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It is said that the 2016 race to become the next President of the United States is Hillary Clintons to lose. And just as it was in 2008 during the primaries, she may end up doing just that.

If that were the outcome, quite a few Democrats would be shocked. Much in the spirit of Obamas election, they feel that having a woman as president is the next box to be checked in U.S. history. In that endeavor and hope, they are helped by the fact that the electoral odds in Presidential races tend to favor Democrats.

It is certainly an anomaly that the very country that led the global march for equal rights for women in the 1970s still has not had a woman as head of state or of government. That puts the United States in a league with the likes of China and Russia, two very paternalistic nations and solidly behind nations such as Brazil, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh, not to mention Germany, the UK and France.

Unperturbed, Republicans are getting ready, guns blazing. Their Stop Hillary campaign aims at reawakening old fears. But they must also guard against coming across as patronizing, if not misogynistic, which is a real danger for them. While they proclaim to stay away from her gender and age, one can rest assured that this will be at the center of their whispering campaign.

Image makers will play a key role. A big effort will get underway to turn every wrinkle in every close-up shot of Clintons face into an extra doubt about her getting to the White House. Digital cameras and HDTV are not Clintons ally.

To overcome the woman issue once and for all, Hillary Clinton decided after the 2008 race to serve as U.S. Secretary of State. However, her service in that post did nothing to allay the concerns of doubters. Clinton haters keep hating her and, via Benghazi and the reset with Russia, find further cannon fodder in her time at Foggy Bottom.

She is certainly a divisive figure. Described by some as a proven militarist and corporatist (as Ralph Nader has characterized her, professing his puzzlement over how she could possibly become the Democrats presidential candidate), Republican operatives like to cast her as part of a liberal-progressive cabal.

If nothing else, this underscores how deeply divided U.S. society really is. And how confused or careless people are about throwing around political labels.

Despite all that, Hillary Clinton is widely described as well prepared for the job and she may very well be. Still, the list of doubtful questions is long indeed:

How much in tune with the American people can a candidate be who has lived in a bubble of deference and behind a very strict U.S. Secret Service curtain at least since early 1991 a full quarter century by the time of the election?

Link:
Hillary Clintons Arduous Road to the White House in 2016