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Democrats unsure about Hillary
21/06/2006 12:40 - (SA)
Stephanie Griffith
Washington - Some Democrats are having second thoughts about Hillary Clinton as their 2008 presidential candidate, wracked by doubts about her cross-party appeal, and disappointed by her position on US troops in Iraq.
Those reservations were given expression last week at a forum in Washington of liberal Democrats, where Clinton was roundly booed when she expressed her opposition to setting a date for withdrawing US troops from Iraq.
"I do not agree that that is in the best interest of our troops or our country," she said in remarks that prompted a chorus of cat calls at the "Take Back America" gathering of liberal Democratic activists.
"Her being booed last week had everything to do with Iraq," said political analyst Larry Sabato.
"The Democrats clearly have moved further to the left on Iraq, and she's not moving with them," said Sabato, who runs the University of Virginia's Centre for Politics.
Early polls have given the former first lady a wide lead for the presidential nomination over several would-be Democratic rivals, and more than two years before the November 2008 balloting, Clinton has amassed an enormous campaign war chest.
Major liability
But she also has a major liability not faced by the other Democrats: the disdain of many Republicans and Independents who say they would never vote for her because of their disgruntlement over husband Bill Clinton's presidency.
Hillary Clinton, who has worked carefully to maintain a middle ground position on Iraq, has criticised Republican President George W Bush's "open-ended commitment" to a military victory.
But to the chagrin of many, she also opposes against setting a "date certain" to pull US troops, even as some of her party's leading lights in the US Senate this week press for a phased withdrawal.
While liberals find her far too right-leaning on the hot-button issue of Iraq, conservatives have stamped Clinton as a liberal who would favour big government "tax and spend" politics and lenient social policies.
Harder to get nomination than she thinks
Although still the hands-down favourite for her party's nomination, Clinton's stance in the debate leaves her newly vulnerable, pundits said.
"Maybe she's a bit overconfident about the nomination. She's running a general election strategy ... she wants to stay moderate," said Sabato said.
"I think she's going to have a much harder time getting the nomination than she thinks."
He predicted one challenge will be locking up the votes of centrist Democrats, with whom he said she has an even bigger problem than with left.
"There's a broader group who would never boo her ... They all seem to say, 'Oh, I love Hillary, I think she's terrific. But of course, we can't nominate her because she can't win the general election'," said Sabato.
John Kerry
At last week's gathering, Clinton's fellow senator John Kerry - one of the Democrats waiting in the wings should she misstep - garnered cheers for backing a US troop withdrawal proposal within months.
But while Kerry - the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee - and several other prominent party members remain in the hunt, experts said Clinton is still the most viable contender for the nomination.
"She has put herself in the position that is most likely to win a presidency for a Democrat," said Thomas Mann, an analyst with the Brookings Institution in Washington.
"She's going to have to fight for it," said analyst Stephen Hess, also of Brookings, "but she certainly starts with greater name recognition, more money and a more coherent group of supporters than anyone else".
- AFP
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