Opinion

Hillary doomed to Bill's shadow, president or not

DON'T think anyone was terribly surprised when Hillary Clinton confirmed that she was having another run for the White House. She's been campaigning for the job since she got her own office in the West Wing a few weeks after Bill moved into the post in January 1993. She wants to be president because she thinks that it's her right, her entitlement, and her turn to be president. And she clearly has the brand power and cash raising power to buy the presidency. One of her staff told the Daily Beast website "we are planning to raise an insane amount of money".

Sunday's announcement was her way of scaring off rivals, her way of saying 'I have far more money than you can ever hope to have and I'm already better known than you can ever hope to be, so keep out of my way.' She's bringing no new ideas or vision to the campaign, just the same-old, same-old she has been trotting out for 30 odd years. The only difference this time is that she's preparing for a longer campaign slog, having learned hard lessons from being beaten by Obama's upbeat, eloquent approach last time.

Hillary isn't Bill, though (even though I'm no fan of his). She doesn't have the charm, charisma or oratory. She doesn't have that air of mischief or sparkle. She doesn't even have that whiff of danger. She's pedantic and wordy. She is a surprisingly dull public speaker, incapable of lifting her eyes from the script for more than a couple of seconds and equally incapable of off-the-cuff banter with an audience. Yes, she is an intelligent, informed and interesting person in her own right, but she lacks that particular quality, that edge if you like, which should have allowed her to see off the virtually unknown Obama in 2007-8.

She is going to throw money at this 'last hurrah' and it is reckoned that she will spend somewhere between one and two billion dollars over the next two years. Most of it will be raised by Super Political Action Committees, shadowy groups of people who are allowed to channel as much money as they like into a candidate's coffers. And because nobody knows who they are, let alone from whom they attract hundreds of millions of dollars, nobody knows what the price tag is for their support. Let's face it you don't hand over that level of cash just for the fun of it. You expect something in return. Also, once you accept that type of financial support you are, to all intents and purposes, 'owned' by the money men. These people are, in fact, investing in and speculating on another Clinton presidency.

A lot of her supporters holler: "it's time for a woman in the White House." But what does that even mean? John Kennedy was the first Roman Catholic president. Ronald Reagan was the first Hollywood president. Barack Obama was the first African-American president. Jimmy Carter was the first peanut farming president. So what if Clinton became the first female president? It isn't going to make her better at the job. It isn't going to mean a different approach to politics. It doesn't mean that she'll be any less divisive than any of her predecessors. It doesn't mean that she will be a good president.

At this point - although it is still a very early point in the campaign - it is hard to see any other Democrat beating her. Even if there was another pre-White House Obama waiting somewhere in the wings I'm not sure America is ready for him or her. Obama offered so much to so many, yet has disappointed almost all of them. They took a risk with him in 2008, seeing him as a breath of fresh air and as a break away from the dynasty politics of Bush and Clinton. But most Democrats now seem to think that holding the White House will probably require a return to brand Clinton. That said she does need to be tested and proved road-worthy with some opposition for the nomination before she shifts to the one-on-one battle with the Republican candidate - who will also be throwing cash at the contest.

Will she make it? I don't think so. I've never quite been able to put my finger on what the problem is with her, although there is a definite Stepford Wife dimension at play. She has never struck me as real. She has never struck me as someone who has her own vision. Indeed, after all these years I still think that she's looking for something, anything, which will finally take her out of Bill's enormous shadow. Ironically, the only predecessor she will be yard-sticked against in the White House is, yep, good ol' Bill.