Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton may be the biggest paradox in the 2008 presidential race. Voters see her as both formidable and vulnerable – a polarizing, calculating, baggage-carrying candidate who nonetheless cannot be underestimated.
At least that’s the mixed message one could glean from posts at , an issues-based online community where writers such as “denno” are hedging their bets. “I have to say Hillary can win it all, mainly due to her accumulated campaign funds, and powerful backing of influential people. She is very smart politically, and every other way,” he wrote.
“But she is also pretty polarizing, and that is the big negative I worry about. So she isn't among my top three favorites, but may be too hard to stop,” Denno said.
A contributor named “Traveler 1951” agreed. “My personal view is that she and (Illinois Sen. Barack) Obama will kill each other off and Edwards gets the nomination,” he wrote. “The only reason I am hedging my bets is that the Clintons have a lot of IOUs in the party and, after all, (her husband) is Bill Clinton.”
Sen. Clinton announced her candidacy Saturday with an online video on her website. “I’m in and I’m in to win,” she declared. Her candidacy was the talk of online communities all weekend. Here’s a few more samples from :
- “Hillary has shown remarkable political savvy with her New York success story, so no one should underestimate her drive and ability. The most powerful measure of her chance is the fact that everyone nationally has made a final decision about her – either for (or) against,” wrote “ezwriter.” “Supposedly, if the polls are correct, only 4 percent polled were undecided. That is an incredible number, and her red-state unfavorable number is huge.”
- “She is cold to the touch. She polarizes the public. She has no spark in her personality,” wrote “1averagejoeusa,” who is from Clinton’s former home state of Arkansas.
- “The woman’s too polarizing, and is the wrong person at the wrong time,” wrote “Pilot22A.”
- Don't let the Hillary facade fool you. She can be a tough operative when needed. Don't forget she has been a senator for a number of years, and has been in politics in one capacity or another for her entire career. She has also gone more centrist and gotten away from the liberal label that was once attached to her,” wrote “pennycross-writing.”
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