Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, noted today on ABC’s “This Week” that Hillary “seems to have a lot of anger” and that Americans don’t like to elect angry people to the presidency.
“When you think of the level of anger,” said Mehlman, “I’m not sure it’s what Americans want.”
The RNC head listed Sen. Clinton’s MLK Day comments calling the Bush administration “one of the worst” in history and comparing the GOP-controlled House of Representatives to a plantation, and could have cited many more, as recently she has been making snide comments about most everything from Hurricane Katrina to Iraq to Medicare.
“I don't think the American people, if you look historically, elect angry candidates,” said Mehlman, and - at least for the past 25 years - he may have a point. Ronald Reagan is the quintessential example of a positive presidential candidate, and even Gov. George W. Bush was considered nice, with all his talk about being a “uniter, not a divider,” and pledging to “change the tone” in Washington.
On the Democratic side, the most vehement opponents of Bill Clinton couldn’t say that he didn’t maintain a positive outlook on things, which may have helped him beat dour GOP candidates like George H.W. Bush circa 1992 and Bob “Where’s the Outrage” Dole. Hillary’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
