Keywords and Terms: Candidate Hillary Clinton; Presidential
Campaigns; US Senate; Democratic Aspirant; Everyday American Champion; Senator
Jim Webb; Governor Martin O’Malley; Senator Bernard Sanders; Champion for
Everyday American; 36,000 retweet/half-hour; Iowa; New Hampshire; Nevada; South
Carolina; Robby Mook; John D.
Podesta; Male-Female Pay differential;
Foreign Wars; Dodd-Franks; Dissembling Campaign Regime; Common Core Curriculum;
With
those four words, Hillary Rodham Clinton, the only first lady ever elected to
US Senate, announced this morning that she is running to become the next
President of the United States. If any of the following possible Democratic
contenders is listening, former Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, former
Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland, and Senator Bernard Sanders, an independent
from Vermont who could run as a Democrat, the die has been cast; and without an
iota of doubt, we all know, Hillary is the candidate to beat in 2016. Forget
the email scandal, ignore the alleged failure of Benghazi, Libya, and overlook
the suspicion of foreign government or persons contribution to her family’s
foundation, and you have an unbeatable front runner for Democratic Nomination
as the party’s flag bearer.
Hillary
Rodham Clinton is probably running not against any man or woman, but to advance
the objective of middle income earners, those who have played by the rule or book;
but have been unable to make ends meet. To paraphrase the Yale-trained lawyer
and former US Secretary of State, she wants to be: “that champion for everyday
American.” In a competitive world of pay differentials between males and
females for the same duties and obligations, Hillary is probably running to
help close the pay gap between the sexes among many other things. The wife of
the forty-second President of the United States knows there are antagonists out
there who would like the world to know of many sinister things about the
Clinton clan; however, Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton is brushing all those aside
and throwing in her cap for a competition that some political pundits predict
may cost close to two and a half billion dollars.
For a
candidate who mustered close to half a million likes in fifteen minutes on her
campaign Facebook page after the announcement of her ambition, this is a
candidate of many firsts. She is the first lady to ever win a Grammy Award; first
candidate to have her announcement re-tweeted over 36,000 in half-hour on her
preferred method or platform of communication; and, she is going to be the
president who may overcome the current tit-for-tat acrimony in US Congress. Mrs.
Hillary Rodham Clinton may be that candidate who could bring hope and
reconciliation in an unmistakably challenging world environment where
journalists are beheaded by extreme religious hooligans parading the world’s
stage as revolutionary Islamist.
A little
over two years ago, Hillary was jetting up and down the world stage, attempting
to burnish the image of the US, while softening tensions between opponents in
the Middle East and Africa. Many females across the globe, who had the
opportunity of meeting Ms. Clinton as US Secretary of State, are probably
looking up to this icon of the feminist movement meeting another milestone in
women suffrage, running seriously and hopefully, if only faith and promises of
hard campaigning are going to allow in the following eighteen months, a better
chance to be enthroned the President of the greatest democracy on earth. Among
the six females who had ever aspired to this office, including Jill Stein
(2012); Linda Jennes (1972); Shirley Chisholm (1972); Gracie Allen (1940); and
Victoria Woodhull (1872); Hillary Rodham Clinton stands out as probably the
best prepared and most favorable to win it all come 2016. While her
announcement this morning is playing out in many media platforms, her campaign
chairman, John D. Podesta, was probably working overdrive on the phones, calling
potential supporters and well-wishers and associates to donate to this new
cause; and, join former US Secretary Clinton on the journey to 1800
Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC.
Not sure
of what probably lies ahead, her campaign manager is reported to be Robby Mook,
a technological savvy and data driven campaign analytics, Secretary Clinton
will have to make a good placing in the primary contests in the following early
contest states, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. The frantic
disposition that characterize announcement of a presidential run often bears a
lot of pressure on a candidate; and, the announcement today by Secretary
Clinton probably took the monkey off her back, especially with the insistent press
speculations surrounding her prospect for running for the White House oval
office in 2016. From here on, the Presidential Candidate must make sure that
the presence of her husband on her campaign trail is limited enough, not to label
her campaign with the aura of some personal failings that characterized the
term of the 42nd President of the United State. If she is in it to
win it all as she has announced, Secretary Clinton and her campaign team must
reflect on the past conspiracy theories out there concerning the Clinton clan
and machination, since those seem to be outstanding issues that may distract
the message of the Secretary’s Presidential Campaign.
Back
during the US Secretary of State term, the Clinton Foundation was construed as
taking advantage of the secretary’s influence in raising fund overseas. This
speculation, whether true or not, has the tendency of raising its ugly head
during presidential road campaigns. As Secretary Clinton hits the road to earn American
votes, opponents will unleash untrue campaign messages; the Clinton campaign team
must not only work to protect her image, they must establish a connection with
the middle class and expose them early to impending public policies under
Hillary Clinton’s Administration, that will alleviate continued income
inequality. She must answer the question, why the American voters should give
her their votes. To sustain motion and momentum, the campaign team must expect
universal attacks from Republicans and must work to sweat things out working
actively to push back attacks from opponents that may draw back passion for her
candidacy.
