Hillary Rodman Clinton is the most popular female politician in the history of United States. On June 7, she made history. She became the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party after winning 4 more states in the Democratic primaries including California and New Jersey. She is the first woman ever to become the nominee of a major political party in the United States. Her rivalry with Senator Bernie Sanders brought back memories of 2008 when she was the favourite and ran against then Senator Barack Obama. She lost in 2008 but second time proved a charm. The talk of a female becoming President of the United States is pretty exciting. The United States have often advocated for Women’s Rights around the world but are late to show up and have problems of their own with the issue. 61 countries have had female leaders including countries like Pakistan, India, Liberia, Peru and Haiti. The U.S itself has had problems when it comes to equal pay, paid family leave, abortion and protection of women from assault and rape. She’s now ready for the general election against Republican nominee Donald Trump who is very unpopular. Sounds like Clinton would win on a landslide right? No. Clinton may have won the Democratic nomination but she has a lot to do in the general election because her presidency is not guaranteed.
Firstly, she is very unpopular. Despite Trump’s high unfavourable ratings, Clinton has the highest unfavourable ratings ever by a Democratic candidate. When she started her campaign her favourable ratings were high. However, the email scandal during her time as Secretary of State, a possible indictment by the FBI and the rise of Bernie Sanders during the primaries have hurt her ratings very much. Also, she is very unpopular among young people and independents. If Clinton wants to win the election, she needs to gain the support of those groups. Bernie Sanders won more votes from young people than any other candidate and is very popular with them. Obama is also popular among young people and ethnic minorities which helped him in 2008 and 2012. Many young people are Bernie supporters and very idealistic in changing the United States. That is a big problem for Clinton who is very pragmatic and has alienated young Bernie supporters. Also, just because she’s a woman doesn’t mean every woman in the US will support her. She doesn’t have the support of young women and the possibility of Trump using her husband’s past sex scandals against her could hurt her among women.
Secondly, she shouldn’t underestimate Trump. Say what you want about Trump but there is a possibility that he will beat Clinton. Trump despite lacking any specific policy managed to beat the top GOP politicians like Marco Rubio, Chris Christie and Jeb Bush. A key advantage for Trump is how he markets himself as a guy who tells it like it is (which he doesn’t) while Clinton is not seen as authentic. Trump has built his campaign as a populist movement in the Republican Party and can gain support of independents: a group that Clinton is struggling with. In order for Clinton to win, she has to act tough towards Trump and not go on the defensive. If Clinton can outline the crazy comments that Trump has talked about and get under his skin, then she may have a chance. Clinton is a very tough person who has gone through scandals over the last 20 years. Another factor that she must be wary of is in responding to the context of the times. As the gun debate and ISIS rage on, Trump can prey on the insecurities of the people. However, Clinton must not underestimate Trump in the general election or else a Trump presidency.
Finally, her questionable record. Clinton maybe the most ‘qualified’ candidate having been first lady under her husband, a U.S Senator for eight years and Secretary of State under President Obama. However, her record has been brought in question as she has flip-flopped on a number of issues. Clinton was against same-sex marriage and supported the Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA) until 2013. Clinton voted for the Iraq War when people needed her to lead the opposition to the war. She has admitted that it was a mistake but she was influential in pushing Obama to take military action in Libya, a position that she has distanced herself from. She was against Obama in 2008 in talking to Iran but takes credit for the Iran Deal. She has been against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) during the campaign trail but was influential in pushing the agreement forward. Her most questionable record is her ties with Wall Street. Sanders raised objections on this by referencing her ties with Wall Street as she delivered speeches to key financial companies and gained support from key Wall Street executives. Also, she has talked about income equality but voted for the Wall Street Bailout in 2008 which helped Wall Street during the economic recession. Other questionable records include raising the minimum wage, health care, climate change, and the crime bill signed by her husband.
With her constant flip-flopping on issues, underestimating Trump and needing the support of young people and Bernie supporters, Clinton has a lot more to do in order to ensure success. Her primary wins have been closed primaries and there have been shady businesses with wins in New York, Nevada and Arizona. The general election is a level playing so still has work to do. Despite gaining support from President Obama, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren, Clinton’s becoming the presumptive democratic nominee maybe great but not everyone’s with her.