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A key Republican strategist once remarked "I'd rather run a campaign against Hillary Clinton than the Devil himself." Many Republicans feel precisely the same way. The reason is simple; against Hillary Clinton, John McCain cannot lose.

Clinton has the rare talent of alienating members not only opposed to her politics, but actually in favor of them. Many democrats have long favored health care reform, yet her method of operating and personality completely isolated them during the aborted reform attempts of the 90s. Her senate career has hardly been much better in garnering the support of people who were on her side. Many democrats, especially youth voters who have emerged as a stronger electorate than many imagined, see Hillary in remarkably unfavorable terms. Some would simply refuse to vote, others would vote against her on principle. All of this is excellent news for the Republicans, having made John McCain their nominee.

McCain is the best political choice the Republicans could possibly have made for the general election. He has, unlike fellows like Romney, or Huckabee, the ability to attract a wide range of moderate voters from all political backgrounds. Be they social moderates who find the democrats too liberal and the religious right a bit too harsh, fiscal conservatives with liberal social policies or just voters that don't easily label themselves, John McCain is a well respected name. The same is not true of Clinton. Often called the most "divisive personality in politics" she inspires very little confidence among moderate voters, if anything, she drives them away. Numerous national polls have shown that, in a head to head match up, Clinton would lose, pretty decisively.

Barrack Obama is a stark contrast to Clinton in this respect. Though their political platforms are highly similar, Obama has the gift of incredible charisma that allows him to be appealing to almost all electoral groups. More than anything, he has incredible support among exactly the moderate voters McCain is counting on for his own victory. While McCain alienates the extreme elements of his party, the same cannot be said for Obama. Quite the contrary, Obama has support from the most moderate democrats to the most extreme. McCain cannot say the same for his own party, he needs moderate voters and with Clinton, would get them easily. Obama has the full backing of all his party and would have the backing of numerous moderate voters as well. Obama is much more charismatic than McCain, and this election cycle very much favors Obama's message of change vs McCain's dedication and competence.

Electorally, Obama is a credible threat to a McCain candidacy. There is a very real possibility Obama could take moderate voters McCain desperately will need in a general election. With Hillary, such a threat is almost non-existent. Republicans would be fools not to be scared of Obama, or, for the next few weeks, root for Hillary.

Learn more about this author, Bryan Jennings.
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