O Hillary

I think a generic Republican-- which is, after all, what they all are anyway-- could beat Hillary Clinton in Texas, Georgia, Kentucky and South Carolina in 2016. But those will probably be the battleground states if she runs. That's really bad news for the GOP, which would prefer that the battleground states be Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Colorado and New Hampshire, all states Clinton will probably have in the bag going into the election. I guess if North Colorado is a state by 2016, a Republican would win there. And the chances of North Colorado being a state-- like with 2 senators-- by 2016 are roughly as good as... a Republican beating Hillary in 2016.

The Republicans spent much of 2013 trying to make a dent in her favorability ratings with incoherent ranting and raving about Benghazi. They succeeded in bringing her sky-high favorability ratings down to 58% from 64%... not enough to mean anything at all in the electoral college.

Personally, I'd rather see a progressive as the next Democratic president-- Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Alan Grayson... someone who puts ordinary working families first, instead of the Establishment shills the Democrats have been puking up since... um... was there anyone who really did since William Jennings Bryan? I guess a case can be made for FDR. But no one since. On the other hand, I suspect if we wind up with a president from Florida, it will be another Establishment hack like Marco Rubio, not a free-thinker like Grayson. So the Democrats will just have to be happy with Hillary who is-- I guess-- not as bad as any of the Republicans... what a distinction! Of course, the inspiring symbol of a woman president is probably worth watching Hillary win-- the same flawed thinking that made me vote for Obama in 2008.

Still, there are Republicans who want to run anyway. Running for president is a big deal, even if you don't have much of a chance to win, especially for youngish politicians like Rubio, Ryan, Paul and Cruz. The video up top, most of it silly right-wing spin, was put out by The Hill, which can never get enough of that silly right-wing spin.

In contrast to Clinton’s dominance among Democrats, the battle for the GOP nomination is wide-open. Those who appear to be readying a White House run are taking markedly different approaches in terms of how they treat the Democratic frontrunner.

Some potential contenders have set about proving, in ostentatious fashion, that they are willing to attack the former first lady head-on.

Last month, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) spoke in the first-to-caucus state of Iowa and lit into Clinton over last year’s attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, in which four Americans were killed.

“First question to Hillary Clinton: Where in the hell were the Marines?” Paul said. The same morning, Paul had published an opinion article in the Washington Times in which he had asserted that Clinton “should never hold high office again.”

At a January Senate hearing, Paul had told Clinton that had he been president, “I would have relieved you of your post.”

Paul’s speech at the Iowa Republican Party’s Lincoln Dinner was prefaced by remarks from Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa). “The process of selecting the next leader of the free world begins in Iowa, and it’s already begun,” King told the audience.

Going after Clinton scores big with the GOP base and helps attract donors. But ripping her also poses risks, especially when the Republican Party is trying to court female voters.

Still, other possible GOP candidates have demonstrated their willingness to lock horns with Clinton. During an appearance on Fox News last month, Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) alleged there were political motivations at play in the explanations initially given by the Obama administration for the Benghazi attack.

“What I think is sad is how many people were around the administration-- including the former secretary of State, Secretary Clinton-- [who] knew this to be the case and allowed this to move forward anyway,” he added.

Not everyone has adopted such a confrontational stance. In January, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) suggested on Meet the Press that a Clinton administration would have done more to address the United States’ fiscal problems than Obama has done.

... Former Rick Santorum spokesman Hogan Gidley added, “Hillary Clinton is a force to be reckoned with. Any Republican who says she’s going to be dead in the water because of Benghazi, or because of Bill Clinton, or because of whatever: They are sorely mistaken.”

...Republican strategist Ed Rollins: “Whether she is a viable candidate in the general depends an awful lot on what happens to Obama. One thing’s certain, though: If she runs, she will raise the money and she will get the staff.”