OPINION:
If you believe everything you read, Hillary Clinton is already President of the United States-in-waiting and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was the GOP’s predestined 2016 nominee.
Does this sound like 2012 or 2008 all over again?
Hillary thinks she’s owed the Democratic nomination because she’s a Clinton and has held every political office under the sun: first lady of Arkansas, FLOTUS, senator and secretary of state.
Of course if she never married her philandering husband Bill Clinton, she never would have achieved any political stardom.
She’s all but anointed herself Queen, I mean, the 45th President of the United States of America. Politico reported she and her team of advisers already have an enemies list of Democrats who didn’t support in 2008 — or who otherwise crossed Queen Hillary.
Instead of arrogantly settling in to this “front-runner status” yet again, Hillary would be wise to remember the mighty do fall, America isn’t a monarchy. The best-laid plans can always go awry like they did in 2008 when Senator Barack Obama burst onto the scene and stole the nomination from Hillary.
Rather than building her own enemies list, Hillary should worry about the number of lists she’s on after the Benghazi debacle. While Secretary Clinton angrily asked members of Congress during a Hill hearing, “What difference does it make?” how four dead Americans died in Benghazi, Libya, the fact is it matters very much.
Her petulant remark in 2013 doesn’t demonstrate the leadership, tenor or tone Americans and the world expect of a president.
Speaking of leadership, Gov. Christie doesn’t demonstrate it either. In a nearly two press conference expressing modest culpability over the bridge gate scandal, he spent more time talking about himself than anything. He didn’t come off as contrite.
Describing why his senior aides closed lanes on the George Washington Bridge to stick it to Democratic Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing Christie in his reelection, Christie said he took full responsibility for his staff but doesn’t micromanage people.
That doesn’t sound like a person who wants to become president, allowing people to freelance.
Christie also displayed his usual arrogance and bullish personality, mocking the Fort Lee mayor, traffic studies and a few other things during his monologue:
“Mayor Sokolich was never on my radar screen. . . . I wouldn’t have been able to pick him out of a lineup.”
“I probably wouldn’t know a traffic study if I tripped over it.”
“I am not a focus-group-tested, blow-dried candidate.”
Fish rots from the head down and Christie’s staff behaved the way they were allowed to behave, suggesting Christie created a culture where his employees thought bridge gate was something they could get away with.
Bridgegate is even more amusing when viewed through the prism of Christie’s “I’m a better GOP than everyone else” speech during the Republican National Committee’s 2013 summer meeting.
Christie said:
“We need to stop navel gazing. There’s nothing wrong with our principles. We need to focus on winning again. There’s too much at stake for this to be an academic exercise. We need to win and govern with authority and courage.”
For someone who spends a lot of time telling America how great he is, steeped in Bridgegate, Christie looks more like the president of the class rather than President of the United States.
Hillary and Christie may want to hit the pause button in their political ambitions and not count their presidential eggs before they hatch. A lot can happen in two years.
Crystal Wright frequently writes under the moniker Conservative Black Chick.
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