The Unsinkable Idea: Anyone But Hillary
And neither Warren nor Biden produce Hillary Fatigue Syndrome, the weary feeling that trouble sticks to Hillary, trouble that she brings onto herself, and that we are tired of it and are ready for something new.
She has endured much. She has reason to be guarded and defensive. She presents as a powerful woman who is hounded by relentless hateful attackers, for the totally reasonable and predictable reason that she is, indeed, a powerful woman who is hounded by relentless hateful attackers. She presents as defensive, controlled, artificial, lawyered-up, because she is and she needs to be. The email mess is an artifact of this. Had she used only the State Department email system she could have certain that every personal and quasi-personal email she received or sent would be savaged and she would have been blasted for using government property to get emails regarding her daughter's wedding, etc. and she would be called a common thief, too dishonest and trustworthy to be elected president.
It all makes her "unlikable". What is it about her? I cite the guarded manner, as a reaction to hostility to women of power. Ellen Smith, a woman working in technology shares her own experience of gendered hostility. "This latent dislike, this 'rubbing the wrong way' needs to be acknowledged for what it is: a systemic, often unconscious, bias against women in power.' Click here for the excellent article on gender bias.
The book, Coster writes, "describes the General as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe during WWII. An excerpt from the book follows: "From Churchill to the lowest Tommy, from Roosevelt to the buck private at a replacement depot, from De Gaulle to the Resistance fighter in southern France, people trusted Eisenhower. They did so for the most obvious reason - he was trustworthy. His grin, his mannerisms, his approach to life all exuded sincerity. He wore his heart on his sleeve. There was nothing devious about him...Darlan and De Gaulle and Badoglio felt they could trust Eisenhower because they knew where he stood and that he said exactly what he meant. (Montgomery adds) 'He has the power of drawing the hearts of men towards him as a magnet attract the bits of metal. He merely has to smile at you, and you trust him at once. He is the very incarnation of sincerity'."
The report by the Inspector General outlining mistakes by Hillary Clinton in her use of emails help keep alive the hope that the FBI--or at least some people who resign in protest from the FBI--announce publicly that Hillary Clinton is--or should be--indicted. The thought is that Hillary under criminal indictment would have to drop out, leaving room for someone.
The New York Times and the Washington Post have editorials and articles that express disapproval of Hillary. This is not a good week for her. Today's NY Times editorial is titled "Drowning in Email". Click here for the editorial
Some Democrats are hoping--anyone but Hillary, although not necessarily Bernie Sanders. Perhaps Elizabeth Warren or Joe Biden. Either of those two candidates would "press reset" on the Democratic Party's policies, but essentially affirm a reformed Democratic Party coalition and policy.
Both Warren and Biden have better emotional rapport with the Democratic working class than does Hillary. Hillary represents a coalition of people who are held back by identity of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, or sexual preference. By claiming that group she simultaneously pushes away the people who she positions as the oppressors of those groups: "regular" people, i.e. white men. And Hillary represents a Democratic Party of office workers and people with college degrees; Sanders and Trump speak more directly to the blue collar voter, the people left out of the information economy.
The New York Times and the Washington Post have editorials and articles that express disapproval of Hillary. This is not a good week for her. Today's NY Times editorial is titled "Drowning in Email". Click here for the editorial
Some Democrats are hoping--anyone but Hillary, although not necessarily Bernie Sanders. Perhaps Elizabeth Warren or Joe Biden. Either of those two candidates would "press reset" on the Democratic Party's policies, but essentially affirm a reformed Democratic Party coalition and policy.
Both Warren and Biden have better emotional rapport with the Democratic working class than does Hillary. Hillary represents a coalition of people who are held back by identity of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, or sexual preference. By claiming that group she simultaneously pushes away the people who she positions as the oppressors of those groups: "regular" people, i.e. white men. And Hillary represents a Democratic Party of office workers and people with college degrees; Sanders and Trump speak more directly to the blue collar voter, the people left out of the information economy.
 |
| A non threatening woman |
She has endured much. She has reason to be guarded and defensive. She presents as a powerful woman who is hounded by relentless hateful attackers, for the totally reasonable and predictable reason that she is, indeed, a powerful woman who is hounded by relentless hateful attackers. She presents as defensive, controlled, artificial, lawyered-up, because she is and she needs to be. The email mess is an artifact of this. Had she used only the State Department email system she could have certain that every personal and quasi-personal email she received or sent would be savaged and she would have been blasted for using government property to get emails regarding her daughter's wedding, etc. and she would be called a common thief, too dishonest and trustworthy to be elected president.
 |
| Makes people uncomfortable somehow |
A reader in Virginia, Peter Coster, has been steadfast in recommending replacing Hillary with Joe Biden--good old friendly and open-hearted Joe. Joe he could trust, Hillary he could not. He says that he experiences Hillary Fatigue as distrust, and contrasts Hillary with Dwight Eisenhower, citing Stephen Ambrose's book Supreme Commander.
 |
| Washington Post photo choice: furtive Hillary |
Will Hillary be the Democratic nominee? I expect yes. Bernie cannot take it away from her. Only the FBI could.
No comments:
Post a Comment