On April 12, Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy for the 2016 Democratic nomination for the presidency. Although many had been speculating for the past few months that she might try to run for the presidential seat again, she had teased the idea and stayed relatively neutral as to what her true intentions were. That all changed though as she finally made her intentions clear with a
Reporters have said that this video and her overall tone show a side of Clinton far different from her last presidential campaign. Instead of promoting her own ideas and agenda and looking for change as she had in previous campaign videos, this ad showed that her focus was on average Americans and helping to achieve their goals.
But with this new image, will she be able to finally win the democratic nomination? Holding positions such as first lady, secretary of state, senator, and being a leading candidate for the presidential nomination in 2008, Clinton has been a consistent player in the political field and has gained much experience that could prepare her for the presidential spot. However in 2012 during her time as Secretary of State under President Obama she encountered harsh criticism for lapses in security during an attack in Benghazi that resulted in the deaths of American consulate personnel. Numerous media sources have taken opposing stances either endorsing or opposing her announcement, while Saturday Night Live poked fun at Clinton’s video in their opening skit.
On the UConn campus there has been division over support for Clinton after news of her announcement. The well-known spirit rock was painted with words promoting Hillary Clinton’s candidacy, but soon after it was also painted with the words, “Stop Hillary.”
Many collegiettes in particular are excited to see Clinton running as it could mean that there will be a greater focus on women’s issues, particularly on the issue of the gender gap between wages. However, for many others there is agreement that only time will tell exactly what Hillary Clinton will bring to the table during her campaign. This is only the beginning in her long road ahead towards attaining the nomination to have a chance at becoming the first woman to serve as President.
Sources
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/13/us/politics/two-times-reporters-analyz…
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/04/12/397891885/its-official-hi…
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/13/us/politics/hillary-clinton-2016-presi…
