Hillary Clinton:
Would forbearance be the wiser course?
No Hillary, Don't
Do It! (de Volkskrant, The Netherlands)
"Let me
come straight to the point the Dutch way - straightforward and without lame
excuses: Please retire. Forget your presidential ambitions. Enough is enough.
Please don't do it."
Suppose you win the presidential election in November 2016, then
you will be 69 years old. Let us assume two terms; you will be 77 when your job
is done. It's pretty much the hardest job in the world. You can do a lot, but
isn't it a bit tricky?
I have respect for grey hair: but for such a tough job you
have to know that there is a time to come and a time to go. Only once have we
seen a president that old - Ronald Reagan. That didn't end well.
I don't think you're going to win. Barack Obama won in 2008
(by a 10 million vote margin) and in 2012 (5 million) due to the massive support
of ethnic minorities and a high turnout among young people. Be honest: you don't
have Obama's magical aura. For many young people you are "yesterday's news"
and many will stay home, along with a good number of Black voters. Hillary, you
are no Barack Obama!
Weak opposition
candidate
Obama also had a weak opposition candidate - twice. In 2008,
John McCain (then) still older than you will be in 2016. In 2012 there was Mitt
Romney, who is better at raking in millions of dollars than persuading millions
of voters. Will you also get a weak candidate opposing you? Don't count on it.
I don't want to detract from Barack Obama's resounding
victory. But he had a lot of luck. In the Netherlands we like to paraphrase one
of the greats of Dutch football Johan Cruyff:
"Every disadvantage has its advantage."
Barack Obama's skin color will undoubtedly have deterred
some voters, but it also had an advantage: America could for the first time
in its history elect a Black president. That gave a special dynamic to that
election. Hope and pride attracted many voters to the polls. They wanted to be
a part of this historic event.
Will you also manage to attract record numbers of young and Black
voters? You and I know the answer. Barack Obama has done great things for the
country. His legacy is precious. Don't let the Republicans screw it up.
End of the World
You probably know that joke about the end of the world. Who
will survive? Cockroaches along with Bill and Hillary
Clinton. Your husband Bill was The Comeback Kid, and you were very often
The Comeback Girl. Now I say: go back, girl! Make room for other candidates. Now
it may not be too late.
And there's something else: You know that hassle with e-mails
will follow you into the White House. It's grim but true: You have many fans,
but many Americans also detest you. Hillary-hatred is now a temporarily dormant
but it is a chronic disease that few Americans ever recover from.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
And just between you and me – you have been telling some
terrible fibs about deleting e-mails and the security of sensitive information
in those tens of thousands of e-mails. Didn't you have to smile as well when
you confidently assured the world that no confidential information was present
in those tens of thousands of communications?
You were secretary of state, were you not? So what was in
those e-mails? You exchanged tidbits with prime ministers and presidents? Is
there anyone except you (and Bill?) who believes that? When it comes to
proclaiming half-truths, you and Bill are experts. But that's enough for now.
The time has come.
Female president
On one topic I am sure we agree. I hope we will live to see
America get a female president. That would be fantastic. Can we also agree that
you will not be the first female president?
You'll understand why I send this to your personal e-mail
address. This way I know it will reach those for whom it is intended.
Never do what your enemies hope for!
Have a great day!
All the best,
Charles Groenhuijsen.
*Charles Groenhuijsen
is de Volkskrant's former Washington correspondent
and the author of the book Oh, Oh America to be published in May (Publisher
Balance - UitgeverijBalans).
