Hillary Clinton's Popularity to Grow in 2009, Regardless of Presidency

Tuesday, June 3, 2008, marked the final two primaries in the drawn-out Democratic primary. With Barack Obama poised to claim victory and ready to face John McCain for the vote in November, Hillary Clinton immediately became the front-runner among all candidates for popular online interest in 2009.

The eventual president will certainly excite the public interest between the November election and the January inauguration. That interest may even continue into the spring. Still, Obama's excitement level comes from promise; he is a young, well-spoken man who projects hope in a time when the masses crave it. McCain's excitement comes in part from his unpredictability; he is as fresh and interesting as any long-time Senator you might find. He now faces his last chance (albeit a very good chance) to claim the presidency. The realities of the office will require him to temper his personality as he governs - or, the reality of losing this year will force him to fade into the background.

Mrs. Clinton, on the other hand, seems unlikely to fade anytime soon. While most candidates who lose in a primary fall to either complete obscurity (think of any of Bill Clinton's rivals in the 1992 primary) or perpetual annoyance to leading party candidates (think Pat Buchanan), Mrs. Clinton possesses the intelligence, pragmatism, and self-promotion abilities to emerge stronger than ever.

This campaign's recurring theme is change. McCain, now free of the primary pressures to show loyalty to the Republican party, is working hard to distance himself from the current administration's least popular ideas and practices. Obama, of course, epitomizes the notion of change: hope in dark times, youthful leadership in new directions, an African-American with a real chance to claim what has always been a white man's job.