Can the Democrats afford a Hillary nomination?

(Top: Democrats Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden; Bottom: Republicans John McCain, Rudolph Giuliani)

Sorry to return to foreign politics here, but I've been doing some thinking about the 2008 presidential election. Sometimes, you'd think it was coming up next week, with all the polls and dicussions and debates and predictions. Of course, it would be great if it was next week. But there's a little while to go yet, sadly.

I have certainly before, and not just on this site, expressed my support for Senator Hillary Clinton and my hopes that the Democrats nominate her for president in 08. She is a superb politician. One American columnist remarked that she "can make Republican colleagues sound like star-struck teenagers". There is no doubting that she is one formidable woman, and carries a large following and support base. But can she really become the US president?

I'm having serious concerns over the feasibility of a President Hillary Rodham Clinton. She is one of those 'love-them-or-hate-them' figures in American politics. In this sense, George W. Bush is the same. Polarising. And whilst this doesn't mean an inability to win, it means a mighty challenge.

A presidential race with Hillary Clinton as a candidate would be very nasty, making the 2004 race look lame. But you can rest assured that the Clinton camp would be quite happy to bring out their own artillery in such a situation.

Some say she's too far to the Left (which unfortunately equates to a disadvantage in countries like theirs and ours). But to understand her stance on issues is to realise that she belongs to the "hawkish, interventionist extreme" of the Democratic Party and is a "confirmed free-trader". She's very similar to her husband in this way. She remains, however, popular with the small-l liberals in the party, and is famous for her strong support of abortion and women's rights.

But something tells me Hillary Clinton just would not be able to win in 2008. The Republicans will choose a very strong team for the White House in 08. And my confident prediction is that the ticket will almost certainly consist of Senator John McCain. Every poll I've read that attempts to foresee who would win in a Clinton v. McCain race has favoured with the latter by a relatively comfortable margin. Rudy Giuliani is also a possibility for the Republican ticket in 08, and we all know why he's so popular.

Whilst I understand that both McCain and Giuliani are so-called moderates, the Republican Party simply does not deserve the White House. The world does not deserve defenders of the Bush Doctrine determining United States foreign policy.

Let me say that I think a Biden-Clinton ticket in 08 would do well. A Gore-Clinton ticket would also. Even a Clark-Clinton would be in with a very, very good chance of victory. But as nice as another President Clinton would be, the Democrats deserve to win in 2008. They should have no reason to fear another loss.

(This is not my most eloquent post ever. I'm in the latter stages of a disgusting cold and am not thinking quite as clearly as usual. But I had been thinking about this subject, and wanted to update the site.)