The Associated Press ran an interesting article a couple of weeks ago in which 40 Democratic candidates around the country were interviewed on the subject of Hillary Clinton. The idea sounds unremarkable at first, but as I was reading, I felt my eyebrows shoot up an inch or two. The resounding question in my mind was: Are Democrats afraid of Hillary?

Out of the 40 Democrats interviewed only one, Indiana Rep. Dave Crooks, was willing to put his name on the record. The other 39 insisted on remaining anonymous, fearing consequences from Clinton’s campaign, according to the article from the AP.

Not long after this article ran, Ann Coulter made an appearance on “Hannity and Colmes.” During the course of the discussion of John Edwards calling her a “she-devil” in belated response to her remarks earlier this year, a question was raised: Why won’t Democratic candidates openly comment on Hillary Clinton other than to show support?

Now, while I think Coulter’s examples of having their tires slashed and cats killed may be a bit extreme, I thought it was an interesting question.

The 40 Democrats’ biggest concern didn’t appear to be what would happen to Miss Moppet, but her lack of electability, which the article goes on to discuss, and the fear that she would be a liability in local and state elections. According to the article, one Democrat named her as the Democrat most likely to cause him to lose his seat!

What kind of clout does she have that not only prevents them from saying this openly, but also support her outwardly despite their misgivings? The admiration the AP says they profess for her? Connections she made during her husband’s presidency, such as George Stephanopoulos, who worked as an advisor in the Clinton administration before going on to ABC?

Frankly, this makes the idea of Clinton as president even scarier than I originally imagined.

Whether or not Democrats are really afraid of Clinton, they should be. Even if she gets the nomination, she still has to beat the Republican candidate next fall.

And as Karl Rove told Rush Limbaugh last month: “There’s nobody who has ever won the presidency who started out in that kind of position.”

Sara Hoffman is a freshman computer technology major and a columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].