Hillary's Difficulties

One of the biggest challenges facing Hillary Clinton in her bid for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination is that there are too many people who share her views but will not admit it nor will vote for her.

On issues from national security, to fiscal restraint, to lifestyle laws there are a lot of conservatives who share her views but would not admit it or give her credit. Many may comfort themselves by saying that the actions taken by Bill Clinton have nothing to do with her or even the Democratic party.

For instance, the Family Leave Medical Act, promoted and signed into law by Bill Clinton, is a law that many conservatives mothers expect, no, demand that it should apply to them. Yet dutifully, every two and four years they go to the polls and probably vote for candidates who oppose this type of thinking.

Same goes for balancing the budget. While they demanded that the government return the surplus to them (It's my money!) they have no interest in paying higher taxes to fund the deficit spending enacted by Republicans.

It's just another in a series of voters benefiting from Democratic initiatives but not being will to support those actions. Hillary even tried to be out Joe Lieberman on the Iraqi mess but with her formal announcement that she will run for president, she has decided to take a harder line.

In the end the conservatives minority will not give her credit for supporting Bush's failed policy and it is questionable whether the majority of American will accept her change. As the Washington Post pointed out there are Democrats who question whether she can win a general election.

The main thing Sen. Clinton has going for her is that starting from where Sen. John Kerry left off in 2004, it is doubtful she would lose any of the states Kerry won, leaving only needing to pick up a small number of states to win.

And looking how close Kerry was in Ohio and how the GOP is in retreat in Ohio, it looks like she could start from a winning base. However, many of the states were close and there be a number of people who will not accept her or allow that their beliefs are also Clinton's.