The book is interesting and relevant this year, though, because there are some parallels to be drawn. The mid-term elections of 1994 had gone badly for the Democrats, who lost control of both the House and the Senate. Slick Willy Clinton had been revealed as a vision-less liar and a philanderer, incapable of setting a course for the nation and sticking to it.
He was "under water" in the polls, on everything from trust to competence. There were murmurings of dissent within his own party, even talk of his being primaried. The Republicans were on the attack, led by Newt Gingrich with his "Contract with America". Bob Dole was quietly -- too quietly, some said -- making the way of the Democratic transgressors hard in the Senate.
As Mr Woodward tells it, as 1995 faded to black, the smart money was on the Republicans to win in 1996. The big question was who would lead them to victory, and unlike in 2023 the answer wasn't obvious.
Senator Dole was seen as the most likely, but he was old, with all the charisma of a bed of kelp. [Woodward didn't write that. Bob did! Ed.] And he didn't seem to have the fire in his belly, compared with Angry Newt. Several others were testing the waters, and a surprising number, including California Governor Pete Wilson and General (Retd) Colin Powell decided that discretion was the better part of valour.
This year is different. Today's poll on the landing page of Breitbart News lists no fewer than 14 candidates (13 men and 1 real woman) who would like to make sure that when Senile Joe Biden next falls down, he won't get up again. President Trump leads the Republican race by a country mile, but there are those who say that while he may win the GOP nomination, he'll lose the election. Walt says "In your dreams!"
Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, not many have gone public with their desire to supplant President Brandon. Jumping into a campaign against an incumbent president takes a lot of jam (or the feminine/trans equivalent). So far there are just two. Though their campaigns may be considered long shots, his opponents argue that the country is heading in a bad direction, and it’s time for change.
Foremost (of the two) is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The notorious anti-vaxxer and environmental lawyer launched his campaign in April, saying he wanted to "end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power." Although the 2024 cycle is in its very early stages, Mr Kennedy appears to be doing better in the polls than previously anticipated. His stature grew considerably during the recent hearings on the weaponization of the FBI, when many viewers stopped noticing his odd voice and paid attention to the truths he had to tell.
First out of the gate was writer and speaker Marianne Williamson. The self-help author and motivational speaker ran unsuccessfully for the Dumbcratic nomination in 2020, coming up short and dropping out before the Iowa caucuses. She's running again on the premise that "this country is on the wrong track." Who could argue with that?!
I mention Ms Williamson because she epitomizes the kinf of ultra-liberal, feminazi Karen who finds a natural home in today's Democratic Party. In Chapter 9 of The Choice, we read that Hillary Clinton was that way inclined herself.
Having found the first 2 1/2 years of Bill's presidensity more than challenging, his spouse reached out to Jean Houston and Mary Catherine Bateson, two New Age nutjobs who were into things like spiritualism, along with their feminism. Ms Houston encouraged Hellery to have spiritual conversations with Eleanor Roosevelt and Mahatma Gandhi, but Mrs Bill declined to try communicating with Jesus.
Apparently a lot of this stuck somewhere in Mrs Clinton's alleged mind, for she continued to "channel" Eleanor Roosevelt through the 2008 primary loss to the Prez and the 2016 election loss to the Donald. Sources say it was hard to dissuade her from trying again in 2020, until it was pointed out to her that she was already 73 years old and should make way for someone younger... or older!
Mrs Bill has been strangely silent so far this year. But it seems to Walt that she's like a firehorse... a very old firehorse. When she hears the bell, she wants to run. There are those who would prefer Hellery to AOC or any member of the squad, or the Pretendian Elizabeth Warren.
Not many Democrats truly like Hillary Clinton. They can understand why Slick Willy looked outside his marriage for comfort and sex. But they are afraid of Hillary. She knows where the bodies are buried, and I mean that both figuratively and literally.
Stay tuned.
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