Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel seemed a bit irked that CNN’s Dana Bash was asking him about the possibility of Hillary Clinton mounting a third presidential run would be good for the party, noting that it wasn’t a good question. Emanuel said that he “loves” Hillary, and that she has lost to offer—but the decision about a 2020 run is best left with her. Also, we’re not even close to the 2018 midterm elections (via The Hill):
“Well look, you're asking something that we're not even through the midterm election. She hasn't even declared," Emanuel said when first asked."I know, but I asked the question. Do you think she should," CNN's Dana Bash responded.
"Well it's not — I love you. It's not a good question, OK," he said.
"Why not?" Bash asked.
"It's not a good question," he reiterated.
When pressed further, Emanuel said he happens to "love" Clinton, adding that he thinks she's "full of energy."
"We have a lot of time between now and the presidential election of 2020," he said.
Emanuel said Clinton has a "lot to offer," but the main question is whether Clinton wants to launch a bid in 2020.
"The core question is not whether I think she would be a good candidate. It's whether she wants to run," he said.
Well, I agree that it is up to Clinton about whether she wants to run again. At the same time, she’s a two-time presidential loser, a substantial proportion of the Democratic base is moving more towards the left and away from her positions on policy, and they weren’t thrilled that she won the nomination in 2016.
The emails from the Democratic National Committee showing staffers mulling ways to undercut Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) primary campaign only confirmed what many in that camp thought: the establishment was fixing the game. It caused the DNC a lot of heartburn going into their national convention in Philadelphia last year. There isn’t much there to create a good ‘give me anther shot’ pitch. Many in the vocal progressive wing of the Democratic Party feel that it’s imperative that Clinton goes away in order for the party to move forward. The left’ inability to truly have an introspective analysis of why they lost in 2016 also hamstrings them from that goal—and it doesn’t help that Clinton is part of this behavior as well.
She has yet to fully take responsibility for her 2016 loss, instead pivoting to blaming the Russians and former FBI Director James Comey. She will never get past her other handicaps as well that were cemented in the minds of the electorate long before the 2016 campaign, which are that she (along with Bill) are secretive, and that they play by a different set of rules. These two conceptions were incredibly damaging, with the ethical questions surrounding the Clinton Foundation and her private email system embodying those criticisms. It was a throwback to the 1990s; voters viewed Clinton as untrustworthy and dishonest.
Also, the talk of Clinton 2020 also seems to highlight another problem Democrats have for the next presidential election. They don’t have a deep bench concerning candidates anymore.
