On June 29, 2010, former President Bill Clinton did the political equivalent of throwing some juicy ripe red tomatoes at the White House windows by publicly endorsing primary candidate and state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff in Colorado’s Senate Democratic primary.
Colorado’s current senator Michael Bennet is President Obama’s choice to remain senator and thus Clinton’s endorsement predictably caused the chattering class to chatter.
Surely Bill Clinton knew this foray into Colorado Senate politics would cause the White House some embarrassment. So this begs the question: did Hillary know it was coming before Bill made the endorsement? If she was asked, did Hill give Bill the green light on Romanoff knowing the controversial endorsement would cause some pause for President Obama?
More important, is there something bigger brewing for all you conspiracy theorists and Hillary 2012 fans? On June 22, exactly a week before Bill’s endorsement of Romanoff, a widely circulated Rasmussen poll announced that 57% of national voters think Hillary is qualified to be president while only 51% say Obama is qualified. A startling 44% said Obama is NOT qualified while only 34% said Hillary is not.
What does the Rasmussen poll and Bill gently sticking it to Obama mean for Hillary’s presidential future? Here are two possible if not probable scenarios for Hillary’s 2012 election prospects as the first female president of the United States and for Bill as First Dude.
Obama pulls a 1968 LBJ
President Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) in March of 1968 stunned the nation by announcing on television that he would not be running for re-election. The unpopularity of the Vietnam War had toppled his presidency and he realized he could not win in November.
Flash forward to early 2012. Obama is saddled with a ten percent unemployment rate, dismal economic growth, two never-ending wars, and oil stained beaches.
If all the bad karma gets worse in early 2012 could Obama pull an LBJ on national TV?
Guess which couple would be waiting for him in the White House hallway?
Hillary channels Teddy Kennedy circa 1980
The polls are plummeting for Obama, more pelicans are covered in oil, and more Democratic party operatives are whispering in Hillary’s ear that she is “The One Who Can Save Us.”
They keep telling her about how truly sorry they are about what happened in 2007 and 2008.
All the polls show her rising and she knows this could be the last time, for age is her enemy.
So what’s the girl to do?
Naturally she looks for inspiration from the ghost of Teddy Kennedy, who in 1980 saw weakness in Jimmy Carter and launched a primary challenge. But that’s no easy task and history is against her.
Here are all the primary challenges in recent years: McCarthy in 1968 against LBJ before he stepped down, Reagan in 1976 against Ford, Kennedy in 1980 against Carter, and Pat Buchanan in 1992 against Daddy Bush. All have failed. In fact, no primary challenge against an incumbent president has ever lead to selection of a new nominee. However, if there ever was a duo in history likely to make this kind of history, I would bet on Hillary and Bill Clinton, but they would have to start laying the ground work now.
Is that what Bill Clinton started with the Romanoff endorsement? A gentle jab of what’s to come?
Anything is possible as President Obama formally known as THE ONE becomes UN-DONE.
What about all the talk of Obama dumping Vice President Biden in 2012 and Hillary stepping in to help pump up his re-election prospects?
Not likely. Hillary already had that job for 8 years. She is ready for a new one.
Myra Adams is a media producer, writer and political observer. Her web site TheJesusStore.com contributes all profits to Christian charity.