Okay, that’s not exactly what the former House Speaker said, but it’s pretty darn close:
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“If [the Republicans'] competitor in ‘16 is going to be Hillary Clinton -- supported by Bill Clinton and presumably a still relatively popular President Barack Obama -- trying to win that will be [like winning] the Super Bowl. And the Republican Party today is incapable of competing at that level.”
Gingrich raises some interesting points. But while Hillary Clinton is indeed heavily favored to win the 2016 Democratic presidential primary (and her lifetime favorability rating -- today -- is sky high) her path to the White House is by no means certain. Over to you, Steve Chapman:
She has plenty of assets going for her if she decides to run. There are the fond memories of the pacific, profitable 1990s. There is her game willingness to go to work for the guy who beat her in 2008. There is the fact that voters may be ready to make history by electing a woman. She'd also get some campaign assistance from a famous native of Hope, Ark.But she won't have the smooth, flower-strewn path to the Oval Office that all this suggests. During her husband's presidency, she was widely disliked for her hectoring manner, her more-liberal-than-Bill views and her often chilly personality. Not for nothing was she known in her college days as "Sister Frigidaire."
It's easy to forget that she was the architect of a major health insurance overhaul that ended in crashing failure. It's easy to forget that when the Monica Lewinsky affair broke, she dismissed the allegations as slanders from a "vast right-wing conspiracy" trying to "undo the results of two elections." It's easy to forget that she was the most unpopular first lady on record.
If she enters the race, we would be reminded of the strife and scandal of the Clinton presidency. We would also be reminded that electing Hillary would mean bringing back Bill, with his notorious appetites and unpredictable impulses.
One or two bimbo eruptions could be fatal -- and did you see that story the other day that Gennifer Flowers said he tried to renew their trysts?
The public seems to like Hillary a lot better when she's far removed from the presidency. The closer she gets the more distrust she evokes. When she ran in 2008, her popularity sagged. That's how she managed to lose a nomination that most people assumed was hers for the taking.
She is easier for people to take in the role of diplomat than politician. When she lectures dictators at the UN, voters tend to approve. When she lectures audiences in Iowa, they tend to bristle.
Read the whole thing. I would further add that Secretary Clinton apparently doesn’t even want to be the next president of the United States. She wants to retire -- and stay retired. However, if she suddenly changes her mind, I’m not too worried. Why? Because there's a number of young, up-and-coming Republican leaders who might just give her a run for her money.
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