A Stitch in Haste

Although Hillary Clinton undoubtedly ranks as the most divisive of the Democratic candidates (and perhaps the third most divisive person in America behind George W. Bush and Rosie O'Donnell), one would think -- hope -- that her supporters and detractors could at least agree on some historical absolutes that occasionally bubble up from beneath the unresolved questions of her past:

Howard Wolfson, a campaign spokesman, pointed to previous reports on some of the elements in the [Clinton biographies] to make the point that there was nothing new. "The news here is that it took three reporters nearly a decade to find no news," he said. He added: "Two overwhelming Senate victories in the toughest media market in the country demonstrated that voters have put these issues behind them."

This is, of course, utter nonsense.

One of the most astonishing successes of "Clinton 2008" has been her campaign's ability to blank-out the absolute emptiness of "Clinton 2000" and "Clinton 2006." In other words, it is remarkable how everyone, friend and enemy alike, has overlooked the irrefutable fact that Hillary Clinton has never, not once, faced a significant election battle. Until now.

Besides the fact that there are 60% more registered Democrats than Republicans in New York State, do we really need to dredge the archives to recall the crippled, last-minute, slap-dash campaign by Rick Lazio in 2000 and then the pitiful, pathetic and downright painful campaign by Jeanine Pirro in 2006?

Come on, a well-financed border collie could have quashed these two political puffsters, let alone the Clinton Carpetbagger Complex. The 2000 and 2006 Senate elections were, literally, jokes. Once Rudy Giuliani withdrew from the 2000 Senate race after being diagnosed with prostate cancer (another remarkable blank-out nowadays), the New York Republican Party curled up under its desk in a political fetal position and has been comatose ever since. As another example, look how easily ultra-liberal (and lifelong Democrat) Michael Bloomberg was able to co-opt and corrupt the New York GOP for the sake of pursuing his own political ambitions.

Hillary Clinton sought out the safest, least challenging, most easily manipulated Democratic electorate in the country to launch this final leg of the proposed Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton political vaudeville. That may in and of itself reflect a political savvy of some sort on her part. But it certainly does not reflect any track record of being a skilled campaigner.