Of Polls and Reality

I'll have what Mark Penn is having, thank you. Penn is Hillary's chief strategist. He also holds the position of worldwide CEO for an international public relations/lobbying firm. He didn't quit his day job to work for Hillary. You know, like, say, Karl Rove did when he signed on with Bush. He sold his consulting business and just did the one job. But, stop picking on Hillary and all the pesky questions about ethics.

It seems Penn is trotting out a theory, based on polling he has allegedly seen, that a solid 25% of Republican women would vote for Hillary for president. Because, you know, she's a woman. Apparently all women are so desperate for a woman in the Oval Office that they will vote just on gender. Penn claims in exit polls from 1972 to 2004, an average of 9% of Republican women have voted for Democratic candidates. Hey, are those the same exit polls that declared John Kerry the winner in 2004? OK.

Then, according to Cook/RT Strategies Polling, if the race was between Rudy and Hillary, Hillary receives just 7% of Republican women voters. Seems, in fact, this polling shows more Democratic women crossing over to vote Republican and against Hillary by 9%. So, who are you going to believe?

The Clintons are not exactly possessing the stellar reputation in the truth-telling area. Nor are her people. Just sayin'.

Hillary still has the highest negatives in polling than any other candidate ever. Ever. I hear Democrat women saying they don't want to vote for her. I'm fairly confident in saying there won't be a stampede of Republican voters heading her way. Her only hope is women voters. She expects them to be there for her, if for no other reason than just that she is a woman.

I can't tell you how insulting I think that is. I'm a feminist but I'm a Republican. I would say I am a more honest feminist than Hillary ever has been. I would never think to belittle stay at home moms by saying I wouldn't stay home and bake cookies when I could use a law degree for a career. I think all choices are personal and noble. Are we really to believe all women vote the same? In voting statistics, the only generalization to be made with confidence is that the black vote is about 88% Democrat and that's on the optimistic side on the Republican vote.

Hillary, in fact, would never be seeing her ambitions for the Oval Office to fruition if not for the fact of being married to Bill. She was promised a Senate seat by him to overcome her humiliation before the entire world for his behavior and impeachment. From there the plan was always for her to go for the big one. In reality, what has she ever done on her own? When she followed Bill to Little Rock, she was at a law firm, hired as a rainmaker with her connections. Duh. She was the governor's wife and given the special nugget on working on the education woes of the state of Arkansas. The state was still at the very bottom of the list when she left Arkansas.

Hillary went to D.C. and was given health care. It bombed after tons of secret meetings and behind the scenes arm twisting and the like. Are we seeing a pattern here?

What has she done as Senator? The answer is nothing of note. She's been too busy running for president and acting all centrist. Until primary season began and she lurched to the left so fast she had to catch up with her stories on some votes she's made. When she gets the nomination, and make no mistake she will be nominated, she'll go back to faux centrist Hillary and dangle the return of Bill to the White House. Still using Bill as bait.

That's her version of feminist. I just call her an opportunist. And incompetent.

The most disturbing development with Hillary so far on the campaign trail is the emergence of the fake cackle laugh. Someone has told her to loosen up and appear more spontaneous. There is absolutely nothing spontaneous about Hillary Clinton. She is one calculating cold fish.

The first political campaign I volunteered for in a big way was in support of a woman. A Democrat, too. She was running for mayor of my city at the time. I thought she would be a fresh face in City Hall, a new perspective for our city. A break from the good ole boys network. But not just because she was a woman. Sure, that was the initial interest in her for me but that wasn't the reason to support her. She was experienced in politics as a city council person but she was also experienced in the private sector. She and her husband owned and ran a PR/marketing firm. She knew how to bring people together and she knew her own opinion. She was competent.

She lost. A good ole boy won. C'est la vie.

Do we need the continuing drama of the Clintons again? The Chinese money scandals, the FBI files on Republicans that just turn up in a flunky's office, 1600 of them, keeping Bill roaming around the globe to keep him busy, national security advisers stealing papers and shoving them down pants and in socks, socialism and through the roof taxation? Another record indictment producing administration? You remember the one that was to be the most ethical one ever?

Yeah, I would love to see a woman in the Oval Office. Just not that one.