With Hillary Clinton’s second run for the presidency having gone down in flames, the hopes of a Clinton restoration now resides on the young shoulders of daughter Chelsea. Michelle Malkin notes that some of the media are already flogging the idea of her as a House of Clinton princess, a president in waiting. Vanity Fair has even given her some sort of award and has placed her on the cover.
Dynastic politics have had a mixed result in modern American politics. A couple of second generation Kennedys occupied public office before flaming out. The Bush family has been more successful at it, with George W.
Bush becoming governor of Texas before following his father into the Oval Office. His brother Jeb became governor of Florida but fell short of the presidency in 2016. A third generation Bush, George P., is starting to climb the greasy pole of Texas politics.
The problem with Chelsea Clinton as the heir apparent of a political dynasty is that she really hadn’t done anything that did not result from her family name. She has held positions in the Clinton Foundation, in the media, and academia. But she has yet to occupy any public office, and there’s the rub.
Clinton acolytes envision that the first rung on the ladder for Chelsea would be a senator from New York, same as her mom. The problem is that the two current United States Senators from New York show no sign of giving way to accommodate Chelsea’s rise to power.
A House seat is seen to be beneath her, and she lacks the administrative talent to be a governor.
The other first rung would be that of a cabinet secretary in a Democratic administration. That position mighty have been hers had Hillary Clinton won the presidency. But Trump is now president and is unlikely to start a Clinton princess on her path to a presidential run, perhaps in the 2030s.
The younger Clinton is too old for a military career and, besides, she would be unlikely to become a female Grant or Eisenhower. Business is a possibility, though he husband is a failed hedge fund manager. She would be dependent on influence and not on talent, which means that the captain of industry path is likely closed to her as well.
So, chances are that the House of Clinton dies with Chelsea. Considering the unseemly entertainment that family has provided in is grabbing for power, that is just as well. The brand has become stale and more than a little sordid. It is time to move on to fresher political figures,
