The undead

From Politico:

Hillary Clinton will run for president. Again. 

No inside information informs this prediction. No argument is advanced as to whether her run is a good or a bad idea—there are many ways to make a case either way. Instead this is just a statement of simple facts (if facts mean anything anymore, that is). And the facts are clear that the former secretary of state is doing everything she needs to do to run for the White House one more time. If she finds a path to do so, she will take it. And I can prove it. [...]

At the moment, of course, the idea of another Clinton presidential campaign—what would be the fifth since 1992—seems outlandish, even exhausting. Who’d want to go through all that mess again? But four years is plenty of time for memories to subside. 

And it’s true that in another era, a candidate Clinton’s age might have been deemed too old for the presidency. But in 2020, Hillary Clinton will be 73, one year younger than the incumbent seeking reelection. 

Also in another era, her political career might have been seen as having passed its expiration date. She’s twice run for the White House—and lost. But Ronald Reagan didn’t think that way. He ran in 1968, and again in 1976, nearly beating the incumbent Gerald Ford for the GOP nomination, before his ultimate victory in 1980.

I think Matt Latimer could well be right about the gruesome prospect of Hillary running again in 2020 - something that had not even occurred to me until now. Whether she could actually win is another matter. I strongly suspect the public will be clamoring for a continuation of the God-Emperor's reign in 2020, and perhaps even a repeal of the 22nd Amendment in time for 2024. On the other hand, Hillary has an opportunity if an open-source revolution such as described by John Robb sweeps the God-Emperor from his throne before then.

Even if that happens, I don't see Hillary as a likely candidate to succeed/replace Trump. She is a political dinosaur with a tin ear for the forces that are remaking our political system. Her abysmal social media campaign in 2016 provided constant, hilarious evidence of that. But who knows, maybe she could learn from her mistakes. Despite her all-around terrible campaigning, she did come close to winning the election, probably with the help of evil behavioral scientists handling her messaging; maybe the second time's the charm. She would need to hire someone with a profound grasp of social media and open-source tactics.

We have entered the realm of chaos, and anything is possible.

"You still don't get it, do you? She'll run for president again! That's what she does! That's ALL she does! You can't stop her!"