She’ll have to decide very soon. On a personal level I have mixed feelings whether she should run. I was in junior high when Bill ran for and won Attorney General in 76. I still remember the excitement of seeing somebody just a few years older than me running for office. Politicians were tired old men that hated Rock N Roll and everything the 1960’s stood for. Arkansas especially was mired in tradition and resisted any change. We were dead last in income, education just about every indicator among the states. Bill and Hillary represented my generation and change. I could strongly identify with them even when I was only 15.
I started voting for Bill in 1980, the only Governors race he ever lost. Continued voting after his 1982 comeback. They’ve put in 40 plus years of very committed public service. Most people outside Arkansas don’t realize that we had two year governor terms until Amendment 63 to the Arkansas Constitution, passed in 1984. Bill ran and won 5 governors racesin 12 years. Thats a lot of non stop campaigning before they entered National politics. It takes a toll.
Hillary looked so physically exhausted after her years as Secretary of State. I was quite concerned for her health. She’s recovered and looks so much better now. She’s 67 and is facing 9 grueling years ahead if she chooses to run. A year of campaigning and 8 years in office. I fear for what that will do to her. Not to mention Bill. He’s already had two heart procedures. I can’t help but feel they’ve done enough. Enjoy the next ten years together. Play with their grandkids, travel and focus on themselves. They certainly earned it.
Maybe Hillary feels she has to run. That this is something that must be accomplished no matter the personal cost to her or Bill. She might be miserable if she doesn’t run. I understand that true leaders are wired differently from most people. They are personally driven to serve. I’ll be behind her 100% if she chooses to run.
Please, please, lets keep politics out of this. There will be dozens of election threads if she runs.
On a personal level, should Hillary run? I’m not setting up a poll. This isn’t meant for that. I’d like to talk about the desire for public service and the personal costs. I admire people with this commitment to serve. I could never endure the pressure and intense scrutiny.
I think the only sensible answer on a personal level is she and family and whomever she decides to consult should decide. Isn’t that what we mean by personal?
Yes, its totally up to what Hillary and her family decides. There is strong outside pressures for her to run, but I think she’ll make her own decision. She won’t be pushed into it.
I just relate because I’m already looking forward to retiring. I’d love to walk away when I hit sixty. Its unimaginable that I’d take on a commitment like Hillary is considering. I can’t wait to have a few years for my wife and myself. Travel, visit family, just kick back.
I guess it really depends on how fulfilled someone is with their job. There’s so many interests I want to pursue. Things I loved and did as a kid. I put so much of my life on hold for my family and career. I’ll be busier after retirement than I am now. I still haven’t hiked the entire Appalachian trail. Its top of my list after retiring if my health holds up. My first cousin retired from Entergy after 40 years and I can’t even reach him anymore. He’s got so many irons in the fire and loving retirement.
I still got ten more years to drag this rock up the mountain and then I’m a free man.
I know the majority of politicians are older. I guess they are more fulfilled and driven in their jobs. What else could inspire people pushing 70 to run for public office when most of us are running to the doctor for a prostate exam?
Why does she have to decide “very soon”? The primaries don’t start for more than a year, and she already has enough polls done on her to sink a battleship.
If she wants to run, she can. But
I have seen no reason to believe that her desire for the Presidency is motivated by a greater desire to serve than any other politician.
FWIW, I would like to see her get the nomination, and then lose (badly) to Romney in 2016. That way we get the best of both worlds - Hillary does not suffer in her personal life, we get the historical significance of a woman running for President, and we get a good President.
That is about politics. How is it not? Unless some of her friends and family are members here this really isn’t on a personal level. It is how she is perceived as a political and public figure.
I’m not an IHMO mod so I’m not making a decision as to if this thread should stay here.
For many of us the Clintons represent our own lives. I was 15 and saw Bill as an slightly older version of myself. He was actually in his thirties but looked younger. He was part of the 60’s, a period I just missed out on experiencing. I’ve always felt that connection. He’ll always be my governor. I’ve aged as they’ve aged. I’m younger and fitter but realize I’ll be facing the same challenges in 15 years. I hope there aren’t any heart operations in my future.
I just thought we could discuss them as people. No different than ourselves. There is a full year of politics ahead if Hillary runs. Plenty of time for threads on her positions.
Well, it got moved. So much for keeping politics out.
You asked a question about Hilary Clinton entering the presidential election and asked to keep politics out. That is like ask opening a thread about Hitler becoming Chancellor and asking people to not Godwinize the thread.
Anyway, my personal feelings for the Clintons is different from their politics. I’ve changed a lot in the past twenty years. I’m much more conservative now. I will always admire and love the Clintons as people. It’s rare to have anyone from Arkansas achieve this level of prominence. We’ve only produced a handful of Rhodes Scholars. Bill’s from the same culture as me. His grandparents were farmers just like mine. My hometown is sixty miles from Hot Springs where he went to high school. He still maintains close links here. There’s a personal apartment at the top of the Clinton Center that he uses. He’s the favorite son that made good.
Enough about Bill. He’s not the one that might run.
I’m not sure how much Hillary’s platform will change from 2008. She pulled back from politics after becoming Secretary of State. I know she’s been making speeches but so far hasn’t announced if she’ll run. Much less what agenda she’ll pursue. If she jumps into the race then there will be plenty to discuss.
I’m very torn whether Hillary should run. On the one hand I worry about her age, her health, and dread seeing all the old Clinton controversies dragged back out. It’ll get ugly quick. She’s a tough lady and if she wants to run then none of that will matter.
I do agree age is a much bigger factor in todays world. One look at what this office did to Bill, George W Bush, and Obama leaves little doubt. It’s a grueling job that comes with unimaginable levels of stress. It does require somebody with excellent health and at least in their fifties.
Maybe so. For right now, I’d imagine she’s a shoo-in for the primary. Have to wait and see who else emerges. She may get bumped out like last time. I thought she was a lock for 2008 and that didn’t turn out too well for her.
Oh yes, I agree she might not win even one term, much less two. There’s quite a few hurdles for her to even win the primary. Much less the Presidency. I learned long ago nothing can be assumed in politics. The early buzz around any candidate means little after the race gets started.
It’s important to remember she’s not Bill. She won’t automatically get the votes that he’d draw. It will be a tough campaign if she runs.
Let’s be fair, Shodan. You can’t definitively state that Romney would be a good PotUS. It’s certainly possible, but not written in stone. Much like, if Hillary won the election, it’s possible she would be a disaster, but equally probable that she’d be a success by any objective measures.
On the one hand, she’d accomplished an awful lot and shouldn’t subject herself to the gauntlet of running for President. Nor the humiliation of losing if that were to happen.
On the other hand, wow, she has a really good shot at being President. And the first female President, to boot.
All the talk in the media about whether Hillary should “spend time with her grandkids” kind of annoys me. How many times have you seen people waxing on about family time in regards to a male politician who’s spent his entire life politicking? The only candidate I can remember in recent times for whom age has been a concern was McCain, and that was an extreme (he was in his 70s, had a history of cancer, and had Sarah Palin as VP). It just strikes me as a wee bit sexist.
The humiliation of running for President and possibly losing? Yeah, that’s what being a politician is. Why aren’t we talking about whether Biden can deal with the awful strain and embarrassment? He’s older than Hillary, after all.
No, he’s right. Someone runnig for president has to be willing to make a 9 year commitment. That doesn’t mean the country will go along with it. That’s why health and age are political considerations not just personal ones.
Simply deciding to run doesn’t mean she’s automatically President, much less for two terms. You do know that, right?