U.S. Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) addresses the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Presidential Candidate Forum in Washington March 28, 2007. (Jim Young/Reuters)By Steve HollandWed Oct 17, 2:57 PM ET(Reuters)
Republican presidential candidates have determined who the enemy is in the 2008 election, and her name is Hillary Clinton.
Although they have been squabbling among themselves over who among them is the real conservative, they all agree they want to prevent the leading Democratic presidential candidate from winning the November 2008 presidential election.
Republican strategists say it is an effort by each candidate to define and contrast themselves against Clinton, who has stretched her lead over her Democratic rivals and in some respects seems to be already looking ahead to the general election campaign next year.
"The real issue among Republican primary voters is, can you win next November. I think that's why you're seeing this," said Rich Galen, a senior adviser to Republican candidate Fred Thompson.
The tactic also serves to energize the Republican base, which has been dispirited because of the Iraq war and the inability to stop illegal immigration and slow government spending.
"It's a way to try to unify Republican voters," said political expert Merle Black of Emory University in Atlanta. "She's certainly seen as the most likely Democratic candidate next year."
Many Republicans have a visceral dislike for Clinton. They feel she took liberal stances when she was first lady and her husband, Bill Clinton, was president in the 1990s, and fear she would do the same if elected.
They also found her to be a tough adversary, defending her husband against impeachment by alleging a "right-wing conspiracy" was trying to drive him from power.
The charges against Clinton are coming fast and furious, led by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who said in a Fox News Channel interview on Tuesday that Clinton lacked the relevant experience to be president.
"Honestly, in most respects, I don't know Hillary's experience. She's never run a city, she's never run a state. She's never run a business. She has never met a payroll. She has never been responsible for the safety and security of millions of people, much less even hundreds of people," Giuliani said.
Then there is former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who charged during a speech at a Republican fund-raiser on Tuesday night that Clinton would raise a broad range of taxes.
"Her platform would not allow her to be elected today to be president of France, let alone this country," he said.
Even Vice President Dick Cheney's wife, Lynne, could not resist a jab at Clinton. She said Clinton's position on the Iraq war is all over the map.
In an MSNBC interview, Cheney pointed to Clinton's vote against funding the war and to her statement at a Democratic debate that she could not guarantee all U.S. troops would be out of Iraq by 2013.
"The only thing you can be sure of about Mrs. Clinton's position on Iraq is that there's bound to be another one because they have been so contradictory," Cheney said.
The Clinton campaign shrugs off the attacks.
"The Republican candidates are clearly nervous because they know Sen. Clinton is the candidate with the strength and experience to win the general election and become president," said campaign spokesman Phil Singer.
Republican strategists said the attacks on Clinton allow the candidates to define what they stand for without attacking each other.
Though Giuliani leads national polls, no one candidate has emerged as a consensus runaway front-runner. In the muddled Republican field, where voters have generally not made an unequivocal commitment to any one candidate, it could be risky to launch bitter attacks against one another.
Plus, as one veteran Republican strategist said, in dealing with Clinton: "There's a wealth of material here. They're opening up a deep, rich vein that will go on for a long time."
No comments:
Post a Comment