Hillary Clinton’s Incomparable Campaign

Devereaux KeslerTHE SANTA CLARAApril 23, 2015 

[dropcap]L[/dropcap]ast Sunday afternoon, the nation received confirmation of the worst-kept secret of the 2016 presidential race: Hillary Clinton is running for president.

As a candidate who experienced hardship during her last campaign, eventually failing to beat out President Barack Obama for her party’s nomination back in 2008, Clinton is looking for success on this election’s run.

With her announcement, it appears she is on the right foot. Many announcements have been made in recent weeks, from that of Ted Cruz, a heavily conservative Tea Party member, to the less divisive likes of Rand Paul and Marco Rubio.

While these individuals face a fight within their own parties first, it is hard not to compare who is poised to do the best after their campaign launch. That being said, Hillary Clinton is the clear favorite to win this presidential election.

Let’s first look at the announcements of the Republican nominees.

Ted Cruz, first to the punch, got the early lead in voters’ minds simply because he launched first. That is an advantage because he is the one who got people thinking about the election.

However, that edge will quickly wear off as he moves on in the election. Not many will remember he was the first to announce when the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries roll around, come February of next year.

What will also stick out is his promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act and dismantle the Internal Revenue Service. This will be a huge issue in a presidential race, with Cruz losing many voters who are beneficiaries of the Affordable Care Act. Many will also realize that the removal of the IRS, as great as it may sound, is really quite a ridiculous notion considering taxes are collected through the organization and the removal of it bodes ill omens for tax futures.

Ted Cruz comes off as too conservative of a candidate to run for a more moderate election.

Rand Paul was the second to announce his desire for the most powerful position in the nation. He revealed his plan for a small government nation.

Many of his ideas, however, will be criticized as being too moderate. These include policies involving an isolationist America and less military involvement.

Paul stands in an odd position where he is likely best prepared for the general election, but probably won’t recieve his party’s nomination.

The Republican nominee who wins will have to fight through a bloody gauntlet to emerge victorious. With moderate policies, especially those concerning the military, Paul won’t even make it through a Republican primary to have a chance at Clinton. Thus, Paul is the least prepared and ready to take on this election.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=98&v=0uY7gLZDmn4

Florida senator Marco Rubio  announced his plans on joining what is quickly becoming a crowded race less than a day after Clinton’s decision.

His announcement was well done in regards to the issues he put at the forefront of his speech. Talks about a new America, a strong military presence that will appease Republicans and the fact that he is only 43 and Hispanic help him appeal to some demographics relatively unknown to Republicans.

What hurts Rubio, however, is his already turnaround position on immigration, which changed after he realized how his assistance in drafting a recent bill giving immigrants a chance to easily become citizens angered fellow Republicans. He has already gone back on his support for that bill, leading many to wonder what else he may go back on.

Clinton has the edge in this battle of campaign announcements. Her launch involved a video submitted to YouTube, where she doesn’t even appear until 90 seconds in, within which she announced her candidacy with a smile and statement that she wants to be the people’s champion.

The video appealed to many of different ethnicities and sexual orientations. The fact that Clinton let the focus be on the people of America, especially those in the middle class, spoke a thousand times louder than a speech would have.

In a two-minute video, Clinton showed that she is ready to be that champion for the people and fight for what the average person wants. All this was done with an uplifting and positive message, quite different from the more aggressive natures of the Republican nominees, especially with Rubio attacking Clinton specifically in his announcement.

Clinton also showed her knowledge of social media, using Twitter to tease the announcement and launching through YouTube, instead of relying on news reports or television viewings of a speech, as was the case with her Republican counterparts.

Add this to the relatively easy path through a primary, and it is easy to see Hillary Clinton assuming the front position in this race for the 2016 presidency.

Devereaux Kesler is a junior political science major.