Notes From D.R. | Random Thoughts on the Passing Scene

Will ’90s nostalgia be the key to a Hillary Clinton victory in 2008?

Republicans would be quite foolish to underestimate the electorate’s desire to, as Stevie Wonder once put, live in a "pastime paradise." After eight years of the controversial War on Terror, one must be concerned about the possibility that voters may want to go back to the way things were.

While Republicans have a generally dim view of the Clinton ’90s, we can’t forget that there are plenty of Americans who have a positive view of that decade–a view that’s unaffected by Clinton’s unwillingness to confront the growing threat of radical Islamic terrorism during that period. For those who recall the ’90s as being filled with fun, laughter and good times (as opposed to incessant political scandal, high-profile racial tensions, and a lack of concern about what was going on in the rest of the world), the impetus to "return" to those days by electing Hillary could be overwhelming.

Mrs. Clinton will not hesitate to exploit 1990s nostalgia in her quest for the Presidency. She could successfully convince the electorate that if she became President, we would once again have an "excellent" economy, a "respectable" foreign policy, and "a nation respected throughout the world."

This is why the Republicans must be extremely careful when it comes to selecting a candidate for 2008. Unless Barack Obama does the impossible and knocks Hillary out of contention, it is very likely that the GOP nominee will have to face off against Mrs. Clinton–and will thus have to confront the intense 1990s nostalgia that exists among certain segments of the electorate.

Hillary will not hesitate to paint the GOP candidate as being cut from the same cloth as the supposedly nefarious right-wingers who "hounded" her husband all throughout the ’90s. It will take a candidate of extraordinary strength and skill to deflect such criticism.

Essentially, the Republicans need a Teflon candidate–someone who, like George W. Bush in 1999-2000, cannot be associated with the "1990s right" in terms of image. We need someone who can convince the electorate that instead of trying to recreate the 1990s, it would be far better to sensibly confront the challenges that face us in the late-2000s–and that Hillary is not the person to confront such challenges.

This will be a daunting challenge. Considering the large number of people who seem to believe that their vote for Bush was a mistake, the GOP nominee will, in essence, have to re-fight the 2000 election. Bush’s victory in that election was a de facto repudiation of the Clinton years–but since Bush’s presidency has been so controversial, the 2008 Republican contender will have to wage a second war against the pro-Clinton philosophy that some folks now think should have carried the day seven years ago.

The GOP standard-bearer must make clear that the "Clinton philosophy" was ineffective against terrorism–and must counteract claims that the "Bush philosophy" was even weaker. Thus, the contender will have to figure out a way to subtly defend the Bush approach to terrorism–not an easy task in the current political climate.

Republicans are forever trying to find a new Ronald Reagan. It’s time for us to stop doing that. Considering the daunting challenge ahead of us in 2008, we need to find someone even better than Reagan.