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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Is this an anti-Hillary or pro-Rudy treatise?, May 28, 2006
Can She Be Stopped?: Hillary Clinton Will Be the Next President of the United States Unless . . .
Who will read this book?: 1) People who despise Hillary Clinton and what she stands for, 2) activists who despise Democrats, 3) Republicans who are looking for a victory in 2008, and 4) Democrats who want to understand what the fuss is about. Jane and Joe public will NOT read this book. That is not a problem, because this book really is a recipe for defeating not only Hillary Clinton in 2008 but defeating her ideas. It is meant to be read by political strategists, and perhaps secondarily by those who donate funds to political campaigns.
For a number of reasons, author John Podhoretz thinks that defeating Hillary is a good idea. Half the book explains why.
John Podhoretz also recognizes that Hillary Clinton is a powerful and viable candidate for the position of President of the United States. He doesn't find this an attractive possibility, and thus presents his list of 10 ways Hillary can be defeated:
1. Smoke her out... she is neither a centrist nor a moderate. "... A transparent Hillary is probably an unelectable Hillary." Note: isn't this true for all candidates?
2. Make her vote... get her to cast ideological votes.
3. Make her criticize tax cuts.
4. Talk up free trade (like NAFTA and CAFTA). "The public likes free trade. Democratic interest groups don't. There's a canyon there. Toss her into it."
5. Talk a lot about health care. Note: Look at what potential Podhoretz candidate Mitt Romney is saying and doing here. Perhaps Podhoretz will rethink this.
6. Suggest a pullout from the UN.
7. Fight the culture war, but with delicacy (gay marriage, stem cell research).
8. Run a reform campaign. Note: And this separates the parties how?
9. Go outside Washington for a candidate.
10. Nominate Rudy (Giulianni). Note: oh, is this an anti-Hillary or pro-Rudy treatise?
John Podhoretz concludes by stating "Okay. I've done my bit. Now get to work." As I said, this book is his proposal, plan, strategy, and his recipe for detracting from a Democrat candidate, and promoting a Republican one. What it is missing is an analysis of alternatives that differ from his view, and a similar analysis of his favorite candidates.
This book will make some people squirm, some sing Podhoretz's praises, and others wonder if Podhoretz is positioning himself for an election year job.
Thank goodness a presidential election comes along just once every four years!
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Could He Be More Wrong?, February 14, 2008
Wow, I came across this in a used book store over the weekend, and had a chance to evaluate John's hypothesis.
He pretty much got the entire 2008 race wrong. First, John overestimated Hillary's strengths, engaging in classic "Clinton panic." Then he underestimated Obama's strength as a campaigner. Finally, he got Rudy badly, horribly, embarrassingly wrong.
Has John come clean on how he got things all messed up?
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Misunderestimating" Hillary Clinton, October 3, 2006
If "Bush Country" demonstrated that George W. Bush came to power as a result of being "misunderestimated" by his opposition, "Can She Be Stopped?" argues that Hillary Clinton will use the tactic in 2008. Whether one likes her or not, it must be admitted that Hillary is the Queen of Coyness -- with Bill playing right along in the game. How many interviews with Bill have we seen in the past few weeks, in which he pretends not to know whether Hillary is running in 2008? Make no mistake, Hillary is running and she will be a force to be reckoned with, as John Podhoretz reminds us time and again.
Moreover, Podhoretz insists that in addition to being coy, Hillary will try to slide into office as a "stealth" candidate, overcoming her high "negatives" with the hope that the MSM won't press her to state her positions on major issues. Thus, Podhoretz counts down 10 strategies that Republicans can use to pin her down on major positions in the coming months before the mid-term elections, upon which the real 2008 campaign will begin.
While many will discount Podhoretz's warnings as part of a Republican scare campaign against Hillary and the chaos she will supposedly wrought once in office, it remains to be seen whether his predictions will be right. But, then, it will be too late.
In this book, Podhoretz, who, it seems to me, is probably one of best-educated writers on current events, keeps a light-hearted tone throughout the book, just as he did in "Bush Country." This book never bogs down.
Not everyone will like his conclusion, however, that Rudy is poised to be the Dragon-Slayer. But, that too, may be an eventuality we will need to prepare for.
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