Musings

I feel sorry for Hillary

By BATYA MEDAD

Barring some major Obama scandal, which would force him to leave politics, it now seems impossible for Hillary Clinton to get the Democratic nomination for president of the United States of America.

You have to feel sorry for her; it's a pathetic exit for such an ambitious and hard-working politician. It seems to me that Hillary wrote her game plan when she was a little girl. That's because it is very old-fashioned, maybe from the 1950s. I'd venture to say that it's pre-Feminist, because it's based on the requirement to marry a talented and successful politician and then stick with him through thick and thin (affairs with other women).

Unfortunately for her, she didn't constantly adjust and change her game plan.

A Spencer Tracy–Katherine Hepburn movie would have to be totally rewritten for the 21st century, and the same goes for instructions on breaking through the glass ceiling.

When Hillary began her official campaign, she seemed unstoppable. She really had everything (but her wardrobe) going for her.

She knew everyone who needed to be known.

She had name recognition.

She had money.

She was a conscientious senator, though more a carpetbagger than a New York local.

The only thing she didn't have was charisma; but hubby, the former president, Bill, has enough for the two of them. She was considered a bit "wooden" in person, and that "wooden," inflexible characteristic ended up being her fatal flaw.

She was pragmatically flexible in her policies, going for anything she thought would increase her chances at winning, like turning her back on Suha Arafat, after the warmth Hillary had shown her until it was made clear that it would cost her votes.

But Hillary never recognized that her life style, her marriage, was totally out of fashion. Divorce hasn't prevented candidates from being elected for decades. Hillary had a golden opportunity to be a strong, confident modern woman during the Monica scandal. By sticking with Bill, she lost every chance of being respected and supported. The post-Feminist generation sees her as an old-fashioned nightmare. They wouldn't want a marriage like hers and they don't see the point in wearing those ill-fitting men's suits.

Another of Hillary's problems is that her campaign was in a vacuum, rather autistic and self-centered. She had no flexible battle plan to activate against Barack Obama. This is another proof of the antiquity of her plan. When she hatched it, running against a high-achieving Black was inconceivable. Not even her supercharismatic husband had a clue.

Poor, Hillary. Will she ever understand why she failed?

Updated 6/12/08