Candidates, anyone?
Okay. I haven't watched the whole debate tonight yet (I was putting Mitchell to
bed) but we TiVo'd it-- I did see the last few minutes...
I must say that Hillary probably missed a great moment when she could have
looked into the camera and been completely frank about something personal--
when she was asked about trying times in her life (that ostensibly have led to
her leadership skills). She brushed it off with a comment about "Oh yeah, I've
been through some crises" and went on to explain that nothing that had
happened to her compares to what wounded Iraq veterans are going through.
All the commentators seem to think her last comments were so great (P.S. I
love Donna Brazille-- she's my new best on-TV-friend), but to me those
comments were TOTALLY EMPTY!!! They're holding up "that last comment" as so
revealing of her and her emotions, etc.-- IT WASN'T. She could have socked us
all with an acknowledgment of the public scandals, the difficulty of being held up
next to her presidential husband-- ANYTHING-- and then come back with her
story about the amazing people at the hospital... but she totally threw it away.
She did not talk about her own broken path at all, which is a path I believe I
could respect and look up to if only I KNEW SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I was
excited by the chance to see a little of her soul, and then disappointed that she
retreated from being real.
I've been waiting for Hillary to show some mettle. In that vein, I have decided,
under Seth's encouragement, to share a letter I wrote to a friend about Ms.
Clinton and what I wish she would do-- namely, start kicking some ass and
getting a little crazy. Well, you'll see what I mean... Read on, curious friends...
(In response to being sent a link to a Boston Herald article entitled-- I believe--
"Clinton's Struggle Vexes Feminists". My e-mail follows:)
Okay, more rants from the homefront... here I go...
This article is saying the "charming personality" bar is much higher for women--
I concede that this is true. So if Hillary wants to win, she's got to realize she
can't change the American people in the next few months-- she's got to bite the
bullet and ratchet up her charisma! She's got the resume-- how hard is it to put
the charm on? I DO resent that everyone scoffs when she attempts to bring on
some drama... but she's just got to do it and ignore what the media may say.
Maybe I'm an idealist, but I have to believe that if Pakistanis can see fit to back
a woman, so can Americans. Sure the battle is uphill, but I believe Hillary could
win it if she just DID what she HAS TO DO-- namely, WORK IT!!!!
Personally, I wish she could just be LESS like every other stolid middle-aged
woman I know, who thumps her fist and says "it isn't fair, it isn't fair-- I'm
qualified!". I think the new feminist likes to think "I know the cards are stacked
against me, and I know people won't be fair, but I don't care-- I'm going to win
and shove it in all their faces". You know, more like Queen Elizabeth I as
portrayed by Cate Blanchett-- a savvy bitch with hard-nosed business sense and
loads of style who doesn't whine. You know that's why a nutjob like Ann Coulter
got ahead-- her style is dubious, but her bitchiness and flair for the dramatic
are certain. I bet if SHE had Hillary's resume she'd clean up.
I think Hillary's problem is that she's too "mom-next-door". We all know
competent men and women-- high school principles, doctors, lawyers-- in fact,
we know them TOO well. Hillary reminds us of all those people who are smart
and nice, but not possessing of the stuff to make us rush out into the street and
shout their names. Man or woman, you've got to be a superstar to be a
president. Like "Susan" [Sarandon], like Jane Fonda, like (be still my heart)
Jesse Jackson.
If Hillary had really thought this through, she would have not worried about men
from the beginning. She would think to herself, "If I can get every woman in
America to vote for me, then I'll win". That should have been her goal, and
some men would have tagged along. To be a woman that all women could
identify with, not just middle aged ones. More like OPRAH. Why didn't she
study with Oprah? Instead, she totally missed the boat , and Oprah went with
Obama. Younger women are going with him, too, because they don't understand
Hillary and her hangups. Why is she leaning on her husband so much? (Why
did she stay with him, anyway? Get a divorce! I love Bill Clinton the politician,
but I would've dropped that fat, pasty liar of a husband.) Why does she refuse
to get genuinely excited in front of a crowd? Why doesn't she just fling a few
well chosen "screw you"s toward appropriate bigmouths. I think a little rebellion
would startle a few ladies, but for me and others of every age-- including my
granny, your grandmothers and great aunts-- I think it might send us flocking to
her side. I think Benazir Bhutto was great with rebellious actions-- quite apart
from the scandals that swirled around her-- I loved her, and am so sad she
died. Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm, Ann Richards, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. These
are the ladies who inspire me. These are the ladies whose fight and fire is
evident. Ms. Hillary should get out there and start mixing stuff UP!!
Posted by jvoris at February 21, 2008 10:50 PM
