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18 Jan 2007 04:35 pm

The Responsibility Candidate

Here's a striking quote from Senator Clinton:

"I am cursed with the responsibility gene. I am. I admit to that. You've got to be very careful in how you proceed with any combat situation in which American lives are at stake."

An excuse for politicking? I wouldn't be so tough. I've followed Senator Clinton's positions on the war these past few years and since they've pretty closely tracked my own, I'm not going to attack her for caution and prudence. Wars are dynamic things; they can take unexpected turns, even for the better. This one keeps getting worse, but the stakes are still very high. I take the minority view therefore that Clinton's position on the war might in the end help her (even with primary voters). And her description of her stance as the product of a "responsibility gene" is a little piece of genius.

Americans often pick a president repairing the glaring flaw in the last one. The most powerful theme of Bush's presidency has been wanton irresponsibility: fiscal, military, diplomatic, political. The recklessness of the past has deeply alienated many small-c conservatives who regard politics as an exercize in secular caution not religious zeal and frat-boy carelessness. If Hillary frames herself as the school-marm disciplinarian, she'll find an opening. It's also an image more suited to her actual personality than anything resembling charisma.

(Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty.)

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