Clinton's only threat. Since Bridgegate, it's smooth sailing for her. The only way she loses is if the national environment just completely collapses for the Democrats, like it did in 2010 or an inverse 2008.

[badgate]

This "anti-dynasty" vote you speak of will probably be strongest among young voters, so I think we will see her work hard to make young people a strong part of her coalition. Politico actually had an article about this the other day.

[eric82oslo]

This "anti-dynasty" you speak of vote will probably be strongest among young voters, so I think we will see her work hard to make young people a strong part of her coalition. Politico actually had an article about this the other day.

I agree. And young latinos in particular.
I think Hillary might very well get the nickname "the first latino president", just like Bill was called "the first black president".

[Bull Moose Base]

Honestly, I doubt she cares or is complacent. I'd guess she has no clue who the Republican nominee will be, is pretty confident whoever that is will be more beatable than not, but realizes anything can happen.

[Badger]

Honestly, I doubt she cares or is complacent. I'd guess she has no clue who the Republican nominee will be, is pretty confident whoever that is will be more beatable than not, but realizes anything can happen.

This is closest. I don't think anyone, including Republicans, have any illusion that Jeb's biggest weakness is ties to his brother and father's (widely perceived) failed presidencies. That is about the only thing close to an "anti-dynasty" vote that exists anywhere outside the interwebs world of politico nerds like us.

And yet despite those less than positive familial ties, the GOP establishment largely wants him to run, particularly since Bridgegate.

[Mister Mets]

Interesting question. She may be.

Jeb would be a sober plausible alternative if things go sour for Democrats, but Hillary may be able to exploit the last name.

Other nominees have unique strengths and weaknesses...
Paul Ryan is younger, and seems better able to hit her on dishonesty that's inevitable in a Presidential campaign. But he has supported some unpopular policies.
Scott Walker will have won three elections in a state Republicans can't really count on, and he'll be a fresh face. He might also appear too green.
Ted Cruz is a fresh face, Hispanic and a shameless liar. But he's made a lot of enemies.
Marco Rubio has Cruz's strengths, but hasn't burned as many bridges.
Rand Paul is also a fresh face, and might appeal to younger voters. Or he could end up saying something scary.
Jon Kasich comes from a valuable swing state, and doesn't have a lot of baggage. He's also a bland 60-something white guy who ran for President in 2000.
Mike Huckabee is personable, and polls well. But he has a blind spot when it comes to realizing that the rest of the country differs from Southern evangelicals.
Kelly Ayotte/ Susanna Martinez/ Nikki Haley would allow voters a different opportunity to vote for a woman for President.

[Consciously Unconscious]

No.  If she's going to run, she'd prefer it be Cruz or Santorum.

[whanztastic]

This "anti-dynasty" vote you speak of will probably be strongest among young voters, so I think we will see her work hard to make young people a strong part of her coalition. Politico actually had an article about this the other day.

All young voters know about the Clinton years is that they remember Nickelodeon fondly and its been whitewashed by older voters. The young anti-dynasty vote would be against Bush.

[henster]

Clinton probably prefers to run against Paul or Cruz in the GE we'll see if she plays around in the primary or not. Jeb is weaker than Walker or even Christie his last name severely weakens his candidacy.

[Maxwell]

I'm sure Clinton is hoping for a chance to run against all of them, but definitely Bush is close to the top, as he is not only a referendum on past GOP Presidents, but he's also been out of office for so long that he's rusty.

[Mister Mets]

No.  If she's going to run, she'd prefer it be Cruz or Santorum.

Santorum's very unlikely to be the nominee, simply due to the high amount of plausible conservative options.

I wonder if Hillary's more concerned about the GOP going with someone safe with baggage, or with someone who is more high-risk high-reward (Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, etc.) If she thinks she's the favorite anyway, the latter might be more of a concern, due to the possibility that they'll avoid the easy mistakes and upend the usual rules of politics the way Obama did in the primary.

[Mordecai]

Probably not.

I think she would be hoping more to face someone like Ted Cruz or Rand Paul who are very easy to paint as maniacs, or someone with a mediocre record like Walker with no foreign policy experience. I also think it's been long enough since Hurricane Sandy that people are going to be looking at Christie's record and into his past to see that's he's pretty mediocre. His hype is all about his appearance and image, not his actual accomplishments.

The biggest threats to her are Jeb or Brian Sandoval (not going to happen).

[⛄]

A Clinton vs. Bush rematch would be HILLARYOUS.
To be honest, I think Jeb could be a hard opponent for her.

[Randy Bobandy]

I would be, if I were her. All she has to do is point out his last name.