Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.
The Tampa Bay Times has reported Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., is excited about the prospect of former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton running for president in 2016. Sen. Nelson told the newspaper he recently telephoned Mrs. Clinton, a former first lady and U.S. senator from New York, and encouraged her to throw her hat in the ring. Read more about it here.
Sen. Nelson should be careful with what he wishes for.
History shows that since the 22nd Amendment – which limits a president to two terms – was adopted more than 60 years ago, there is but one instance of a party winning three consecutive presidential elections, which doesn’t bode well for Democrats as they head into 2016. The situation is compounded by the popularity woes of President Obama. Unless something dramatic and unexpected happens, Mr. Obama’s public standing probably is damaged beyond repair.
Needless to say, the Democrats face some formidable built-in obstacles and as I have been fond of noting in recent months, Mrs. Clinton may not be the candidate to help the party beat the odds.
For one, Mrs. Clinton’s – ahem – spotty record at the State Department likely would feature prominently in the campaign. Since the perception of incompetence is at the root of Mr. Obama’s fall in the polls, Democrats especially can’t afford to run a candidate who’s fitness for duty would so frequently be questioned. Additionally, Mrs. Clinton is painfully awkward in public settings and history shows that less-than-smooth candidates don’t excel in presidential politics, generally speaking.
Mrs. Clinton certainly has her strengths, but when her sizable weaknesses are taken in conjunction with the inherent Democratic disadvantages for ’16, it hardly seems she would glide into the White House, as Sen. Nelson and others seem to think she would.
