18 May 2015

Notes from Norm: The Clinton Cake

Critics of Hillary Clinton – Republicans and otherwise – continue to find themselves frustrated and exasperated at their inability to knock her off the perch she has sat on for years.

Despite her shortcomings as Secretary of State, including her role in the Benghazi scandal, she campaigns on a record of “accomplishment.”

From falsely claiming to have been under sniper fire during a trip to Bosnia to concocting a story about her grandparents being immigrants, there is a well-documented history of Hillary misleading, mistelling and misremembering facts.

Americans now know that she deliberately kept her emails on a server, far away from the prying eyes of government officials and the American public, in an effort to secretly conduct whatever business she was supposed to be conducting publicly.

With all of this, and very little of actual accomplishment beyond that which has elevated her personal fortune and prestige, why is it that Hillary Clinton continues to dominate in political polls in America when it comes to her candidacy for President?

Much of it has to do with the focus that her political opponents have placed on the constant stream of scandals surrounding Hillary Clinton.  From the left and the right, and everywhere in between, her antagonists are convinced that there’s a scandal waiting to take her down.

Which is not lost on Hillary Clinton and the sophisticated political allies that surround her campaign.

It is, in fact, a tremendous political asset as America moves deeper into the 2016 Presidential election.

Long ago the American public baked into the Clinton Cake her personal failures, foibles and shortcomings.

Republicans have hammered Hillary Clinton time and time again on these issues.  And others.

Time and time again her poll numbers dip, only to rise again.  She emerges generally unscathed.  

The M.O. is obvious, yet her political opponents fall for it again and again.  

Hillary screws up.

She blames everyone else for her screw up.

She goes undercover.

Her allies attack.

She reemerges under the cover of a carefully orchestrated media event, pushing any media inquiries aside (which the media politely obliges) and changes the subject.

In 1974, Muhammad Ali in his 1974 Rumble in the Jungle match against George Foreman devised an ingenious strategy.

Called the “Rope-A-Dope”, Ali began his fight with Foreman by deliberately angering and antagonizing Foreman.

Foreman, growing more furious by the moment, came at Ali with his powerful arms focused straight at knocking Ali as far out of the ring as humanly possible.

As Foreman pummeled Ali, leading many watching the fight to believe Ali was being viciously beaten, the truth was that Foreman was beating himself.

The more Foreman punched Ali, who had positioned himself in such a way that his blows were being dissipated by the ropes he was leaning against, the weaker he got.

Foreman continued to beat Ali, and Ali simply absorbed the blows.

Foreman, exhausted from an effort that he had fully expected to take  Ali down,  then became the target of a vicious counter-attack from a rested, albeit sore, Ali.

Hillary Clinton’s “Rope-A-Dope” political strategy floats like a butterfly and sting like a bee when it comes to her political opponents.

No matter how many times they think they are wearing her down, anticipating their apparent victory, Hillary strikes and knocks them down.

Hillary Clinton will not become President because she is the most qualified, competent or prepared candidate for the job.

She could become President because her opponents don’t focus on those facts and realities.

What exactly has prepared Hillary Clinton to be President of the United States of America?

Her ability to withstand the blows of her political opponents is her principle qualification.

Republicans seeking to win the White House in 2016 would be wise to reconsider a strategy that is predicated on the notion they can defeat Hillary Clinton by piling more and more scandals on top of her.

The American people are open to an argument about why someone other than Hillary Clinton should be President in 2016.  While they appreciate the thought of a electing the country’s first female President, they would appreciate the thought even more if Hillary Clinton were not such a significantly flawed public figure.

America’s history and its future history is more than just about the number of votes one gets in the next Presidential election.

It’s about what kind of President will be elected into office after the next Presidential election.

The most dangerous opponent Hillary Clinton will face in 2016 is not the one that has best opposition research team, or the cleverest t.v. commercial or for that matter the most compelling personal story.

The most dangerous opponent for Hillary Clinton is the one that has a vision for America that has nothing to do with proving what Hillary Clinton knew and when did she know it.

The most dangerous opponent for Hillary Clinton, and the best candidate for America’s next President, will be the one that reminds us of the America we knew and the one we hope to be again