Hindsight: What If This Were Hillary's Presidency Right Now?

[Cap'n Cat]

I was a Hillary supporter over Barack Obama for the "experience" thing and I wish she woulda won. I'm going to support Obama through the next six years of his presidency, but, have been wondering.....

Would things be different if this was a Hillary Clinton presidency?

Try to be reasonable in your responses, Conks. You don't help by being fvcking apes.

[89Hen]

I don't think there would be much difference. Pelosi and Reid were doing the driving, BO is just the car.

[Cap'n Cat]

I don't think there would be much difference. Pelosi and Reid were doing the driving, BO is just the car.

I think Hillary woulda been more forceful on Democratic issues and legislation and wouldn't-a thrown them the keys so readily.

[GannonFan]

I'm from the other angle - being an Obama supporter, but I think it's a good question.

IMO, the biggest problem Obama had was not knowing how to deal with the strong personalities in Congress (namely Pelosi and Reid) and letting them dictate the direction of his Presidency. They pretty much determined what bills were going to be worked on in what order and in what fashion. Obama, in many ways, was reduced to a cheerleader role. He didn't know how to interject himself into the agenda, and the supermajority was probably the single worse thing for him as they didn't need him to help win support for what they wanted to do.

Hillary, on the other hand, had a good two decades worth of exposure to how Washington worked and I don't think for a second that she would've been as cowed as Obama was to the machinations of Congress. She would've set the agenda and she would've determined that the economy should have been the single most focus for the first year or so. And I don't see how she would've jumped right into health care at all, considering her history.

So yeah, I think a Hillary Presidency would've looked a lot different and I wouldn't doubt that the GOP would have far less seats today in Congress, and very well wouldn't have a majority in the House, if Hillary was in the White House.

[TheDancinMonarch]

We opponents would be sexists instead of racists.

[Franks Tanks]

I'm from the other angle - being an Obama supporter, but I think it's a good question.

IMO, the biggest problem Obama had was not knowing how to deal with the strong personalities in Congress (namely Pelosi and Reid) and letting them dictate the direction of his Presidency. They pretty much determined what bills were going to be worked on in what order and in what fashion. Obama, in many ways, was reduced to a cheerleader role. He didn't know how to interject himself into the agenda, and the supermajority was probably the single worse thing for him as they didn't need him to help win support for what they wanted to do.

Hillary, on the other hand, had a good two decades worth of exposure to how Washington worked and I don't think for a second that she would've been as cowed as Obama was to the machinations of Congress. She would've set the agenda and she would've determined that the economy should have been the single most focus for the first year or so. And I don't see how she would've jumped right into health care at all, considering her history.

So yeah, I think a Hillary Presidency would've looked a lot different and I wouldn't doubt that the GOP would have far less seats today in Congress, and very well wouldn't have a majority in the House, if Hillary was in the White House.

Good points. Hillary has bigger balls that Obama, and I gotta think she would have a clearer vision and a more defined path on how to get there. Would this mean the economy and life in the USA would be any better than now? Probably not.

[Ivytalk]

GF is right. Hillary would have had a more successful -- or less unsuccessful -- first two years. Experience shows.

[blueballs]

I'm from the other angle - being an Obama supporter, but I think it's a good question.

IMO, the biggest problem Obama had was not knowing how to deal with the strong personalities in Congress (namely Pelosi and Reid) and letting them dictate the direction of his Presidency. They pretty much determined what bills were going to be worked on in what order and in what fashion. Obama, in many ways, was reduced to a cheerleader role. He didn't know how to interject himself into the agenda, and the supermajority was probably the single worse thing for him as they didn't need him to help win support for what they wanted to do.

Hillary, on the other hand, had a good two decades worth of exposure to how Washington worked and I don't think for a second that she would've been as cowed as Obama was to the machinations of Congress. She would've set the agenda and she would've determined that the economy should have been the single most focus for the first year or so. And I don't see how she would've jumped right into health care at all, considering her history.

So yeah, I think a Hillary Presidency would've looked a lot different and I wouldn't doubt that the GOP would have far less seats today in Congress, and very well wouldn't have a majority in the House, if Hillary was in the White House.

I totally agree with this.

[native]

The difference might have been a 40 seat loss versus a 65 seat loss for the House Dems.

On the other hand, O'Donnell might not have beat Castle in Delaware...

[89Hen]

We opponents would be sexists instead of racists.

