It seems like every few months, someone suggests that Hillary Clinton might be interested in running for president again. Those rumors are always blessedly unsubstantiated, but now that Michael Bloomberg’s back to talking about running, anything seems possible, which makes it all the more worrisome that Clinton’s “friends” are allegedly pressing her to jump into the race this late in the game.
Politco reports that Clinton told BBC Radio 5 Live on Tuesday that though she still has no plans to run, she won’t rule it out. “I will certainly tell you, I’m under enormous pressure from many, many, many people to think about it,” she said.
One of the exactly two political science classes I took in college was called the American Presidency, and though I spent 80 percent of it not paying attention (I got an A-), I remember distinctly learning that bad presidents surround themselves with people who are telling them they’re doing a good job, even when they’re not. This particular habit felled Lyndon B. Johnson, if I remember correctly, and probably several other presidents, but again, I wasn’t paying much attention. But I cannot help but think of this very principle right now, and though I’m sure Clinton would make a perfectly fine president, and though I’m also sure the many, many, many people she’s referring to mean well, I imagine I am one of many, many, many people who would prefer she stay out of it at this point, lest we relive 2016 again and again and again and again and again.
Which, to be clear, it seems like she will:
“I know, it’s way past time,” she told BBC Radio 5. “Look, I think all the time about what kind of president I would’ve been and what I would’ve done differently and what I think it would’ve meant to our country and our world. … Whoever wins next time is going to have a big task trying to fix everything that’s been broken.”
All of this is quite true! But please, Hillary, do not run, for your sake—and maybe get some better friends.