October 22, 2015 in Politics
C-Day, as in Hillary Clinton’s Day to Testify
Everyone is anticipating the fireworks at today’s hearing. The stakes couldn’t be higher. If the Republicans can provoke a mistake from Hillary, it could follow her all the way to the election. Meanwhile, due to recent events, the Republicans are now at risk of making Hillary look like a sympathetic figure if they attack her like surely planned. This would have long-term consequences as well. If Hillary gaffes, the mistake will only embolden the Republicans which have been gravely wounded over the last few weeks, but if the Republicans come across as partisan, it will serve to insulate her from any similar lines of attack in the future.
Ryan’s In. Biden’s Out.
So who’s smarter? The prize goes to Joe Biden, who would be fending off the muscular political machine of Hillary Clinton only to face a blitzkrieg of unrelenting attacks during the general election. He realized the fight isn’t worth the effort, and probably isn’t winnable anyway. At least not for him. The nomination is pretty much already ordained in the eyes of most to go to Hillary, and the mood on the street is that she’s got a good chance at winning.
Meanwhile Ryan is in a for rough ride. Like Hillary, he’s currently the favorite in his own right to hold the speaker’s gavel. But the wave he’s riding will break into a swampy bog once he takes the seat. How exactly is this young neophyte supposed to avert shutdown threat after shutdown threat driven by the extremists? These people are more than willing to walk him down the plank should he veer off course. Eventually he’ll prove to be a paper captain, squashed under a ton of right leaning tomes. On the other hand, if he can make it past the upcoming budget and debt limit fights without serious bruises, then all bets are off.