On Sunday, the twelfth of April, former Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton announced her campaign for Presidency of the USA. Having lost the Democratic nomination to President Barack Obama in 2008, Clinton has clearly made the decision to, once more, attempt to get to the White House. As well as her political activity as Secretary of State, Clinton was also exceedingly present in American Politics during her husband’s Presidency between 1993 and 2001. However, criticism for her involvement in both the Benghazi scandal, and the email controversy has not only demonstrated her mistakes in the past, but also arguably poses a strong threat to her future campaign. There is no doubt that her gender would not limit her potential as a leader, but her age, and her history in politics may raise some definite opposition. Nevertheless, her qualifications, combined with the values she appears to be portraying in her announcement suggests a hopeful and possibly triumphant campaign.
Hillary Clinton, born in 1947, attended Yale law school before beginning her career both as an attorney, and a political figure. After spending some time in a court room, in 1975 she moved to Arkansas and married Bill Clinton, before becoming the first female chair of the Legal Services Corporation in 1978, and the first female partner at Rose Law Firm in 1979, named to be one of the most influential lawyers of the time. Her political career began in in 1979, when her husband was voted as Governor of Arkansas, and she, as first lady, took action to reform the education system. This role only grew, as when First Lady of the United States, Clinton advocated the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, as well as the Adoption and Safe Families Act, although her Clinton Health Care Plan failed to pass through Congress. After President Bill Clinton was not re-elected, she moved to New York, before becoming the first female Senator from the area, and running for a place as the Democratic candidate in the 2008 election.
Although she did not win, Clinton was selected to be Secretary of State, being one of the only three women ever to hold that position (the other two being Madeline Albright and Condoleezza Rice), meaning that she was considered responsible for foreign affairs. In 2012, Extremists attacked the America compound in Benghazi, killing four Americans. Clinton took personal responsibility for any lapse in security, which occurred, making her the punching bag for a significant amount of criticism either over her incompetence, or her truthfulness. Clinton also used her personal email to discuss matters of state, rather than her federal email, during sometime in office. This means that those emails can never be released to the public, under the freedom of information act, once more, either signalling incompetence, or deceit.
Despite her notable qualifications, Clinton’s age may be a significant factor throughout the election period. The oldest president ever elected, Ronald Reagan at 69, is just two years her senior, and the most present scandals, which have her involvement, could be used to argue that she is no longer able. Nonetheless, Clinton was a first female chair, First Lady, and first female senator of New York. Who’s to say she won’t be the first female president of the United States of America?
Image: http://usa.greekreporter.com/files/2013/02/Hillary_Clinton_2016_president_bid_confirmed.jpg
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