12 July 1999

Election 2000 - THE COMMENTARY

By Joseph Planta

Election 2000, was really suppose to be the name of the presidential race, but as of last Wednesday it heated up with the First Lady making her Senate bid. Hillary Clinton is the perfect person to run, she’s got a personality, she’s in the spotlight a lot, and she’s tough. She’s the perfect candidate, but she’s not the perfect politican. Mrs. Clinton has no political background whatsoever. Being the loyal First Lady first of Arkansas then the United States hardly qualifies a run for the United States Senate, especially in the state of New York. She and the President are homebuying in the state, but hardly live or will there. (And if Mrs. Clinton goes to run, for sure their marrage will crumble. The President is also considering his own Senate run in Arkansas.) She was born and raised in the state of Illinois and spent most of her adult life in Arkansas and so a run in either of those two states would be more ideal. She, like her husband, is selling herself out. She thinks that just because Senator Daniel Moynihan has been that states Senator for years and that she helped Charles Schumer win the other Senate seat last year, she can just waltz in and win.

If the race is to have Mrs. Clinton representing the Democrats, then New York City Mayor Rudy Guliani is the man who’ll pit for the Republicans. Guliani is fiercly popular, yes even more than Hillary, and if the race were held today he’d win in a cakewalk. Guliani is tough, he’s also grassroots, something that Hillary Clinton will have a hard time getting to, since the election is a year or so away. Closer and closer to the election Mrs. Clinton will have to remove herself from the President. An endorcement from him may even hurt her chances, especially if Guliani is her opponent, he’ll milk the morality they represent to the bone. I also take predictions of a Senator Clinton win with a grain of salt, because former First Ladies, don’t usually do this kind of political grandstanding. Former First Ladies usually fade into the woodwork after their men leave the White House, but then again the Clinton’s are remarkably younger than the Reagan’s or the Bush’s were when they moved into history.

From the Senate race to the bigger one, The White House. For the first time since the 1968 elections, the Democrats and Republicans will neither have an incumbant already in The White House. In 1988, George Bush was sort of already in The White House, because he was a Vice President, so I guess Al Gore is already a White House resident. Whatever the case, the Presidential race of 2000 will be a tough campaign. Al Gore looks like he’ll take the Democratic Party nod, unless people like John McCain or Bill Bradley can knock him, which is highly unlikely. In the Republican camp it also looks that easy, but is it. Elizabeth Dole was one of the front runners in this race, but since Governor George W. Bush of Texas threw his hat in the race, it makes it all the muddier. Bush and Dole will certainly want the Republican nomination, but they’ve only got one and I’m betting unless someone like the likes of George Bush whether it be in style, stature or politics comes along, it’s his. Mrs. Dole would probably accept the nomination to be the Vice-Presidential running mate. The combination of Bush and Dole is the most appealing, and the best chances the Republicans have in winning the White House. I can’t even picture who Gore will have as his running mate, so the odds are on a Republican White House after 2000.

After the Clinton impeachement mess, a lot of Republicans, be it in the Senate or the House, will face heat from the Democrats and thus will give way to a hell of a lot of politcal mudslinging. The elections in 2000 will be interesting and if the players are the same as they are now and the races will only be more exciting, the elections will be a riot to watch. Will Jesse Ventura run for President, I hope so. That’ll really make politics watchable again.

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An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .