Sorry for the delay, Al....been busy with another issue, as you know.
We do have a bit of a different perception regarding HC. My perception of her is much better than yours, perhaps because of my educational background. Having completed two advanced degrees and worked for 32 (going on 33 now) years as a diagnostic specialist in education, I know that the single most accurate predictor of global cognitive skills is verbal vocabulary. What really impresses me about HC is just that...if you've ever "endured" one of her speechs, perhaps you'll remember how throughout the speech she would seem to be wandering...and then within the final two minutes bring about a summary that completely explained how all those seemingly disconnected topics related to the topic of the address. She is masterful with the verbal skills, and that tells me (as a masters degreed speech pathologist) that her cognitive skills are quite high and that to me is important (and, obviously, to the other conservative contingent on this forum who constantly denigrate our vice president's intellectual accomplishments.)
I remember the rambling comment incident...was QUITE surprised to hear her stumbling for words. I think she was blind-sided by the question and was searching for an answer that would let her get back to the topic of the address. We've all been rendered speechless when we were surprised by something that happened or something that somebody said, expecting a response...she's entitled to be, also, no doubt.
So...to answer your question, yes, I DO think HC has the cognitive advantage over everyone else in the democratic party and that she can use those cognitive skills to successfully execute the responsibilities of the "Executive" branch of government, POTUS.
As for her past "failures", again I think we see things differently. Benghazi has been an example...it was an act of terrorism, and our military intelligence community failed to get that one on the radar before it occurred. She as Secretary of State probably knew exactly as much as the intelligence community, and acting as best-practice probably took their information as accurate. That turned out to be wrong, but she's not the first to have that happen...think about the fatal attack on the navy ship while Gee-Dub was POTUS....same scenario, he (if you believe HC "Should have known") should have known that it was inevitable and failed in much the same manner as the conservative community feels that HC failed.
IMHO, her cool headed (no pun intended) handling of the Monica Lewinsky situation convinced me that she can keep her emotional reactions in check. She probably has bigger balls than her husband...and she has shown that she does not exercise "knee-jerk" reactions (yet again, no pun intended).
She's not perfect, nor is any candidate out there in either party, but I truly believe that she's the best that either party has to offer right now...but, to answer your final question, yes, if the Repubs would run somebody who impressed me more than HC, I would most certainly vote for that candidate. If, however, they run another Romney...well, history has a way of repeating itself, no?
Cheers!
Doug
