Bob O’Leary

Much to my delight, Barack Obama won in Iowa by eight points over John Edwards. The alleged front-runner, Hillary Clinton, came in third.

The results did not surprise me. Hillary represents a problem to a moderate Democrat like me. Her views on most issues match mine more than any other candidate, including Obama. She is a capable Senator.  But,  there is a problem –  I find it hard to like her.

I want to like her. I’m tempted to vote for her just to piss off the right-wingers and neocons who gave us W and the incompetants. Yet I am beginning to see why she gets under people’s skin in a way people far more liberal than her do not.

Unlike her husband and Reagan (a.k.a “The Great Communicator”), Hillary has a communication problem. Some people who have met her say she is charming in person. But she sure does not come across that way on television or in interviews. She measures every word she says, trying to control all around her. Everything she does comes across as staged.

To make matters worse, she is paranoid of the press. Face it, being a president requires someone who is part manager, part salesman. It’s apparent she doesn’t like selling, and her management skills seem to be lacking by the way her campaign is going.

Consider how her family campaigns for her. Bill is trying to work his old magic, but his message is suspect. He cheated on Hillary and lied about it. Now he is telling people what a wonderful president she’d make.

And Chelsea? Being a Stanford grad and a pleasant-looking young woman, she can obviously speak out for her mom. In fact, I would love to hear her speak up on Hillary’s behalf. Chelsea could show the side of Hillary that the rest of us don’t see.

Other candidate’s children are campaigning for their parents and speaking to the press. If either of my parents needed my help getting a job, I would bend over backwards to help, particularly if the job was leader of the free world. Chelsea is out on the campaign trail, but she would not even grant an interview to a nine-year-old reporter!

But my real problem is neither Bill or Chelsea, it’s Hillary. It’s not that she voted for the war in Iraq, it’s that she never read the intelligence report prior to voting or had an aide read it and brief her. And her message – what message? It’s ironic that her husband’s greatest skill – communication – is her greatest weakness. And it’s a great enough weakness to cast my vote elsewhere.