Long before the summer debt crisis, the Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the United States’ credit rating, and the threat of a double dip recession, President Obama’s biggest challenge was none other than his current Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. We all know just how close and intense the 2008 Democratic primary became, and considering the negative shift to Obama’s reputation, many disgruntled supporters have begun asking themselves, “Was Hillary the better option?”

What do I mean by “negative shift?” Simply put, Obama hasn’t been received well in the last few months. Of course, much of this impression comes from the politically-charged debt crisis—but it’s all a culmination of what seems to be a presidency with minimal action. Despite currently presiding over a Democratic majority in the Senate, President Obama has struggled considerably to push through his policy. And now, the latest Gallup poll gives him only a 42 percent approval rating, while a Rasmussen poll from last week found that 76 percent of Americans feel the country is heading in the wrong direction.

In a lot of ways, this negative perception is the reality. The truth is that the President ended up settling for nearly two billion dollars in spending cuts just to raise the debt ceiling. Additionally, the economy is recovering very slowly, the stock market is increasingly volatile, and the month of August saw a net gain of zero new jobs created. So is it too early for Hillary’s base to say, “Told you so?”

In short, yes, it is much too early for such a claim. But there is no denying that Hillary Clinton is an incredibly skilled and very intelligent politician. Her life in politics goes back decades, since she served as the First Lady of Arkansas, then First Lady of the United States, and a Senator of New York. In 2008 she made history by winning more primaries and delegates than any other female candidate in American history. Still, any notion that the country would be in a much better place had she won the Democratic nomination should be taken with a giant grain of salt.

Hillary reigns superior in more ways than one, but bringing her into the picture opens up a whole new bag of worms. One might argue that as a more experienced politician, negotiating a better debt ceiling deal would have been more realistic with another Clinton in the White House. I, for one, believe she is more of a fighter than Obama and could better scare the Republicans out of the giant game of chicken they started.

But Hillary’s win in 2008 could have meant an entirely different scenario. She was (and arguably still is) a far more polarizing figure than Obama. With two full years in constant public spotlight she would probably have made even more enemies. If she were elected, perhaps the Republicans would have recaptured the Senate as well as the House of Representatives in the November 2010 elections. In a similar debt crisis, her election could have led to only the TeaParty-backed Cut, Cap, and Balance Act making it out of Congress rather than the (somewhat feeble) compromise we received.

Hillary winning the nomination could also have meant that McCain would not waste political capital appealing to women through his Vice Presidential pick and would have made a more politically astute choice. A more appealing executive ticket could have prevented the Democratic filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Considering the excessive use of the filibuster in the last two years, any fewer than sixty Senate Democratic votes might have meant no healthcare reform, no economic stimulus, and no hope for the promised great change.

All things said, Hillary could bring a lot to the table that Obama lacks—but would the cost be worth it? Much of what Obama has accomplished gets overlooked or taken for granted when throwing out this “what if Hillary won” scenario. I certainly don’t envision too many “Hillary for President” supporters speaking up if she resulted in a more extreme, no-action presidency. But the whole point is—who really knows how our country would be different if Hillary won? I certainly don’t, and I’m fairly sure no one else knows either.