Hillary and big business

Channeling Hillary’s thoughts on “big business”: They’re bad when you’re trying to pander to the left, but good when you’re trying to pander to the right.

For some related, more interesting reading on Hillary, Larry Sabato has a good piece up today titled “The Hillary Dilemma” where he looks at some of Hillary’s negatives and positives, how she is polling, etc. Bottom line is that she’s consistently polled well in just about every poll but those related to the Iowa caucus. That’s not to say that things won’t change – Howard Dean soared in the summer of 2003 and maintained that high – until the Iowa caucus, where Iowa Democrats chose someone they felt would be ‘electable’ over someone they thought would perhaps be too polarizing. Other states soon followed, picking Senator Kerry over Dean, and the rest is history on that.

Conservatives I have talked to over the years have believed that there is no way Hillary could get the nomination, because of the same polarizing aspect that plagued Howard Dean. This time around, though, you’ve got a smarter, savvier candidate who is not only trying to woo big business, but win over the military as well as pro-lifers. She won’t leave any stone unturned in her quest to become the first female president.

Essentially, she’s introducing average Americans to a ‘kinder, softer yet strong’ version of the driven, hard-nosed, military-hating, staunchly pro-abortion woman we’ve gotten to know and dislike. The question is, though: Should she make it through the primaries, will Hillary’s makeover convince the average American voter who doesn’t follow politics 24-7 like we do?

As an aside, Hillary is doing really well these days with the “Indian-American” community. Find out why.

Semi-related: Prominent lefty columnist Richard Cohen says to not rule out a good year for the GOP in 2008. Make sure to read James Taranto’s response to some of Cohen’s commentary.