WHY SOME CONSERVATIVES ARE TAKING A SECOND LOOK AT HILLARY

I mentioned to a friend at work that I had gotten a call from my youngest daughter today. She is, inexplicably, a conservative Republican.

"Mom," she wanted to know, "did you watch Hillary on O'Reilly last night?" I told her no, but I'd read some accounts of it. "She nailed it, Mom!" she said excitedly. "Well, that's what I read, but I didn't expect to hear that from you," I replied. She went on to say, to my delight, that she's considering crossing over in the GE to vote for HRC, she was that impressed.

My friend later emailed me the following:

"Actually, there seem to have been a number of conservatives who have come out for her recently. I think it may be due to:

- Her being tough
- Her being specific and practical in her views
- Her being willing to listen
- Obama not being any of those things
- McCain being so much of a wildcard that they don’t know what to make of him"

Now I know that the blogger boyz believe that any conservative who expresses admiration for Hillary is lying just so John McCain will get to face a weaker candidate (HRC, in the BBoyz view). I'm not so sure of that. Wherever Hillary goes she wins converts. The fluidity of her speech, whether in debates or in interviews, gives evidence of a clearness of thought, a mastery of the subject matter, that impresses more than the scripted prose of her opponent. The controlled passion she demonstrates for improving the nation and the lives of its citizens resonates with many people much more than the slick, even-tempered Obama. (The only time he shows much passion is when he perceives a slight to HIMSELF.) And to prove it, she's now doing better with Independents than Obama, who's been selling himself as the candidate who can bring more of them into the fold.

I'm not going to miss seeing her in the second installment of the interview on O'Reilly tonight!