Daily Times

“There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both, that of the women” — Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

According to a Gallup poll in 2014, a majority of US citizens, that is to say 59 percent, still view Hillary Clinton favourably although she left her position as US secretary of state a year ago. At the time she was secretary of state, her approval rating was at 60 percent. Today, polls demonstrate that she clearly has the lead over any other potential Democratic or Republican candidate for the presidential race in 2016. So, this sounds quite simple and clear cut. Had the US presidential elections taken place today, we pretty much know who the winner would be. Granted, the elections are over two years away and quite a few things could happen to change the course of events. For instance, at this point in time, before the elections in 2008, Barack Obama had only just started gaining fame in the public.

Having said that, Clinton’s rather extremely high popularity and approval ratings have done nothing but stir up agitation (as can be expected) in the opposing camp. The Republicans, fearing (yes, that is the most appropriate word) a Clinton landslide victory all the way through to 2016, have concocted some ‘interesting’ theatrics of their own to undermine her credibility.

There have been comments made by Karl Rove, a Republican policy adviser, on the state of Clinton’s mental health. Cheap trick? Of course, but the Republicans know very well how essential these types of tricks are to keep Clinton’s approval ratings low in order for them to have any chance of success in 2016. Rove’s comments were just the tip of the iceberg. In the next two years, we can expect many more such theatrics, which have already started, in order to prevent Clinton from becoming the first female president of the US and to slowly but surely undermine her political credibility. As is true for most political campaigns, whether an issue is true or false is irrelevant. As long as the seed of negativity and doubt is planted in the public’s mind, it can be assumed that the job is done. This is essential to the Republican strategy where Clinton is concerned.

The next event in the ‘undermining Hillary’ campaign has been digging up President Bill Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Republican Senator Rand Paul, a 2016 presidential hopeful, has gone so far as to declare that President Clinton has shown signs of disrespect towards women (funny, coming from a Republican!) by “taking advantage” of a young woman on his staff. However, at no point has Lewinsky even herself said that she was forced or taken advantage of against her own will. That is okay. The Republican strategy of planting the seed of doubt and negativity has to continue!

The cherry on the cake of the Republican anti-Hillary Clinton campaign is, however, Benghazi. The first reason this is pivotal to the Republican strategy is because it attempts to erase the events of 9/11, which occurred under Republican President Bush. Hammering away at Clinton and her role as secretary of state and other Democrats on security failures, which allowed for the death of four US citizens in Benghazi is an attempt at obliterating the fact that, during the Bush administration, 3,000 people died on 9/11. By creating the fear (a Republican specialty) that the Obama administration and particularly Clinton in her role as secretary of state have failed to provide security to the US and have endangered US lives, the Republicans’ strategy is one of once again undermining Clinton’s leadership capabilities and placing doubts as to whether she is capable of protecting the US from terror. In doing so, they can only hope that their Republican candidate, who will no doubt be portrayed as an “all American patriot”, whatever that may mean, will have a better chance of winning.

These antics will unfortunately not cease here. It is highly doubtful that in the next two years, the Republicans will not drag in President Clinton and the scandals during his time as president. The Whitewater controversy, the Lewinsky scandal (which has already been dug up recently; we can expect a sequel!), and President Clinton’s various other extra-marital affairs can be expected to be thrown at voters over and over again in attempts to crush Hillary Clinton’s chances of remaining a favourite and eventually winning the presidency. There are chances that the Republicans may also term Clinton as being cold and mean, an ‘ice queen’, which digs at the fact that a female president may not, or rather probably does not, sit as a very popular idea with them.

Mental health, Benghazi, controversies, etc, are Republican whitewash strategies. Those who have given Clinton a high approval rating will hopefully see through this. Furthermore, the ways in which she is able to handle the controversial attacks thrown at her will certainly help in determining her chances for 2016. If her past strengths and courage are any proof, she will manage just fine.

The writer is an English and French professor and columnist residing in the US and France. She can be reached at scballand@gmail.com