The
foundation of Hillary Clinton’s Campaign for 2016 is somewhat Utopian, and
there will be supporters drawn to its novelty – as long as there are some
reasons to believe that the effort will lead to a woman rising and winning the
office of the presidency– for that reason, the campaign team must work hard to
make this group believe in the campaign messages and the candidate. Republican
opponents may believe that these true believers may be dissuaded through
misinformation or false campaign to undermine the Clinton’s Candidacy. There
are realistic possibility of controlling information coming out of the campaign
effort, especially, if the campaign manager is able to maintain a tight shift
that will prevent leaks on the campaign’s strategy. The tight shift control of
information leaks are essential to control loyalty and maintain momentum in how
primaries are won, state by state, especially beginning with states with early
primaries. What motivates a novelty as a female US Presidency or a utopian as
some will say, is a burning desire by many Americans for a female occupant of
the highest office in the land; the history of dearth of female in the office
for the past two and half centuries has made some voters make an unbreakable
bond with the announcement of Hillary Clinton for 2016. A reality for now, is
that of all the prior female attempt to occupy the highest office in the land,
Hillary Clinton stands out as probably the best chance, and for that reason,
the rigor of controlling information leaks from her campaign, must be done with
a vigor hitherto unknown in presidential campaigns; failure, may represent
another fallacy which many female groups are no longer willing to live with.
The
reliance on the facade that the Democratic presidential nomination for 2016 is
at stark contrast from recent primaries, 2008 and 2004, must not hold back
precautions on the part of Secretary Clinton’s campaign team. Careless
information leaks have been known to undermine a few nominees that were
considered front-runner status on the nomination path. It is good to hear the
secretary say she is not taking anything for granted in her two-minute video
released to announce her candidacy. Front runner status candidates who have
succeeded in maintaining momentum behind their candidacy in the past cycles of
the presidential nomination process, have often worked hard from releasing
campaign snippet messages that are not polarizing or injurious to the chances
of the candidate. All campaign messages must enrich the campaign experience for
both the candidate and her supporters; the result invariably, is abundant
donations to the campaign chest. Secretary Clinton’s campaign team must remain
immutable.
Secretary Clinton’s campaign messages do not have to be
excessively ideologically driven, as some Republican contenders are, or are
going to be once interest groups decide to actualize their interest or flex
their muzzles toward the nomination month, about a year from today. The hypocrisy
of advancing the interest of self-interest groups seeking to ensure that the
Party’s platform reflect their narrow view(s) has tendency to turn away potential
and existing supporters. What these self-interest groups require, are
recognition and a place on the table, not complete capitulation of the campaign
team or message to their total interest. For that alone, diplomacy and care are
essential and crucial in sustaining their support to the ultimate nomination
day; and hopefully, the general election day. The sense and right to be heard
are recognized for any group in the Democratic Party; however, not to the
extent to which the Tea Party has hijacked the Republican Party’s establishment
to set the tone of the party’s national agenda.
Precisely, because what we have seen of narrow ideological
driven party campaign messages in recent years, the commanding doctrine of the
first viable female presidential campaign in US history, do not necessarily
have to be completely compatible with all the demands of the interest or
pressure groups in the party; however, it must be aligned with the ultimate
goal of why Secretary Clinton entered the presidential race in the first
instance and hopefully, today. It is probably true that there are other reasons
why the Secretary has entered the race, beyond what may be made public at this
time; it is also true that, all the reasons for running for the office of the
Presidency, is the desire to finish what she started in 2008. Doctrinal
differences are bound to arise between a campaign team and the pressure or
lobby groups within a party; however, while loyalty and respect are essential
to the aspirations of the whole party and probable success at the general
election, no campaign team must put itself in the position where an interest or
lobby group, hijacks its main goal or the party’s national platform.
Certain realities are indisputable and Presidential Candidate Clinton must articulate these in her 2016 campaign messages. She must also find means of communicating her position on them without necessarily ruffling the features of too many, beginning with Democrats; and then, the total American voters:
1)
Commitment to alleviating pay differentials
between males and females in the country, a challenge that has troubled many
female groups in America, must not be abandoned. The political tenet or
acceptance of income inequality between the sexes has been eroded among the
American voters, and there must be a way to make it permanent in all sectors of
American Economy. This goal is essentially pertinent to the rise of the first
female President of the United States; and, is a message many groups in the
nation, Democrats and Republicans, are ready to buy into if not already done.
The observation is that this idea is one many have subscribed to for ages;
however, opposition groups have been able to maintain the status-quo, because
implementation of existing laws has been hap-hazard so far, in both the private
and public sectors of the economy.
2)
Foreign wars will only be proclaimed with a higher
threshold of justification, we must first determine who we are going to war
with, what is our early exit plans, and for what purposes; and, we must never
again go to war because of a mistake. We must never push or military men and
families to the brink, a practice we have subconsciously pursued in the past
four decades. The wars we have been in recently, Iraq and Afghanistan, have
left the country divided, probably along party lines, Republicans versus
Democrats; pro-war versus anti-war, and more.
3)
Impending changes in the financial sector, coupled
with the implementation of Dodd-Franks, must not be negotiable, except if the
change is to tighten the noose around the necks of culprits who brought the
nation to its knees in 2008; and, are currently working hard to over-turn the controls
that were put in place to put a check on the excesses of many banks and
financial institutions, especially with those considered to be too big to fail.
4)
Dissembling of campaign regime through the Supreme
Court ruling, striking down the limit on total amount of money wealthy donors
can contribute and political committees’, which has been the norm since the
post Nixon-Era, while considered inconsequential among some lobby groups and
rich folks attempting to buy influence at the federal level, has become a huge dilemma
for many Americans. American citizens are seeking clarification from Congress,
or a much explicit legislation that bans this practice.
5)
The Common Core Curriculum, that has served as a
fodder for argument, by those who are in support of standard and those opposed
in K-12 education, needs a position paper from the Clinton’s campaign. The
disarray across K-12 education in the nation because of imperfect or
mis-information surrounding the Common Core Curriculum, has created a climate
of paradox that has infused mistrust among many state education systems and the
federal department of education.
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