{"id":8643,"date":"2015-09-08T13:23:54","date_gmt":"2015-09-08T20:23:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/?p=8643"},"modified":"2015-09-08T13:23:54","modified_gmt":"2015-09-08T20:23:54","slug":"hillarys-campaign-has-already-begun-to-derail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/hillarys-campaign-has-already-begun-to-derail\/","title":{"rendered":"Hillary\u2019s Campaign Has Already Begun to Derail"},"content":{"rendered":"
by\u00a0Victor Davis Hanson\u00a0\/\/ National Review Online<\/a><\/div>\n
\n
\"(Win
(Win McNamee\/Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

H<\/span>illary Clinton\u2019s second race for the presidency is only about a quarter through, but she already seems to be causing general fatigue.<\/p>\n

The lurid revelations about the Clinton Foundation proved that it was not so much a charity as a huge laundering operation. Quid pro quo donations from the global rich and powerful fueled the Clintons\u2019 jet-setting networking.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In between political campaigns, the foundation provided sinecures for out-of-work Clinton politicos. This is hardly proof of Hillary\u2019s grass-roots progressivism.<\/p>\n

Then came Clinton\u2019s e-mail fiasco. No one knows how the current investigation of her alleged misuse of e-mail accounts, servers, and classified information will end up. But most people accept that it was an unnecessary and self-induced scandal, brought on both by her paranoia and habitual expectation of being exempt from the law.<\/p>\n

ABC News just disclosed that ex-president Bill Clinton sought huge speaking fees from foreign governments (well over a half-million dollars per talk), while Hillary was secretary of state. Unfortunately, some of his proposed speaking deals involved odious regimes like those of Congo and North Korea. This year, Hillary herself routinely charged universities $200,000 to $300,000 for brief talks \u2014 after decrying the cash-strapped status of indebted students. What will the Clintons not do to make money?<\/p>\n

All these imbroglios raise more issues. Was Senator Barack Obama, largely a political unknown at the time, really all that unstoppable in 2008? Or did Hillary simply blow a 30-point lead in the polls because then as now she proved a lousy candidate?<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t Hillary Clinton turn voters\u2019 attention to her recent stewardship of American foreign policy?<\/p>\n

Most of what happened on her watch as secretary of state is better forgotten: the destruction of a self-reliant Iraq, the rise of the Islamic State, chaos in Libya, failed reset with Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin, disaster in Benghazi, the alienation of Israel and moderate Arab nations, and Iran\u2019s ascendant.<\/p>\n

Instead of hailing her foreign-policy tenure, Clinton is now attacking her critics.<\/p>\n

Clinton just blasted her Republican opposition, some of whom want various federal agencies to cite undocumented immigrants who broke federal law, and then process them for deportation before hearing their applications for amnesty. She misleadingly equated that position with wanting to \u201cliterally pull people out of their homes and their workplaces, round them up and, I don\u2019t know, put them in buses or boxcars, in order to take them across the border.\u201d<\/p>\n

#share#Is it wise to tar critics with the infamous imagery of the Holocaust, in which Jews were rounded up, put in boxcars and sent to death camps?<\/p>\n

After all, Clinton\u2019s own prior positions on immigration were akin to those of many of the Republicans she now attacks. Here is what then-senator Clinton asserted in 2003: \u201cI am, you know, adamantly against illegal immigrants.\u201d Note her use of the personal \u201cimmigrants,\u201d rather than the abstract \u201cimmigration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week, Clinton compared Republican opponents of abortion to \u201cterrorist groups\u201d who \u201cdon\u2019t want to live in the modern world.\u201d<\/p>\n

But such ad hominem attacks on free expression are exactly what Clinton once denounced. \u201cI\u2019m sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and disagree with this administration, somehow you\u2019re not patriotic,\u201d she said in 2003, ironically during the George W. Bush presidency.<\/p>\n

Clinton\u2019s serial meltdowns may bring Vice President Joe Biden into the race. The only other serious Democratic alternative to Clinton at the moment is 73-year-old socialist Bernie Sanders. He is not registered in the party whose nomination he seeks.<\/p>\n

Clinton\u2019s derailment has given breathing space to Republicans. Otherwise, they would be panicking that erratic showman Donald Trump has hijacked their party and might lead it to a meltdown in 2016.<\/p>\n

Both parties face crises \u2014 though there are more viable Republican alternatives to Trump than there are strong Democratic choices, at least for now. And whereas the upbeat Trump would probably agree with \u2014 or even welcome \u2014 charges that he is an egomaniac, Clinton would hardly accept the equally common impression that she cannot tell the truth.<\/p>\n

Hillary\u2019s latest troubles reflect a quarter-century of Clinton habits that transcend time and space.<\/p>\n

Both Bill and Hillary seem to have always believed they should be exempt from the law. Both seem needlessly tawdry in their avarice. Their cover-ups often prove even more damaging than their indiscretions.<\/p>\n

