Hillary Clinton’s latest book, “What Happened,” has hit the bookstores.
To Clinton, a simple answer: You lost. You ignored trends of dissatisfaction from a large segment of the voting public. You assumed your endowment as the next president of the United States and you entered a basically rigged preliminary nomination process carrying more “Clintonista” baggage than an over-burdened Sherpa during a blizzard on Mount K2. And you forgot the required soliciting of votes in the heretofore neglected American hinterland.
Now you have placed blame for your loss on everyone else, including Bernie Sanders. He hurt your chances by running for the office you presumed was yours. James Comey, former FBI director, sabotaged your effort with his farcical investigative bungling. The Democrats didn’t support you as they should have. The Republicans put up a brash, aggressive newcomer as their flag bearer. Surely an insult to your long and personally heralded legacy of major public service. Even Hollywood didn’t do enough regardless of those many high-cost “meet the candidate” soirees staged out on the West Coast. And of course there was Vladimir Putin’s Russian interference in the election process. Vice President Joe Biden comes in for some of that widespread culpability. A man many believe, had he run, might have easily defeated Trump. He supposedly undercut your expected waltz into the White House. How many excuses do you have left?
Losing always hurts. Ask the New England Patriots of the NFL, presumably on their way to another Super Bowl when they got blitzed by the Kansas City Chiefs during the initial NFL regular season opener last week.
Whatever becomes of the Trump tenure in office, whether he effects any real changes or becomes a listless, lame duck president for the next three years and if the Democrats achieve a measurable success in the 2018 interim elections, you were actually defeated by your inability to see beyond only your own version of what you wanted — not what the people wanted.
James F. Oshust
Millcreek