Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton is anything you want her to be. To some Democrats, she is an iconic figure associated with a great period in our history, a fighter for those who need a fighter, and a leader who takes on the tough issues. To others, she is everything "establishment," a quasi-Republican that is completely corporate. She is both the most admired woman in America, and one of the most polarizing. There are few people that evoke so many views of themselves.

On Monday she added yet another piece of history to her name- she is the first woman to win the Iowa Caucus, just as she was the first to win the New Hampshire Primary in 2008. She's been First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the United States, Senator, Secretary of State, and a Presidential candidate now, twice. Almost no one can boast of her resume. She still has a better than 50% chance of being the Democratic nominee for President, which gives her at least a coin-flip's chance of being the first woman President. She's had a very remarkable career, not just for the resume lines, but for the length of it. Bill and Hillary Clinton the tandem have been in the public eye since the mid-to-late 1970s. Four decades after it began for them, and almost a quarter century after they became household names nationally, she is still able to win the Iowa Caucus. It's pretty amazing, actually. Find me another national figure with that staying power. Perhaps you'd compare the Bushes, Kennedys, or Nixon, but no one of them lasted like she has.

And yet, the criticism goes on. She's polarizing. She's not "warm enough" on the trail. She's not tough enough/too tough. Her speeches aren't good. She's willing to say what she needs to for votes. Her campaign isn't so good. You've heard them all. Some of them have some truth to them. Others are BS. Even with all of her achievements, even with her amazing staying power, she still has to answer to these attacks. As incredible as her career has been, Hillary Clinton has some genuine shortcomings that continue to plague her campaign.

A campaign does not make a trend, but some of these things have to just accepted as part of who she is at this point. Yes, her campaign will be a constant struggle, and yes she will worry Democrats sick. She won't have it easy, nor has she ever. She'll never be as fun or cool as a Bernie or President Obama, but if you give her the job, she'll do it well. That's her strength in this campaign, competency. Now she just has to show that as a candidate.