Hillary. Speaks in Seattle

Hillary spoke in Seattle last night, addressing the state wide awards dinner for the democratic apparatus.

BRS and I went for one reason ... if Hillary wins, we will be supporting her. For now we are loyal Obamites. Loyal and enthusiastic.

Frankly, I disliked the way the 19992 version, then known as "Mrs." Clinton, was touted as a brilliant co-president. I believe that a competent leader could have passed health care reform. Her refusal to involve Kaiser and Group Health was idiocy. I still find her choice of Ira Magaziner as a guru very worrisome in someone who soon may need to choose literally thousands of new federal office holders. More importantly, her speeches and writing for years have been sophomoric at best.

Still, a lot what HRC has said and done as a NY Senator has been impressive. I also give her lots of credit for producing Chelsea, standing by Bill both during his tribulations and later supporting his efforts to build Clinton, Inc. Perhaps, she has been tempered by the fire of political strife? R. Giuliani comes across as Hillary in Republican Halloween costume. Romney seems like a cartoon President compared to this tough lady. Besides, the former governor of far left Massachusetts is a polytheist in Jesus clothing,. I suspect most of the rad right males will stay-at-home if either of these folks lead the Republican ticket. Good for our side! But, even better, if the rad right Republican ladies are allowed out on their own, maybe they will vote for their sister.

So, what did I hear?

Hillary is an impressive speaker. She comes across as an iron lady, tougher than her husband or GWB. here self confidence reminds me of Roosevelt.

I do not know if this is the real Hillary, but any concern I had about her toe to toe with Giuliani disappeared. I can easily imagine this lady in the oval office, announcing some momentous decision .. from a tax increase to the abandonment of Taiwan or bombing of Iran. I think this lady has the gravitas needed to lead, something I do not see in any of the Republicans.

From an affective side, I am convinced she would be a good President.

I was less impressed form the policy side.

Hillary made a lot of irritating comments to the effect, “I am a woman, I am strong” or “Elect me, Cleaning up after G.W. Bush is going to require a real man leader with experience.” Unlike the female leaders in Star Watts, this is no Princess Leah. Macho lady, this one is.

This vagina dialog is a lousy replacement for policy. Gender pride irritates me whether it comes from Hillary of Gregoire. Rather then celebrate the shared uterine experiences of Gregoire, Cantwell, and Murry, I would like as citizen to hear about common agendas. The question comes to mind, "is she serious about this?" Is she gender focused? I hope not. The rumor, from her polster Mark Penn, is that polls show up to 1/3 of Republican women willing to vote for Hillary over the current (male) Republican choices.

Could be? Could her celebration of the advent of women in power be something she takes seriously? Of course, she should have pride in beingt the first female, but is this policy? I worry about this because on most issues Hillary seems utterly poll driven. She never addressed any controversial issues. Immigration, alt. min. tax, gay rights, even conservation were ass off the table as bombing Iran.

For example. Consevation IS controversial because it implies sacrifice. Instead of a Kennedy-esque "ask not what your country can do for you," Hillary Rodham Clinton proposed creating a huge ($50,000,000,000)federal research program for alternative energy AND funding this porkable effort by removing tax incentives from the oil companies. Either this is good election strategy or she is as immersed in fantasies (albeit a different set of fantasies) as GWB.

As another example, HRC announced that she would revoke Bush's stem cell policy. Yeeha! Cheers! Glory Be, Truth is Back! Then, however, she dropped a however. Clinton would supporting only "evidence based research." These are chilling words for a scientist. "Evidence based research" is a code word for replacing much needed efforts at basic science with often marginally useful mass population studies. Unfortunately, such studies are popular in Congress, but they can (and may already) impoverish the NIH.

I would also have liked to hear something more ambitious about support for equality in educational opportunity. Again this means sacrifices in the form of taxes. Instead this child of an upper middle class family, gave us a thin homily about how hard her parents worked to get her through college and how she worked her way through law school. I am really worried about anyone who thinks our current system with its infinite inflation of tuition and increasing loan burden is anything BUT regressive. Still, she would be better than the current silver spooned playboy.

One more thought. Given the radical fantasies that have overtaken the GOP, is Hillary the leading Republican candidate? Consider the following story:

Executives Column - World According to ... by Lloyd Grove: An interview with Lady de Rothschild - Portfolio.com: "L.R.: First of all, Hillary will be good for America. And so if we care about our country —which all of my fellow capitalists do —we'll be very pleased that she's president. And second of all, if we look at what is best for the economy, remember, she is a Clinton, and our economy under Clinton was strong, dynamic, productive, exciting. And the same kinds of people who advised Bill Clinton will be around Hillary Clinton. And she understands the importance of the business community, and it's not going to be about raising taxes or doing any one specific thing. It's going to be, What is in the best interest of all Americans? And I think if history is our guide, we've had stronger economies, more wealth creation, under Democratic presidents than we have under Republican presidents. So I don't understand why all my capitalist friends aren't Democrats. L.G.: Really? Are they buying this argument, Lynn? L.R.: Well, you know, it's funny. As people are getting a better and better look at Hillary, they're understanding that Hillary is talking in a way that is so positive for America. We can think we live in elite circles, but we don't. I mean, America is about Main Street, and Main "

Who She IS - Forbes.com: "Lynn Forester was a successful entrepreneur in her own right before she brokered the deal of a lifetime last year, marrying Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, who sits atop one of the world's oldest private banking families. Forester met the 70-year-old scion at the 1998 Bilderberg Conference, an exclusive summit for financiers and foreign policy experts, which was held in Scotland that year. The duo had a small wedding in London last November, and the very next day Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and his wife Elizabeth hosted a dinner for the couple to celebrate, with then-President Bill Clinton and wife Hillary in attendance. Forester now heads the Luxembourg-based wireless broadband venture FirstMark Communications Europe. The startup launched in 1998 with great fanfare, raising $1 billion in funding and landing former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Washington consigliere Vernon Jordan as board members. But with losses piling up and a public offering pulled, investors are now disgruntled. Not to worry--there's no better backup plan than the Rothschild name."