Hillary Clinton is out to impress Democratic primary voters, not conservative pundits, but as Bruce Bartlett noted today, Clinton “is rapidly becoming not merely acceptable to many right-wingers but possibly even their candidate of choice.”
Listen to Kathryn Lopez, editor of National Review Online, who was blogging live during the AFL-CIO Democratic debate Tuesday in Chicago: “In response to more than a few answers tonight — on Iraq, on China — I’ve said, ‘She sounds reasonable.’ ” […]
[Lopez’s] boss, National Review Editor Rich Lowry, also has had strangely respectful thoughts lately about Clinton. In a July 27 column, he expressed genuine admiration for her political skill, especially in managing to placate the left wing of the Democratic Party on Iraq without repudiating her vote for the war nor making herself patently unacceptable as a potential commander in chief. It was “brilliant politics,” Lowry conceded.
Clinton’s unwillingness to pander to her own party’s base on Iraq has won her grudging respect from another unlikely source as well: William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard.
Yesterday we learned that Barack Obama is more popular among Republicans in Iowa than several GOP presidential candidates, including John McCain. Also this week, George Will praised Chris Dodd as “amusing, experienced and a plausible president.”
And today Bartlett is characterizing Hillary Clinton, historically the bane of the conservative movement’s very existence, as a credible candidate who could pick up support from far-right Republicans.
I think there are a few factors at play here.
First, it appears conservatives are quickly coming to grips with the reality that the GOP presidential field is weak and not at all ready for primetime. The candidates are dull, unimaginative, inexperienced, inconsistent, overly scripted, and in a couple of instances, imbalanced. I guess it’s only natural that political observers on the right start to peek over the fence and say, “You know, those Dems don’t look all that bad after all.”
Second, I have a hunch conservatives are also beginning to realize that the leading Dems don’t match their caricatures. For years, the right has blasted the Dems’ top tier, especially Clinton, as unhinged communists who hate America, oppose the military, and prefer radical social policies. Then the candidates actually talk about their beliefs and, to borrow Kathryn Lopez’s word, they sound “reasonable.”
And third, I’d argue that all of the most competitive Dems have done surprisingly well keeping the general election in mind. They’re talking to progressive primary voters, but they’re cognizant of messages that can play with any audiences. Barack Obama’s latest “What if” ad, which is quite good, emphasizes his bipartisan appeal. It’s not a natural message for a primary race, but it’s a reminder that all of the major Dems are thinking ahead, while the major Republicans are running to the hard right.
It’s kind of fun to watch, isn’t it?