In the Democratic primary race, as of today, there’s Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and everyone else. While the coverage of Sanders’ campaign is exciting, what he doesn’t have is the idolization that a lot of people have for Clinton. Her supporters are willing to look past her flaws and assume good intentions. No amount of argument will convince them there’s a possibility the emails that we should be most concerned about were not released to the State Department.
It’s possible that what was ultimately Clinton’s downfall in 2008 could come back to haunt her again. She is just very detached. Roping off journalists and complaints of being “dead broke” after leaving the White House only makes this worse. She has to try to be likeable, carefully constructing her appearance. But this also works against her, making her seem fake and untrustworthy.
For Sanders, it’s easy to appear likeable, but he’s unlikely to win the nomination.
He’s able to come off completely unrehearsed and talk to reporters, while Clinton must have taped interviews and controlled encounters with reporters.
The primaries are supposed to bring out better policies through competition, but Hillary isn’t really engaging with the other candidates because she is so far above their level in the polls.
It might be good for her to at least pretend the other candidates are equals, especially for the debates.
What fun is it to watch a debate where we all know who the winner is?
On the Republican side, there are far too many candidates, but they are at least forced to talk to and about each other, fighting for coverage in the press.
Clinton knows that whatever she does will be covered by the press.
In some ways, she is just as complacent as she was in 2008, which is dangerous for a general election. This election cycle’s Democratic debates are shaping up to be another one of Clinton’s speeches.
The other candidates, besides Sanders, will not be very confrontational toward Clinton.
Knowing that she will win the nomination, they are vying for vice president.
Clinton’s election seeming inevitable could lead to lower turnout for her at the polls, allowing Sanders’ more passionate supporters to turn the tides in his favor, but Sanders will be unable to win the people in the middle that are so desperately needed to win a general election.
The sad state of this primary race will doom the Democratic Party and be terrible for the general election because usually a primary would help shape up the candidate to face off against opposition.
Primaries take candidates out of their comfort zone so that they are prepared in the general election. Clinton, meanwhile, is too comfortable.
Just as she was in 2008.
Nicole Dan is a UF political science sophomore. Her column appears on Tuesdays.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 7/21/15]
- 1.25 million Americans are living with Type 1 diabetes.
- About 40,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed each year.
- Type 1 diabetes is associated with an estimated loss of life-expectancy of up to 13 years.
- Warning signs of Type 1 diabetes include:
- Extreme thirst
- Frequent urination
- Sudden weight loss
- Drowsiness
- Increased appetite
Source: Juvenile Diabetes
Research Foundation
