The Obama Phenomenon

Something interesting is happening on the Right. I think it's well established that conservatives' hatred of the Clintons came back to haunt us during the presidency of George W. Bush, when liberals took that hatred to a new level (although they have a distinguished track record for outright hatred for conservative public figures, such as Robert Bork, Rush Limbaugh, and Ronald Reagan). Now that Bush is no longer on the ballot and a Clinton is, Clinton-hatred is coming back to full frenzy. But I think conservatives are jumping the gun a little bit.

After all, Bill Clinton's legacy was basically that he did nothing. He hardly did anything of any consequence in his time as president. He may have been a true left-wing believer, but he basically just did whatever would benefit him politically. Based on Hillary's positioning so far, there is reason to believe that she would do the same. Barack Obama, on the other hand, actually intends to implement the big-government, liberal programs that he talks about. As a conservative, which would you rather have?

I know seeing Hillary lose and seeing Obama get endorsements from prominent Democrats satisfies a primitive, Clinton-hating part of the conservative brain that refuses to die even after eight years. I know Hillary's struggles are moral victories for those who watched the Clintons inexplicably win election after election despite obvious criminal activities and lack of any personal integrity whatsoever. My worry is that those moral victories will translate into a political loss this November, at the hands of a man who will teach conservatives that the Clintons aren't the problem; big government liberalism is the problem.