Rich Lowry on Hillary the "Social Conservative" [UPDATED]

Rich Lowry writes on Hillary's "social conservative" credentials at National Review Online:

... Both she and Obama went to Ivy League law schools. The difference is that Obama left Harvard Law School for community organizing in Chicago and then a political career on the South Side. It’s as if Bill and Hillary Clinton had departed Yale Law School and headed straight to San Francisco to clamber up the slippery pole of progressive politics. That way lies Nancy Pelosi.

Instead, they went to Arkansas and had to win over Bubba voters to survive. Democrats successful at the national level come from the south because it forces them into sympathy with parts of America not represented in the liberal, coastal bubble. Hillary obviously doesn’t have the natural popular touch that Bill does, but she’s sending him to every small town in America on her behalf.

***
All of this has made her a stronger candidate. Operating on the Bill Clinton model, a Democratic candidate needs a “Sister Souljah moment,” distancing him from the fringes of the party. Hillary Clinton’s Sister Souljah moment has been running against Obama, pushing herself to the center in relation to him and forging a bond with voters Democrats need in a general election. Oddly, she may be a more electable candidate now when the odds are against her winning the nomination than when she seemed a lock...

[More]

(ephasis added)

My Comments:
As I wrote on Friday, if Hillary wins the nomination, she wins the White House. Period. Given the unfair disadvantage she's been up against when it comes to Obama's fawning press coverage, Hillary's resilience over the last couple of months (coupled with Obama's readily apparent disdain for red state and working-class voters) almost has me pulling for her - except for the fact that she's a radical pro-abort.

The same folks who nominated Mondale, Kerry, and Dukakis, however, are convinced Barack is their man. As usual, they're mistaken if they believe that in such a path lies their best shot at winning the White House. I believe McCain will beat Obama (and more easily than some imagine) should Obama still manage to win the nomination.


UPDATE
Jim Geraghty writes at National Review Online:

... here's why Obama really can't afford two losses tomorrow. Next week, he's probably going to lose West Virginia by 20-30 points. The following week he's probably going to lose Kentucky by 20-30 points. Demographically, those states are similar to western and central Pennsylvania. If he thinks his press is bad now, wait until he's gone 0-for-7 in Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky. And to be honest, 1-for-7 won't be that much better.