HRC And "Return On Failure"

This links to a whole bunch of polls conducted up until last month that show Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York as the leader of the field of Democratic nominees for the party nomination to run for president next year.

However, this shows that Survey USA has found that John Edwards is the strongest Democratic nominee among the field for the contests in Iowa and Missouri and tells us that he competes favorably in southern and Midwestern states.

And I know it’s no surprise to see our media beating the drum for Hillary and just about handing her the nomination, which thus allows them once more to dig into all of the dirt from the prior Clinton presidency (and also affording David Broder the opportunity to engage in more of his voyeuristic “state of the Clintons’ marriage” columns).

I don’t pretend to be any kind of a political guru, but all I know is that this won’t mean a whole lot if John Edwards wins Iowa, an eminently attainable goal, and shows strongly in subsequent primaries. Though Clinton and Barack Obama are formidable candidates for good reasons, no one really knows anything at this point, and we’re going to be in this “season of pontification with no results” for awhile until voters start deciding one way or the other (at least until the Iowa Democratic Caucus next January 14th).

Still, though, most polling seems to show Clinton as the leader for now. Unfortunately, however, after somewhat of a flirtation with the netroots on the issue of a timeline for withdrawal on Iraq, she has apparently been consulted by Dubya regarding her public statements on the war.

What’s next, I wonder? Parenting tips from Britney Spears? A symposium on civil liberties hosted by Larry Craig? Tips on the proper use of cutlery by O.J. Simpson?

Clinton should make public exactly what it was that Dubya may have communicated to her and repudiate it for the record. And while it’s commendable that she wants “a withdrawal bill with teeth,” it would have been nice if she had merely acknowledged that the MoveOn/Petraeus ad (sorry, but that still has some life left in it) was free speech and left it at that (hell, she didn’t even have to agree with it as far as I’m concerned).

And this ties in just a bit too uncomfortably for me to the wishes of the Beltway know-nothing pundits who want to see the DLC-centrist fictions preserved at all costs. If Clinton continues to follow down the road these people advocate, she may end up winning the battle (the presidency), but ultimately, she’ll lose the war, if you will (reforming the Democratic party into a sustainable, people-powered movement that would endure for generations).