Hillary vs. Colin Powell
Here's my latest political fantasy. Eight or so years down the road Hillary Rodham Clinton and Colin Powell will be the candidates in a presidential election. The time frame is a little "iffy," I don't expect Dubya will serve another stint, but he will run again unless he does something really dumb in office.
Both Powell and Hillary will have had time to put some political meat on their bones by then. Right now, both have name recognition and a certain political celebrity status that can only be enhanced by their new offices—Secretary of State and Senator. Powell was wise to hold out for a cabinet offer from an elected Republican President rather than accepting a place as Veep on Dole's ticket in the last go around. Both have tested their popularity waters on book tours hawking their visions of America. Hillary needs the time to establish herself as a separate political entity—to show her working form.
To appear presidential Powell needs to enhance his image sans uniform and chest of medals. His association with America's Promise was a start ( but smelled of retirement like Jimmy Carter's link with Habitat for Humanity ) . A stint as third in command will likely raise the bar for him. My sense of his cachet in the African American community is that many view him as too white—he is well spoken, well educated, Republican, and married into the old line Black elite. ( Lest you think that an advantage with the masses, Lawrence Otis Graham, author of Our Kind of People, notes that until the 1970s the "brown bag and ruler criteria" was controlling. Along with coming from the right part of town and going to the right schools, clubs, and cotillions, to be acceptable to the elite you had to be lighter than the bag, with hair straight as a ruler. ) The other side of this coin is that whites don't perceive Powell as threatening—he isn't yammering around at their heels the way a Jesse Jackson does—but he is Black and America is not yet blind to race. Think of what his candidacy could do to the Democratic Party—if there was a mass exodus of Black voters it would eviscerate the donkey. Come to think of it—Jackson is probably hoping his Congressman son will have enough of the right stuff under his belt down the line to be a candidate. Senior is certainly stockpiling a comfy campaign chest though he's not likely to hit the primaries again.
Hillary, on the other hand, must not only gain some points on her own as she becomes a working Senator; but, she must dump a lot of Clinton baggage. After the millions spent trying to pin something on her in the Whitewater mess fizzled, we probably won't see anything like that exercise again. But there will be Republicans scouring every possible closet in the next few years and scrutinizing her every move. This is one dame who has made no secret that she would like to be Prez and give the lie to those pundits who said marrying Bill was as close as she would get to the office. Hillary can no more expect "the woman's vote" than Powell can "the Black vote." Given the drift of Republican women over the years she certainly couldn't count on a defection of women voters from their ranks to offset Powell's pull on African American Democrats. So Hillary will have to get some real chalk marks on the board to get the guts of likely supporters stirred up.
While everyone talks education and healthcare, the big issues, money and the war machine are under all the platform floorboards. It will be hard enough to cut through the smoke screens of tax cuts, jobs ( created within the military/industrial supply area ) , and profit margins for an increasing base of "stockholders" ( who stand to lose their jobs before amassing enough for retirement ) to understand the changes forthcoming under the new administration. Rolling black-outs, food issues ( mad cow isn't here yet, but genetic dabbling is ) —things that hit more closely home than social security or the environment seem to—may trigger the next generation of debates. The meaty issues of an election that might see a Hillary vs. Powell face-off haven't surfaced yet. If McCain-Feingold or some comparable campaign funding reform passes, the stockpile of potential candidates may expand. In this cyber-era where no one seems to have time for more than a byte, candidates with instant recognition will still have an advantage. Let's assume these two are already off and running—the next four years ought to be fun to watch.
Copyright 2001 by Marie J. Kuda. e-mail: kudoschgo@aol.com
