Home arrow Commentary arrow Editorial arrow The Comeback Cry
Jan 11 2008
The Comeback Cry | Print |  E-mail
Editorial
By Robert Weitzel   

Translation

Image

Hillary Reconnects With Her "Feminine Side"

In the 1972 New Hampshire primary, the late Edmund Muskie choked back anger and was reportedly on the verge of tears because of articles—one of which proved to be a hoax—that appeared in the Manchester Union Leader attacking him and his wife.
 
During a campaign stop, Muskie challenged the Union Leader's editor William Loeb, "By attacking me, by attacking my wife, he has proved himself to be a gutless coward. And maybe I said all I should on it. It's fortunate for him he's not on this platform beside me. A good woman . . .[chokes up]"
 
This emotional moment came to be regarded as the collapse of his presidential campaign because, instead of being seen as a strength—defending his wife from slander, it was viewed as a weakness. But then, Muskie was male and this was still only 1972. Men were not yet allowed to get in touch with their fabled "feminine side."
 
On December 20, 2007, the Boston Globe reported Mitt Romney's brief contact with his "feminine side" when his eyes welled up after repeating, for the umpteenth time on the campaign trail, the story about watching the casket of an American soldier killed in Iraq while wondering to himself "what it would be like to lose a son in a situation like that." Mitt, fortunately, will never know. His sons are safely by his side. But he is nonetheless proud of their "service" on the campaign trail, which he said is a lot like military service.
 
Now the "cold and calculating" Vietnam War-protester-turned-hawk Hillary Clinton has reconnected with her "feminine side" in time to pull off a surprise victory in New Hampshire, which has reinvigorated her campaign. Over coffee at the Espresso Café in Portsmouth, Hillary gave the mostly female group of undecided voters a full 10-second clip of her underbelly.
 
When asked, "How do you keep upbeat and so wonderful?" Hillary began by talking about her hair and then, either by epiphany or serendipity, or cold, calculating political strategy, she eased onto her "feminine side," "This is very personal for me. It's not just political . . . It's about our country. It's about our kids' futures. It's really about all of us together."

"Keep in mind also, she is the same politician who put the Bill of Rights and "all of us together" in clear and present danger by voting for the Patriot Act in 2001 and its reauthorization in 2006."


Then just as easily—almost seamlessly—she rolled back onto her "male side" and went for Barack Obama's jugular, "But some of us are right and some of us are wrong, some of us are ready and some of us are not, some of us know what we will do on day one and some of us haven't really though that through enough."
 
Keep in mind, Hillary is the same politician who has supported the invasion and occupation of Iraq for the last five years, a decision that has cost 3,921American mothers and fathers their kid's precious future, and an untold number of Iraqi parents the same loss.
 
Keep in mind also, she is the same politician who put the Bill of Rights and "all of us together" in clear and present danger by voting for the Patriot Act in 2001 and its reauthorization in 2006.
 
This is the same politician who wants us to believe that "this is very personal." With her daughter Chelsea safely by her side and out of harm's way in New Hampshire, it is not nearly as personal as it could be.
 
Hillary Clinton spent eight years in the White House as her husband's consigliere and the last seven years as a senator. She is a consummate politician who lives and dies by her ability to control the moment. Any one doubting this will do well to imagine the control it took for her to hold Bill's hand while he begged the nation's forgiveness for his Oval Office tryst with Monica.
 
No one can say for certain—other than Hillary and her handlers—that her 10-second "feminine side" moment in the Espresso Café in Portsmouth was not genuine. One can say with a high degree of certainty, however, that it was 100 percent political.
 
But the important question for the American electorate and, more critically, for the wellbeing of our democratic republic is, should a politician's future depend on a 10-second moment of emotion—cynically contrived or otherwise. Edmund Muskie lost a presidential bid because of such a moment. Hillary Clinton may have won the White House again for the same reason.
 
With so much damage to our nation and its international reputation to repair after eight years of the callous misadventures of George W. Bush, we do need politicians who can think with their head and feel with their heart. But we can ill afford to continue electing—or not—a politician on the basis of one brief moment of the later.
 
Sorry Hillary, I'm not buying it . . . you either, Mitt!


Robert Weitzel, MWC NEWS editor, is an educator and freelance writer who lives in Madison, Wisconsin. His essays regularly appear in The Capital Times of Madison.
other articless by this auhor: http://mwcnews.net/Robert-Weitzel 


This_Category
Category:: Editorial

Recommend this article...




Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto:
Digg!Reddit!Del.icio.us!Newsvine!Blogmarks!Yahoo!

Quote this article on your site | Views: 1447

Comments (1)
RSS comments
1. 11-01-2008 10:03
Is Hillary really a Man?
Is Hillary really a man?  
 
Not say I don't see her womenly ways, because she looks really good to be 60. But until the mini break-down, where she "found her voice", she has done everything she could to be viewed as a man. Throughout her 35 years of experience she has developed and positioned herself to be on equal playing field with the men who have run this country for centuries. Tough, do-or-die fighter, commander, and smart, able to debate and stand up with her own opinion and let nobody tell your wrong.  
What does this all mean? Well, if you notice after the "almost" crying moment, she jumped back into fight mode, sighting how she is right and others are wrong and she knows what to do and others don't. She has, through her development, become equal to those men of the past, which is not necessarily a good thing for a country that wants change. Because in her heart-of-hearts, her experience and understanding of everything government and everything she strived to be is "status-quo."  
 
Normally, any other year would do far better to have her in the WH than many of the goofballs that have been elected or who are running this year. However, this year she has come up against someone that too has struggled to be on equal footing in this difficult American society- Barack Obama.  
 
The difference is there is normally not questions of AA being tough enough (atleast not the men), but smart enough and commitment. So he developed, through experience, the smart enough side. Inteligent, energetic (not lazy), and articulate. But he also had another barrier that help to develop him- his white mother.  
 
Many times, AA of mixed heritage find it difficult to fit in, with those from none mixed homes. So they tend to focus on things that speak to the dedication of his "blackness." He probably didn't figure this out until going to Harvard, where the AA count is so small, that they notice race more. Which I'm sure prompted him to not take the highend law firm job, but the community job in the most urban or urban Chicago.  
 
What does this all mean? Well, if you ever hear Barack speak, he speaks of inclusion. Something he always wanted with his AA community connection/heritage and hte love for his white mother and family on that side. He sees himself as a peacemaker, but he's quick to try and show how smart he is. He's analytical, almost to a fault during debates, because he wants to explain everything and say it the right way. In his heart-of-hearts he will always try to be this, which in this year would be good for the country. Totally different then the "status quo."
Guest

Write Comment
  • Please keep the topic of messages relevant to the subject of the article.
  • Personal verbal attacks will be deleted.
  • Please don't use comments to plug your web site. Such material will be removed.
  • Just ensure to *Refresh* your browser for a new security code to be displayed prior to clicking on the 'Send' button.
  • Keep in mind that the above process only applies if you simply entered the wrong security code.
Name:
E-mail
Homepage
Title:
BBCode:Web AddressEmail AddressBold TextItalic TextUnderlined TextQuoteCodeOpen ListList ItemClose List
Comment:

Code:* Code
I wish to be contacted by email regarding additional comments

Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.4


Tags:  Robert Weitzel Hillary Clinton Edmund Muskie New Hampshire Patriot Act
 
< Prev Content   Next Content >
 

Translate

Enter Amount: