Tough Times for Hillary

No one said it was going to be easy . . .

First, Michael Bloomberg comes out in opposition to the nomination of John Roberts. Initially infuriating, Bloomberg's decision is actually a gift to Hillary Clinton's political adversaries. Of course, she'd like to find a way to seem "moderate" -- but Bloomberg has fenced her in. If she opposes Roberts, she continues to cement her image as a hard core liberal (especially if other Democratic senators, like Nelson(s) of Nebraska and Florida and Landrieu of Louisiana support him). But if she supports Roberts, she runs an even greater risk of alienating her liberal base -- who can certainly be forgiven for noting that her position would be to the right of a Republican if she supported Roberts.

As if that weren't enough, it appears that left-wing agitprop tool Cindy Sheehan is coming after Hillary. To a crowd roaring its approval, Sheehan threatened, "You say it [you're opposed to the war in Iraq] or you're losing your job."

Another tough call for Hillary. In order to be credible as a female commander-in-chief, she can't appear to be a dovish "peace candidate," as many of her adversaries are waiting to tag her. But she runs a risk when a figure like Cindy Sheehan, beloved by the leftists Hillary's counting on, turns against her.

Don't get me wrong -- I would have little sympathy for her under any circumstances. But I have even less empathy in light of the fact that all the Democrats were happy enough to let Cindy Sheehan dominate August news by attacking President Bush in the most unfair (deranged, even) terms possible. When you create a monster (or allow one to be created), you can't be surprised when it turns on you.

And that's what's happened with Cindy Sheehan. It will be interesting to see whether (or how soon) Sheehan will become "discredited" and then separated from the press and media attention that apparently she so desperately craves.