Biden: Clinton never figured out why she was running

[Suburbia]

Hillary Clinton has won the popular vote in all three of the national campaigns she's ran in.

[BlueSwan]

I love Hillary. I volunteered for her in all three of her national races. But commercial after commercial framing Donald Trump as a bully, I think, became ineffective over time. I wanted people to love the Hillary I know and I suppose the campaign didn't do that.

Right. And this was my concern throughout the campaign. They never sold Hillary to the public. There honestly is A LOT to like and admire about Hillary Clinton. The fact that they did not run a positive campaign trying to build her up showed a lack of belief from the campaign that they could do it. Focusing on Trump was the easy way to win - which ended up not winning.

[President Johnson]

He ran because she tought it would be her turn now. That she deserved to be president. I never liked that. Joe would have been a far better candidate and could have beaten the Donald.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Kennedy never really wanted the position. If Ben Sasse [assuming he remains as he is now] tries to primary (or even seriously undermine) an unpopular Trump in four years as polls show Sanders/Franken/insert-"far-leftist name" here trouncing Trump, that'd be your answer.

Kennedy was a tapped name pretty much as soon as RFK was assassinated, yet each and every time [including the very ripe opening in 1976], he said no.

Then 1980 rolled around, and he said yes, but only when it appeared literally any Democrat besides Carter would keep control...but his campaign was very half-a%$d anyway. Seems to me more like Beltway pressure.

Then there was 1984, Reagan started off underwater, he could've gone in then, but he didn't.

OK, however "picking up the mantle" was something obvious for him and his associaties. He might've been like Jeb in 2016 ("it's your turn to carry on"), only with much more energy.

I remember reading Kennedy was saying many time after 1980 losing the primary and remaining in the Senate was the best thing that happened to him.

[White Trash]

She would have beaten any generic Republican. She lost to populism two times in a row.

I guess I'm the only one who remembers 2008, when she was the WWC populist candidate...

God I miss that. I voted for her in the primaries in 2016 because I kept telling myself that she was still the 2008 Hillary I knew and loved. The Beer Track forever .

[SATW]

She had it figured out, but she had no idea whom she could convince.

Like I said, Obama/Hillary = Nixon/Ford

Obama = the cunning, intellect, opportunism, and pragmatic of Nixon, but the relatability, humor, and warmth of Ford.

Hillary = the paranoia, the tiredness, the single-minded drive towards exactly one goal at the cost everything else, the ego and ambition of Nixon, but the moderate heroism, inability to completely fend off gaffes, and offensive inoffensiveness of Gerald Ford.

Also, Hillary reminds be a bit of Ted Kenney in 1980: the very idea of running for President was something so self-evident to them they couldn't explain it otherwise.

Kennedy never really wanted the position. If Ben Sasse [assuming he remains as he is now] tries to primary (or even seriously undermine) an unpopular Trump in four years as polls show Sanders/Franken/insert-"far-leftist name" here trouncing Trump, that'd be your answer.

Kennedy was a tapped name pretty much as soon as RFK was assassinated, yet each and every time [including the very ripe opening in 1976], he said no.

Then 1980 rolled around, and he said yes, but only when it appeared literally any Democrat besides Carter would keep control...but his campaign was very half-a%$d anyway. Seems to me more like Beltway pressure.

Then there was 1984, Reagan started off underwater, he could've gone in then, but he didn't.


Hillary's earliest shot was 2008 (sure she was talked in 2004, but c'mon that would've looked too opportunistic and unearned), but she was up against a phenomenon, so there goes that. And since Obama was obviously gonna get himself re-elected, 2016 was the next, and last shot.

So no, the analogue isn't really there.

This is a good post. Especially the Nixon/Ford comparisons.

[Indy Texas]

She would have beaten any generic Republican. She lost to populism two times in a row.

I guess I'm the only one who remembers 2008, when she was the WWC populist candidate...

God I miss that. I voted for her in the primaries in 2016 because I kept telling myself that she was still the 2008 Hillary I knew and loved. The Beer Track forever .

She arguably ran on a more economically populist platform this year than she did in 2008.

I remember Obama being seen as the "centrist" candidate in the primary.