Clinton Insider Dishes on Hillary

Robert Reich was the nation's 22nd Secretary of Labor (under Bill Clinton) and is a professor at the University of California at Berkeley. He has a blog where he provides insight on his days in the Clinton Administration. Based on that background, his blog has recently taken Hillary Rodham Clinton to task for some of her attacks on her main rival, Barack Obama.

In one entry, he talks about the three types of presidential leadership. The first type of leadership was employed by Bill Clinton and will no doubt be used by Hillary Clinton in the event she makes it to the White House: leading from the "center." Reich writes:

"[P]ollsters try to discover what the public wants, and the president fashions policies that will be most popular. This was Bill Clinton's model, especially after the stunning Democratic defeats of 1994, when he turned much of the apparatus of policymaking over to Dick Morris. But leading by polling isn’t leading; it’s pandering. Most of the public doesn’t know exactly what it wants because it hasn’t had the time to find out."

The second type is leadership by fiat: use of any means to sell an idea to the public and push the policy forward despite evidence that this may not be the correct course of action (think George W. Bush and EVERYTHING he's done for the past seven years). Reich writes:

"George W. Bush hasn't waivered in any of his beliefs, all the evidence to the contrary -- including his certainty that supply-side tax cuts for the rich help the economy and that invading Iraq would bring peace to the Middle East. But leading by fiat isn’t leading, either; it’s bullying. It’s also profoundly anti-democratic. Worse yet, it leads to large errors because a president who’s dogged in pursuit of his goals is often incapable of hearing evidence that reveals those beliefs to be mistaken, as Bush has shown. If the next president chooses this model of leadership, he or she subjects the nation to grave danger."

Of the third type Reich writes:

[It requires] a clear vision and a capacity to make his or her case to the public as strongly as possible, but then to listen carefully to what the public and its representatives say in response. In other words, the next president must be bold but also be willing to modify if facts and conditions change."

This third type of presidential leadership makes plezWorld: think of Barack Obama with his collaborative and non-partisan approach to the country's ills. Others may fear being labeled someone who flip-flops on issues, but it appears that he has the conviction to admit to his mistakes and take corrective action when necessary.

Read the entire Robert Reich blog entry on presidential leadership here.


In another blog post, Robert Reich takes Hillary Clinton to task for her sleazy attacks on Barack Obama's "lack of experience" and his position on policy matters. Her attacks on his plan for Social Security are without basis and Reich feels that Obama's health care plan is more solid than that of [Hillary Clinton]. But Reich saves his most pointed criticism of his boss's wife for her attack on Obama's courage and conviction:

"If there’s anyone in the race whose history shows unique courage and character, it's Barack Obama. HRC’s campaign, by contrast, is singularly lacking in conviction about anything. Her pollster, Mark Penn, has advised her to take no bold positions and continuously seek the political center, which is exactly what she’s been doing."

Read the entire Robert Reich blog entry on Hillary Clinton here.


plez sez: wow! ...and with both barrels!

robert reich has a long-standing relationship with the Clintons, going back to when he and the bill clinton were classmates and Rhodes Scholars at Oxford in the late 1960s. the fact that he has been so close to The Clintons for over 30 years gives credence to his assessment and criticism of hillary clinton. a dear friend decries her integrity and you see that she NEVER gives a straight answer to ANY question, one has to begin to believe what your eyes and ears show you despite what your heart tells you. plezWorld has stated it in the past and it has been substantiated by robert reich: hillary clinton lacks conviction and would be a "pollster president," going whichever way the wind is blowing at the time. she is not the right choice for america.

it appears that primary and caucus voters in iowa and new hampshire and south carolina are beginning to see her for what she is: her big leads in those states have eroded and barack obama has taken the lead in iowa with only a month to go before their caucus.

[Hat Tip: CNN Political Ticker]