Bush-Clinton Fatigue

Hillary Clinton had a big applause line in the Hollywood Showdown starring her and Barack Obama at the Kodak Theater on Thursday night.  She was asked how she could possibly represent change when the same two families (hers and the Bushes) have been in The White House since 1980.  Her response, while clever, points out why Republicans are praying every night that she is the Democratic nominee.

I paraphrase a bit, but in essence she said it took a Clinton to clean up the first Bush presidency and it would take another Clinton to clean up the second Bush presidency.  It was met with the biggest applause of the night from the glitterati of Hollywood in the audience.  Heck, CNN even went to commercial over the applause as if they had just handed out the Oscar for Best Actress!

Can you imagine what we would think if two families in the United Kingdom, or France, or Germany, or Japan had basically shared executive power for 28 years straight?  Interesting to think about it from that perspective isn't it?

Super Duper Tuesday is coming and it may be the day that the November ballot for President begins to take final form.  There is tremendous interest in this election as there should be.  We all have different motivations for making decisions when we vote.  I have to believe that whether it is conscious or unconscious, there is an underlying feeling in many voters that 28 years of the Bushes and the Clintons is enough.  We will see on Tuesday if I'm right.

An important postscript - it was amazing to see a woman and an African-American sitting side by side knowing that one of them can be elected President of the United States later this year.

 

Comments

[Annie]

The revitalization of young Democrats like myself is proof that there are millions across the country who feel the same fatigue and literally cannot remember the country before the dynasty began. I hope Tuesday proves you right, too.

[Brian]

It's worth noting that the last Clinton administration left an electorate (or at least an electoral majority) favoring a successor from deep right field.

Enter Jeb 2012? Hopefully we've learned our lesson.

[Tim]

I think that the numbers speak for themselves. People are inspired. And not by politics as usual, but by the possibility of something truly different that demands something new of the public. Speaking of the voting process, why in the world hasn't government made election days national holidays? If we're concerned about the number of people participating in the process, why are we making it so difficult for that to happen?

[Brian]

Good question, Tim. My Aussie colleagues are bewildered by our process, as voting is compulsory down under.

It seems that those in power (who want to remain in power) rarely find support from those who find it difficult to get to the voting booths. It's a vicious cycle and, unfortunately, voter suppression seems to be a legal grey area for some candidates...