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5 Questions: Gov. Bob Holden on the presidential preference primary

Gov. Bob Holden served as governor from 2001–2005. As governor, he focused on health care, foster care, nursing home reform, and tax credit reform. Holden previously served as state treasurer and state representative. He now teaches political science and communication at Webster University. 

Why do you support Secretary Hillary Clinton?

She has the experience, the temperament, the vision and the commitment to move this country forward in a global economy. 

What was the atmosphere like in Iowa?

Of course, I was with the Hillary campaign, the first effort to see just how well the systems work and the commitment of the volunteers. It was very exciting to see people from New York, California, and from around the country for the speech, door-to-door and phone banking. It’s as an exciting time. All these months have been talk about the campaign, but this was the day that it really counted. Hillary has developed over the years a very loyal core, some of them from college days, from fighting for women’s rights, to recently, from being secretary of state. 

Could Senator Bernie Sanders be a credible general election candidate?

I don’t believe so. He has been a good senator. He speaks to the frustrations that many people have about government’s lack of responsiveness in the last 8-10 years on the national, state and local levels. The fact is that you not only have to understand what the frustrations are, but how to make things better: that’s where Secretary Clinton would be better. She’s been in those meetings. She understands the need to pull people with similar ideas together to find common ground. That’s how you solve problems and move the country forward.

Is she likable enough to win a general election?

Well, I think so. The more people get to know Hillary Clinton, the more they will respect her and like her. She has a true core commitment for equality in our culture and putting those qualities together to lead a great nation in this global economy. That’s what this race is about in 2016: how do we stay and remain competitive in this world?

Who is the Republican she would fare the best against?

I think they’re all pretty well the same.  Trump gets a lot of headlines, but, candidly, Trump scares me. It’s a lot of rhetoric and shouting, but I don’t see a lot of depth there. The individual who is the strongest, Kasich, will not get the nomination. Kasich is well thought of and well-respected. I also thought Jeb Bush was a very credible candidate. As a governor, he was well thought of as someone who was a policy maker and governor in the state of Florida. Those two are the most credible, but I think Cruz is so far to the right and so narrow in his focus. I question the political tactics his political organization is doing: underneath the sheet is a whole lot of laundry. I would be very concerned with someone of that temperament from either party to be president of the United States.