It’s Official: Hillary Is Running for President

Or, as Obama’s anger translator said at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, “Kalisi is coming to Westeros.” Sorry, this story is a little late, but every so often the site needs a major revamp and politics doesn’t stop for site updates.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, former First Lady, former Senator, former Secretary of State and currently running for President of these United States.

This isn’t the first time she has run for President.  Famously, Clinton ran in 2008 for President and even though that campaign had many historical implications for women seeking high office in the United States, Clinton lost to Obama but became Secretary of State.    Clinton served as Secretary of State from January 2009 to February 2013.  Since she left public office she has been working on many trusts: The Clinton Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations, and working with Julia Gillard to increase girls’ enrollment in secondary school.

Now on to the meat and potatoes: What does Clinton stand for in 2016?  In her first week as a candidate she got into a van, called Scooby-Doo, and traveled from New York to Iowa, meeting with people and even eating at a Chipotle.  This trip is meant to show her as more down-to-earth with middle-class values. In my opinion, I love the show of politics and that is what her trip was–a show.  Within her first week as a candidate, she has called for two amendments to the Constitution, one enshrining the rights of same-sex couples and one limiting “unaccountable money” in politics.  She has also called for universal pre-K.

Clinton’s campaign page doesn’t give us that much information and neither does her social media presence, to be honest.  Her YouTube channel is filled with wonderful uplifting commercials.  Her Twitter is very tailored to her constituents and her Facebook is more of the same.

The best way to know what Clinton stands for is her record, as First Lady, as Senator, and as Secretary of State.  While not all of her politics were good (e.g., supporting the Iraq war in 2002) she worked for healthcare reform, reframing the US’s position around the world, and so much more. Most political scientists have labeled her with a very liberal stance.

I don’t know who else will come out as a nominee in the next few months. Many prominent Democrats have decided not to run to give Clinton a clear road to the nomination.  And that shows me one thing she has that all the Republican candidates don’t, a unified party to support them.  Let’s see what happens in the next few months.  I love the show that is politics.