I'm going to say the unsayable because I've been thinking the unthinkable.
I have a problem with Hillary. It started back when Bill was running the first time. Not during the "60 Minutes" interview when she said she was no Tammy Wynette standing by her man (though she quite obviously was). It was later on during the campaign when I saw her face on the cover of McCall's magazine touting her recipe for chocolate chip cookies. That grated because she so obviously is not a baking type and why should she pretend to be. I remember seeing it in a bookstore and scoffing at it. A woman standing next to me (who resembled Hillary in her glasses-wearing days) glared at me, as if to say, "You Republican Whore Scumbag. How could you possibly diss Hillary!"
I am not a Republican, for the record, and never have been. I came of age during the Reagan years and could never bring myself to vote Republican.
But could I vote for Hillary? No, and it's not just that she whores herself to get her husband elected. It's that of the two, she is the pragmatic Machiavellian. Apart from Monica Lewinsky, she was behind every scandal that tarnished the Clinton name. Let us not forget that she also voted for the war in Iraq. Her own campaign has been marked by underhanded (though denied) maneuverings designed to drag her opponents through the gutter. And here is her latest action: getting the American GQ magazine to ax a negative article about her campaign by threatening to block access to her husband. .
The day after Clinton moved into the White House, Jim Carvill allegedly told reporters phoning up for interviews: "We don't need you guys anymore." Apparently, in the Clinton camp, that one-way relationship with the press continues. They didn't learn their lesson the first time. Because the Clintons do need the press and will need the press. And hopefully the news media won't roll over and play dead anymore after the nightmare Bush years.
I like Bill, have a lot of respect for him above the waist, think he'll be ranked among the top 20th-century presidents in future years. He has charisma, brains, a heart (or at least can pretend to have one).
Hillary has ambition. Loads and loads and loads of it. It's probably what attracted Bill to her in the first place. It certainly wasn't those glasses. I have a theory about those two. He was Big Man On Campus. She was Geeky Smart Girl in Glasses. He was attracted to her brains. She was attracted to him. She satisfied his intellectual lust, but not his physical lust, hence the affairs. She forgave him in the early days because she loved him. She ignores them now (and the rumours still fly) because she needs him. And he needs her to keep quiet.
I prefer Barack Obama, someone I think I can respect. And I'm so upset that he's that far behind Hillary. Did Hillary pay Jesse Jackson to say negative things about Barack? I wouldn't put it past her.
But my dilemma will be who do I vote for if Hillary gets the Democratic nomination? Certainly not any one of those Republicans. But I don't like Hillary. And that is the unspeakable and the unsayable. I am a traitor to my sex because I don't like this woman.
23 comments:
You are not a traitor to your sex because you don't like Hillary.
Some college friends and I have had this discussion. Our loyalty issue gets a little more complicated. Not only are we all women and Democrats, but we all attended the same college as Hillary. There is intense pressure to support and like her. And we, for the most part, don't "like" her.
This is not to say we don't think she would make a good president. Some of us do think this, some of us don't. We do feel she will (and does) get much LESS slack than any male candidate or president, and that's not fair. They ALL are politicians, after all - and they all have played some of these games. She is incredibly smart and politically savvy. She knows her stuff. But that doesn't always translate to respect and success.
I'm intrigued by this notion people have of needing to "like" their leaders. I don't feel the need to like my president - but I don't want to intensely dislike my president either (as I do W). I do want my leader to be smart, hard-working, effective and tactful. I don't know who is going to fill that role for me this time around. Yet.
J wrote:
"We do feel she will (and does) get much LESS slack than any male candidate or president, and that's not fair."
I totally agree with that - and I think it's true for any female candidate that doesn't fall into the more traditional female role. What is "assertive" in men is "bitchy" in women. I see that at work a lot.
That said, coffee, I totally understand where you're coming from. Hillary is not someone I'd care to have a drink with after work.
I'm torn up about this coming election. I well remember so many of my liberal friends voting for Nader because they didn't like Gore, and look where we are now. I used to feel I had no other choice but to vote from my heart and go with the candidate that best speaks for me. But after the last 7 years, I am afraid that for the primaries I am firmly behind the more political approach of considering "electability". You have to play the game. Which I hate.