Bill was always the far better speaker and political schmoozer than Hillary. And now Hillary is proving \u2014 again \u2014 that she prefers slandering accusers rather than refuting accusations.<\/p>\n

Are Hillary\u2019s first four and a half months of campaigning a glimpse of the next 14?<\/p>\n

If so, the Democratic party \u2014 and the country \u2014 are going to be utterly exhausted.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a9 2015 Tribune Media Services, Inc.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Victor Davis Hanson\u00a0\/\/ National Review Online Hillary Clinton\u2019s second race for the presidency is only about a quarter through, but she already seems to be causing general fatigue. The lurid revelations about the Clinton Foundation proved that it was not so much a charity as a huge laundering operation. Quid pro quo donations from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[185],"tags":[997],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-2fp","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8367,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-fall-of-the-house-of-clinton\/","url_meta":{"origin":8643,"position":0},"title":"The Fall of the House of Clinton","author":"victorhanson","date":"April 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Boys and girls, Count Victor presents a berrry, berrry scarrrrrry tale of political corruption run amok. by Victor Davis Hanson \/\/ PJ Media Hillary Clinton will probably survive her latest ethical disaster. James Carville \u2014 of \u201cif you drag a hundred dollar bill through a trailer park, you never know\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 8 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 8 comments","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-fall-of-the-house-of-clinton\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"via PJ Media","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/vdh_house_of_clinton_desk_4-26-15-1-500x333.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8418,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/george-stephanopouloss-clinton-foundation-hypocrisy-is-staggering\/","url_meta":{"origin":8643,"position":1},"title":"George Stephanopoulos\u2019s Clinton Foundation Hypocrisy Is Staggering","author":"victorhanson","date":"May 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Victor Davis Hanson \/\/ NRO-The Corner The problem with George Stephanopoulos\u2019s Clinton-gate mess is that his own words prove him to be both a bully and a hypocrite, as well as abjectly unethical. Set aside the fact that \u2014 if not outed \u2014 he would likely never have informed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "NRO The Corner"","block_context":{"text":"NRO The Corner","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/opinion\/nro-the-corner\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo via NRI","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/pic_giant_051515_George-Stephanopoulos-500x292.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8364,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/do-hillarys-fair-pay-talking-points-apply-to-her-own-family\/","url_meta":{"origin":8643,"position":2},"title":"Do Hillary\u2019s Fair-Pay Talking Points Apply to Her Own Family?","author":"victorhanson","date":"April 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Victor Davis Hanson\u00a0\/\/ National Review Online Hillary Clinton apparently plans to base her presidential campaign on the noble goals of greater fairness and shared sacrifice. She has already lambasted vast differences in compensation. \u201cThe average CEO makes about 300 times what the average worker makes,\u201d Clinton warned. She is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Women"","block_context":{"text":"Women","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/women\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"pic_giant_042215_SM_Hillary-Clinton-G","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/pic_giant_042215_SM_Hillary-Clinton-G-500x292.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11847,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/colluders-obstructionists-leakers-and-other-projectionists\/","url_meta":{"origin":8643,"position":3},"title":"Colluders, Obstructionists, Leakers, and Other Projectionists","author":"victorhanson","date":"May 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Victor Davis Hanson \/\/ American Greatness Before the defeat of Hillary Clinton, the idea that the Russians or anyone else could warp or tamper with our elections in any serious manner was laughed off by President Obama. \u201cThere is no serious person out there who would suggest that you could\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hillary Clinton"","block_context":{"text":"Hillary Clinton","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/hillary-clinton\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10227,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-obamas-and-the-clinton-road-to-perdition\/","url_meta":{"origin":8643,"position":4},"title":"The Obamas and the Clinton Road to Perdition","author":"victorhanson","date":"May 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"By Victor Davis Hanson American Greatness Hillary and Bill Clinton were a proud, progressive power couple who came into big-time state politics on promises of promoting \u201cfairness\u201d and \u201cequality.\u201d It did not matter much that very little in their previous personal lives had matched such elevated rhetoric with concrete action.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bill Clinton"","block_context":{"text":"Bill Clinton","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/bill-clinton\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9423,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wheres-the-letter-from-democratic-security-officials-opposing-hillary\/","url_meta":{"origin":8643,"position":5},"title":"Where’s The Letter From Democratic Security Officials Opposing Hillary?","author":"victorhanson","date":"August 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"By Victor Davis Hanson\/\/Town Hall A group of 50 conservative foreign policy elites and veteran national security officials of prior Republican administrations recently wrote an open letter denouncing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. They cited especially his lack of character and moral authority -- and his \"little understanding of America's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Campaign 2016"","block_context":{"text":"Campaign 2016","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/campaign-2016\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8643"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8643"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8645,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8643\/revisions\/8645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}