Drama is over: Hillary to announce; melodrama about to begin

Sunday’s forthcoming announcement by Hillary Clinton that she is once again seeking the Presidency of the United States, or at least the Democratic nomination, finally brings to a close the most expected political proclamation this country has ever seen. This has been drama that’s been played out since the summer of 2008. It’s the second time around in such an effort for the former First Lady and former United States Senator, and it’s the first time for the former Secretary of State albeit she’s all of the above.

Last time she sought the nomination she ran into a juggernaut of the candidacy of Barack Obama, a first term US Senator who only went after the job because a handful of people convinced him he could make a difference with a more forward message that Ms. Clinton who was running on her husband’s Presidency and his bad social reputation. Asking the question, “if you knew then what you know now, would you have run” Mr. Obama may have declined. He has aged a lot in the last six+ years, and he has nearly two years remaining. The Presidency does that to the President.

On the other hand, Ms. Clinton is no spring chicken. She’s 67, will be 68 October 27, and would be 69 as of Election Day. Ronald Reagan was nearly 70 when he was sworn in. President Obama is currently 54 (birthday is August 4). If she’s elected, she will be the second oldest sworn-in President, behind Reagan. But, it’s not age that matters; it’s ideas, and that’s where she might have a short-coming. Last time she ran as a continuation of her husband’s terms in office. She was “office ready,” she told us. It didn’t work. It is to be seen if she runs on ideas that are fresh and new or if she'll simply run as a way to keep the Republican Congress in check and as possibly the first female President of the United States. Boring on both counts.

So what’s different this time? On issues, she’s not much different than the current President, but primarily because she’s a Clinton (Bill seems to be more popular now than he was when his term ended) and because she’s a woman, she has high approval ratings. She’s the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, and there doesn’t seem to be anyone in that party to defeat her. However, with her email scandal, a situation in which she was hiding the public’s business, she may not have as easy a time getting elected as many think she will have. Ms. Clinton has sometimes shown a testy attitude, and that could be her downfall. The drama before the announcement is about to end. What we have in front of us is a melodrama we’ve not seen before now.

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galenical (noun) [gey-len-i-kuh l]: an herb or other vegetable drug, distinguished from a mineral or chemical drug