I like John Edwards a lot. And Barack Obama, too.
It's being between a rock and a hard place then when it comes to choosing.
Do you still get to vote even though your over here?
pxx
I don't care for Hillary either and also feel kind of like a traitor because I don't.
I'm afraid that she's too big a target and I cannot comprehend another four years in the sort of regime we're in now.
I just cannot stand the thought.
I'm in the minority here, but I like Hillary. I don't consider myself a political person and probably judge and vote for candidates for all the wrong reasons. (OK, that's my little disclaimer). But I actually admire her for staying with Bill following the Lewinsky scandal.
I think the easier thing to do would have been to drop his ass like a hot potato (the Queeny sure would have in the same situation). She endured public humiliation to the highest degree. No one would have blamed her for leaving him. Choosing to stay, for love or political reasons, took some hutzpah. I'd like to see some of that in a president.
I am so torn over this one too. I don't mind Hillary, actually. But I worry about electability. I think she is just too damn polarising and that there are too many people who would come out just to vote against her. But then, I worry about worry about electability, since that's what got us landed with John Kerry, who was easily one of the most unispiring people I've ever seen. (No, I take that back, Enda Kenny, leader of the opposition Fine Gael party here wins that honour, but John Kerry would be the most uninspiring person that the world at large knows about.)
no I dont think you're a traitor at all. I agree with a lot of what you say. Whoever totally agreed with any one politician? It will be interesting to see what happens - good post.
I wouldn't have said you are a traitor at all. We all opinions and this one is yours.
Crystal xx
I can't say I'm crazy about Hillary, but I do relish the thought of Bill Clinton in the White House again, even if it is just as first husband.
I told my family just the other day that I wish we could undo term limits on the presidency just for him. I wouldn't want to be married to him, but he is an excellent leader.
you have an award at my place...
the new york times has been running some interesting profiles on all the candidates, writing about their formative years. i have to say, reading about hillary's youth and college years made me like her better--maybe because it made me understand her better. she has always been this way: tough. determined. ambitious. serious. none of that is a pose.
that said, i don't think all women need to support her. (she is not the candidate i intend to vote for, though much can happen between now and then.) i have a black friend who feels like a traitor to his race because he thinks obama lacks experience.
we should not be burdened by incidentals; we should vote for whoever we believe will do the best job.
j.: I wouldn't not vote for Hillary just because I don't like her, but perhaps because of what I don't like about her. But I'm still debating internally whether I'm being sexist because possibly what I don't like about Hillary I might like about a male candidate. As I said, I'm still thinking that one through.
pantheist mom: I know what you mean. I voted for the Libertarian candidate in 1980 before I understood that my vote basically helped Reagan. Never again. But how do you vote with your mind and heart with a system like we have?
Pixie: I do get to vote but after the last election, I'm convinced that overseas votes aren't counted. Then again, Ohio's votes weren't counted in the last election.
RC: It's a scary thought that we might have to put up with another 4 or even 8 years like we've had. We must have voting reform.
Queeny: Your reasons for voting or not voting for someone are as valid as the next person's. Most Americans, I think, vote for whoever's name they remember when they go into the voting booth. Hillary was brave to stay with Bill, but then again I think in a way she almost had to. No president has ever had his wife leave him while he was in office, not even Richard Nixon.
-ann: Yes, it does come down to electability, doesn't it. And you're right, Hillary is too damn polarising. We've had too many years with another polarising president.
flowerpot: Thank you. I do worry a lot about what happens in the US, even though I don't live there anymore.
CJ: Thank you. I have lots of opinions, actually, not all of them very well thought through.
kaycie: Bill certainly has his faults, but like you, I think he was overall a damn good president.
laurie: Welcome back. I'll see if I can access the NYT articles. I think the question is "What job do we think our next president needs to do?"
RC: Oh goody! I love awards.
The body language isn't good in this pic, it''s all phoney.
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