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Hillary Clinton: one part Susan B. Anthony, one part Carly Simon and one part Joe McCarthy
Posted on April 18, 2008 by Douglas Bell
In the aftermath of what was, by just about anybody’s estimation, a rout of Barack Obama in Wednesday night’s primary debate, Hillary Clinton moved to the horsey hills of Philadelphia college country to conduct a town hall in front of an adoring crowd at Haverford College (the oldest college of Quaker origin in the United States—who knew?). Hillary kicked back in front of a mostly female audience, sharing a stage with her mother and daughter and, for the better part of 90 minutes, conducted a sisterly love-in whose subtext was “Sisters, we certainly kicked some ass last night.”
There were shout-outs to attendees from nearby Bryn Mawr (“I attended a Seven Sisters school and am very proud of that,” Hillary reported to squeals of delight), working moms (one of whom, with a toddler clinging to her neck for dear life, introduced Chelsea), victims of breast cancer and a host of other distaff causes and avatars.
And for all the skepticism and jaundice that any group of two or more journos can muster, fact is it was a bravura performance. Hillary at her best is lightly self-mocking and earnestly human in a way that Obama—with all that FM cool and studied nonchalance—can’t match. Asked by a sincere-sounding canvasser what he might say to prospective voters at the door, Hillary offered, with Carsonesque timing, “Just knock on the door and say she’s really nice, or at least she’s not as bad as you think.” Ba dum bang sh!
After finishing up the formal proceedings, Hillary hung out in the hall for photos, then joined her daughter to greet a throng who’d watched the event on a huge portable screen set up on the grassy quad. The crowd swooned and swayed. Cameras flashed non-stop as the Clintons worked the rope line, leaving small groups gathering to examine the digital results in their wake.
Still, for all the sisterly warmth there’s this other not insubstantial issue: the elephant that came further into the room after the Philly debate. Hillary Clinton knows how to play dirty. The innuendo she made during the debate somehow linked Obama to unsavoury elements: Hamas, anti-Americanism (remember the lapel pin?) and even treason (the Weathermen). These sly digs were all aimed at reinforcing the impression that beneath Obama’s Harvard Yard condescension toward guns and God is something sinister and un-American. Watching Clinton own that room at Haverford reminded me that, at the end of the day, she’s one part Susan B. Anthony, one part Carly Simon and one part Joe McCarthy.
And don’t think the media missed it, either. At a post-debate post-mortem in the bar at the Marriott, a group from ABC News reported with considerable pleasure that Obama’s overnight negatives—along with the ratings for the debate—were going through the roof. Hillary is giving them what they needed most: wedge issues and a horse race.
• “She’s not as bad as you think” [Salon]
• Clinton aims Phila. talk straight at working people [Philadelphia Inquirer]
• Clinton on Colbert Report (And Edwards and Obama, Too) [New York Times]
• Superdelegates Unswayed by Clinton’s Attacks [New York Times]
• How Obama Fell to Earth [New York Times]
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- Categories: General, Television, Egos, Over the Border, American Election
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Comments
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Fintan April 18, 2008 at 2:53 p.m.
I'd comment on this if I only had the vaguest notion who Susan B. Anthony and Carly Simon are. Never heard of them.
But I have heard of Joe McCarthy, a bad dude all round.
That's why I say O'Bama for President!
leaf April 18, 2008 at 7:58 p.m.
your opinion matters to us, buttboy, and thank you for confirming your ignorance.
there is no need to know who either of these women are when you are perfectly capable of finding any number of buttfukc porn sites.
we will make sure you get baracked good and hard. we got your point.
January April 18, 2008 at 9:59 p.m.
Fintan
Susan B Anthony was a very important American who worked for women's rights about 100 years ago. She's like the grandmama of US women's lib.
And Carly Simon... Fintan, you're missing a huge treat if you don't know Carly Simon. She's an American pop singer, very popular in the 1970's. Beautiful voice, beautiful woman. You should definitely run out and buy her CDs. It's money very well spent. Her most famous song is "You're so Vain", but all her music is wonderful.
GravityLevity2 April 19, 2008 at 12:09 a.m.
mr. feminist: you're so vain, you probably think this post is about you, don't you, don't you
GravityLevity2 April 19, 2008 at 12:20 a.m.
After Sept. 11, 2001, Senator Clinton played dirty by purveying the canard that the terrorists had snuck into the US through Canada's allegedly soft immigration mesh. In reality few or none of them had entered the US from Canada, and all of them entered the US legally, all or almost all during her husband's Presidency. (The more serious problem of course was the Bush administration's refusal to take warnings of an attempted terroist strike seriously.)
Barbara_in_BC April 26, 2008 at 4:42 p.m.
Interesting factoid: Obama's mother was a white woman born in 1942 (since deceased). Hillary Clinton is a white woman born in 1947. His approach to Hillary has been more gracious than her approach to him and this might have something to do with it. She reminds him of his mother.
jade_lee May 4, 2008 at 4:26 a.m.
I think Hillary is the better choice. She is saving up her big horn blowing for later in the race. Her career has been substantively significant in terms of pushing forward a feminine agenda which is the reason women fought for the right to vote....all this good stuff will be said, will matter, in the race that really counts, the one to be president.
She has an impressive education, life experience, closer ties to the international community, her suggesting that NAFTA be reassessed makes perfect sense for all three countries heavily invested and spending way too much money in court clarifying and interpreting perhaps bad government legal nonsense often found in "agreements" governments put their hands on.
Hillary inspires hope for the underclass experiencing forms of neglect in America with a health care agenda that goes back to her husband's presidency, she is the real deal, she is a woman who will lead one of the most advanced societies into the 21st century......will she stop the current madness in Iraq and Afghanistan? I hope she does.
Oh and did I mention that her husband would be an advisor with intimate knowledge of how she thinks, who also has the experience of international conflict resolution as a once serving president who is still respected world wide and his seemingly economically sound policies less than a decade ago in memory might rattle a voting public who fear for their financial futures. The number 1 priority is now the economy, not war, not famine in the third world. America is about to get two presidents for the price of one when this recession really takes hold. Tawk about value added!
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