Electability. There’s a damn good chance she could lose to McCain.
- She
has the highest negative approval numbers of any candidate in polling
history. (I don’t think she deserves that hatred, but there it is.) No
presidential candidate with her negatives has ever won.
- She would turn
out the Republicans in frantic droves. Obama would turn out Democrats
in droves; social-conservative ‘pubs who are tepid about McCain would
just stay home.
- If there’s another terrorist attack, McCain will be
even more likely to win. Obama would be our only hope. I won’t list all
the things that make Obama attractive in that scenario. They might be
enough. The perception of Hillary as a waffler would destroy any chance
of a win.
Governing. Deserved or not, Hillary is an incredibly divisive figure.
She’d find it difficult or impossible to forge bipartisan consensus,
even though some semi-sane ‘pubs (notably McCain) have worked with her
in the Senate. The popular pressure on Republican legislators not to
work with her would be intense. (Not even considering their own inclinations.) Short story, try as she might, she
couldn’t govern well.
Obama. We–America, and the whole world–desperately need Obama as president.
His message, his face, and his name would do more to repair America’s
place in the world, and heal the world overall, than any other
conceivable thing.