08-19-2016, 02:01 PM
David Horn Wrote:So why is Hillary in the POTUS race so doggedly? I'm not a psychologist, but I'll bet it includes (or may consist entirely of) the opportunity to defeat her enemies. Where we disagree is on her lack of self awareness and even her sense of destiny. I don't see her as insightful at all. She's certainly dogged and more than adequately scrappy, but I don't see her as a visionary in any sense. As a visionary, she's the female GHWB. On score settling, GWB.
We don’t disagree there. I just don’t think she is stupid* like Trump or intellectually uncurious like GWB. I think your motivation is a reasonable start. How does becoming another Hoover constitute “defeating her enemies”? Answer, it doesn’t. So vison is out.
She is promising small ball, after all, the future is unknowable and if the economic environment continues as it is now, only small ball is possible. If she wins it is likely Congress will approve Merrit Garland. And if Ginsburg retires, she will be forced to replace her with a moderate. Even so, the center of gravity will move to the left, so that’s a win and it will be all she gets. She will use her good working relationships and dogged persistence to make a few small changes, perhaps enough to gain a second term,. Or perhaps she'll retire out of exhaustion. It’s the best that can be hoped for, from her perspective.
On the other hand, what happens if the economy/world order DOES takes a turn for the worse? Suppose the market collapses, there is another financial crisis, and Depression looms. Yellen meets with her and informs her that the Fed is powerless (they ARE out of ammo and everybody knows it). The House is adamant, no bailout this time. They stand ready to insist that everything collapse for surely she will get the blame. They got revenge for Nixon on her husband and now they are going to get revenge for Hoover.
So does she go gently into that good night and let her enemies win without even a fight? Not if she is “dogged and more than adequately scrappy”. And that’s what I am hoping for.
*stupid is used here as a synonym for unwise rather than unintelligent