Promising to be a champion for everyday Americans, Hillary Clinton has finally ended months of speculation by formally kicking off her second White House run to become America’s first woman president.
Although there is no rival of stature on the horizon right now for the Democratic ticket, Clinton opted for a humbler, deliberative start after the bitter 2008 experience when a practically unknown Barack Obama turned the tables on her.
“I’m running for president. Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion,” Clinton said in a Twitter message with an accompanying video featuring Americans from various walks of life dealing with their hopes and challenges.
“Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times. But the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top,” Clinton says in her brief appearance on the video, adding: “I’m hitting the road to earn your vote, because it’s your time. And I hope you’ll join me on this journey.”
The road to the White House, as always, starts in Iowa, the small Midwestern state which heralds the nominating process for the presidential race. In 2008, Clinton trailed behind Obama and John Edwards, marking a rather sombre start which she is intent on avoiding this time by assiduously voting the Iowa voters. Sure enough, Clinton was on her way to Iowa on Monday. Dispensing with air travel, she got onto a minivan on Sunday for the 1,600 km road journey from New York to Iowa.
“She is hitting the road to Iowa to start talking directly with voters,” Clinton’s campaign chief John Podesta said in an email message to her supporters and donors. A full-fledged kickoff event is slated for next month. In another reflection of the lessons learned from the failed 2008 campaign after being touted as a clear front-runner, a Clinton mission statement cited by CBS News said: “We are humble. We take nothing for granted.”
Republicans, for whom Clinton has been a lightning rod from the time of Bill Clinton’s presidency in the 1990s, lost little time to take aim at her candidacy. Jeb Bush, being viewed as the likely Republican front-runner to challenge Clinton, was quick to take a swipe at her. “We must do better than the Obama-Clinton foreign policy that has damaged relationships with our allies and emboldened our enemies. Better than their failed, big government policies that grow our debt and stand in the way of real economic growth and prosperity,” said Bush in a video released by his political action committee.
Ted Cruz, the Texas Senator who became the first Republican to enter the 2016 race, commented: “Hillary Clinton represents the failed policies of the past and there’s going to be a very clear choice to make in 2016: Does America want a third Obama term or are we ready for strong conservative leadership to make America great again.” Senator Rand Paul, who is also in the race, commented: “I think the thing is about the Clintons is that there’s a certain sense that they think they’re above the law.”
And Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO who is also toying with the idea of a bid, said although intelligent, hardworking and dedicated to public service, Clinton is “not the woman for the White House” as she “does not have a track record of accomplishment or transparency”.