[Skjellyfetti]

I don't think there would be much difference. Pelosi and Reid were doing the driving, BO is just the car.

Wow. I agree with you. I'm confused. I think I should rethink my position now.

[CID1990]

I was a Hillary supporter over Barack Obama for the "experience" thing and I wish she woulda won. I'm going to support Obama through the next six years of his presidency, but, have been wondering.....

Would things be different if this was a Hillary Clinton presidency?

Try to be reasonable in your responses, Conks. You don't help by being fvcking apes.

Hillary would have governed more from the center, and Democrats would still have lost seats this time around, but it would not have been the bloodbath that it was.

We still would have seen the emergent Tea Party though, because they are as much a reaction to big government Republicans as they are big government Democrats.

We would not be pulling out of Iraq quite yet, and Afghanistan likely would have seen more troops than they have.

THere would be a healthcare bill, but I think Hillary has enough fiscal sense to have kept it simpler.

I think lots of Americans are looking at Europe right now and they are seeing their own future and they don't like it. Regardless of who held the office this time, I think that anyone who represents big government or the nanny state was going to be repudiated this tie around. It doesn't matter whose fault it is. Democrats are unarguably freer with the funny money and we were overdue for a 'amrket correction'.

One thing is undeniably true I think: Hillary would not be pulled around by Pelosi and Reid, because she has lots of experience in politics and government, and she knows how to make people toe the line. This is exactly why people knocked Obama's lack of experience in the presidential elections, and now this lack of experience (which Democrats said didn't matter, ad nauseum) has brought his party to where it is right now.

[AZGrizFan]

I don't think there would be much difference. Pelosi and Reid were doing the driving, BO is just the car.

Wow. I agree with you. I'm confused. I think I should rethink my position now.

It's ok. You'll find as you get older it'll begin happening more and more.

[Cap'n Cat]

Wow. I agree with you. I'm confused. I think I should rethink my position now.

It's ok. You'll find as you get older it'll begin happening more and more.

More for Conks, less for Progressives.

[89Hen]

It's ok. You'll find as you get older it'll begin happening more and more.

More for Conks, less for Progressives.

What about Liberals? I have yet to meet a progressive.

[Cap'n Cat]

More for Conks, less for Progressives.

What about Liberals? I have yet to meet a progressive.

Your inner circle is filled with Catholics and mortgage bankers. Of course you've never met a Progressive, Hen.

[89Hen]

Your inner circle is filled with Catholics and mortgage bankers. Of course you've never met a Progressive, Hen.

I'm talking about here Cat. Your ideas are older than Robert Byrd... oh wait, he's dead... much like your ideas.

[Cap'n Cat]

Your inner circle is filled with Catholics and mortgage bankers. Of course you've never met a Progressive, Hen.

I'm talking about here Cat. Your ideas are older than Robert Byrd... oh wait, he's dead... much like your ideas.

Old ideas? You're talking about old ideas?

[89Hen]

I'm talking about here Cat. Your ideas are older than Robert Byrd... oh wait, he's dead... much like your ideas.

Old ideas? You're talking about old ideas?

[img]jesus.jpg[/img]

Except I separate religion and politics.

[Gil Dobie]

I really don't think the teaparty becomes a force if Hillary is elected. Many Hillary supporters went against Obama, like my buddy Phil Berg giving the teaparty ammo.

[Cap'n Cat]

Old ideas? You're talking about old ideas?

[img]jesus.jpg[/img]

Except I separate religion and politics.

[89Hen]

Except I separate religion and politics.

Laugh all you want fat boy, doesn't change the fact that you can't show a single instance where I've mixed the two. Half the people in my church are Dems, half are Reps.

[Cap'n Cat]

Laugh all you want fat boy, doesn't change the fact that you can't show a single instance where I've mixed the two. Half the people in my church are Dems, half are Reps.

Even if I even WANTED to devote a half hour to YOU on this board researching it, I wouldn't. You've done it and you know you have, your Holiness.

[89Hen]

Even if I even WANTED to devote a half hour to YOU on this board researching it, I wouldn't. You've done it and you know you have, your Holiness.

Nope. You could spend half a month looking and you're not gonna find it.

[Cap'n Cat]

Even if I even WANTED to devote a half hour to YOU on this board researching it, I wouldn't. You've done it and you know you have, your Holiness.

Nope. You could spend half a month looking and you're not gonna find it.

Uh-huh.