Frightened of appearing too liberal

Here's an interesting assessment of Hillary by Publius:

And here’s the heart of it – the Iraq issue matters because it shows, at heart, what most motivates Clinton is the fear of being perceived as too liberal. I don’t know if these fears are rooted in coming of political age in Arkansas during the Reagan years, or with the scars of 1994, or what. But what bothers me about Clinton’s Iraq policy is that it suggests that her administration will be scared and small. It will be an administration of half-measures and clichés, so scared of its liberal shadow that it won’t go to the mat for progressive policies. For example, in light of 1994, I suspect Clinton is the least likely of all the Democratic candidates to put up a real fight for serious health care reform if elected. I can also easily see her getting bullied into military action. And so on.

The Geffen episode reinforces these fears. Clinton wants to ride an aura of inevitability to victory. Her team wants people to think they’re an efficient, Republican-eating machine. But they’re not. They’re fraidy cats. If the Geffen episode shows us nothing else, it’s that the Clinton team is paranoid, scared, and not very comfortable in their own skin. That’s not exactly a recipe for ushering in the great progressive political realignment.

That said, I’m sure that Clinton – like Bill – will hold the line on the budget and appoint good people to agencies and to the courts. But as far as sticking her neck out and risking capital on something that could be a game-changer such as universal health care or global warming legislation, I don’t see her even attempting it. In other words, there will be no attempt to move the goal posts. She will operate within the terms of the existing debate, and she'll do just fine within that narrow scope. And who knows -- maybe that's a good thing. Maybe we need a break from big ideas. But personally, I'd like a bit more "potential energy."