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Now that Hillary Clinton's campaign seems to be struggling in the wake of Change (with a capital C!), everyone's trying to figure out what her seemingly verklempt moment with a group of women at a Portsmouth, NH event means. When asked how she does it, how she gets her act together day after day on the campaign trail (the questioner mentioned how Clinton's hair always looked so coiffed), Clinton seemed to get teary as she answered. You can see the full response above, but here's some of it:
"You know, I think, well luckily, on special days I do have help. If you see me every day and if you look on some of the websites and listen to some of the commentators they always find me on the day I didn't have help. It's not easy...As comparisons have been drawn to Ed Muskie, the 1972 presidential candidate whose campaign faltered after he seemed to tear when defending his wife (he said it was melted snowflakes), it's unclear how people - more importantly voters - will react to the moment. Newsweek even suggests that if Barack Obama, who is leading Clinton by the double digits, wins in NH, photographs of teary Clinton will be headlined under "Trail of Tears." The woman who asked the question, Maryann Pernold, seemed to be satisfied, saying, “She really loves us and wants us to succeed in the world, I think she’s real now, there’s a person there.”"It's not easy, and I couldn't do it if I didn't passionately believe it was the right thing to do. You know, I have so many opportunities from this country just don't want to see us fall backwards... [voice starts to break] You know, this is very personal for me. It's not just political it's not just public. I see what's happening, and we have to reverse it.
"Some people think elections are a game, lot's of who's up or who's down, [but] it's about our country , it's about our kids' futures, and it's really about all of us together. You know, some of us put ourselves out there and do this against some pretty difficult odds, and we do it, each one of us because we care about our country 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 thought that through enough.
"And so when we look at the array of problems we have and the potential for it really spinning out of control, this is one of the most important elections American has ever faced."
Does a softer, gentler Clinton make you want to vote for her? And we can't help but think of this Whitney Houston song.
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The crocodile tears were preceded by a question from a NH voter: "Who does your hair?"
Was this a reply to that question.
Hill was trying to "appear more human."
I believed it as much as I believed Roger on 60 Minutes.
Famdoc, the question was alittle more than that. It was about how she gets the energy to deal with an exhausting schedule.
I'm not a Hillary supporter, but her reaction seemed genuine, and IMO, long overdue. She's been so concerned about being seen as strong, accomplished person that she's overlooked the fact that people also want to see her as a normal, emotional human being.
Whether this is a stunt or not, I think she will come to regret having made this display of desperation further down the road. She's already been written off by a lot of the pundits even though the primaries have really yet to begin...
I think the posting above is the first time anyone has used "Hillary Clinton" and "genuine" in the same sentence (and presumably with a straight face).
To borrow from the philosopher Mike D., Hillary's signs of emotion "are fake like a Canal Street watch." The Clintons are phonies. Barak Obama is benefiting from the kind of media adulation that greeted Bill Clinton 14 years ago. And of course, all of this says nothing about who would make a better president. I wish the NY Times spent as much column space on analyzing the candidates' health care plans as they did on dissecting the meaning of Hillary Clinton's soggy eyes.
If I could stomach the idea of being a registered Republican, I'd vote for Ron Paul. I hope he runs as an independent.
She could have cried about lost troops in Iraq or a personal story about Hurricane Katrina or someone losing there house and family due to a bad mortgage.
But no she talks about how hard life is for her and how she feels.
Sorry but babies can't run for president.
"Sorry but babies can't run for president"
Well, save for GW, but he had people taking care of him the whole time. :D
There's no crying in baseball or presidential primaries. If her unpopularity (which I'm sure she was aware of before) blows her away like that, how would she manage a legitimate crisis to the nation?
Putin's on the phone. He wants to take over the Gulf of Mexico because of some tenuous logic about mid-ocean shelfs. The United States has yet to answer becasue President Clinton has locked herself in the bathroom to have a good cry. Yeah, this episode is going to be great for the Clinton campaign.
Will we look back and declare this episode the end of the Clinton campaign? Although I prefer other candidates, the dialogue that comes with a campaign is healthy and she has added much to that dialogue.
Whoever in her campaign advised her to "show her human side" will probably be walking the streets of Manchester today an unemployed political consultant.
Polite New Yorker: I used to think Ron Paul was a great candidate, but then I looked more into his beliefs and found out that a) he doesn't believe in evolution and more importantly, b) wants to turn back civil rights and equal protection laws and revert the constitution to a very strict form that hasn't been seen in this country since the early 1800s.
Did she break down and cry? No. But they called it a breakdown on the news. If a male candidate's voice cracked a little, would they be scrutinizing it like this? No. Why does the press create such a ridiculous focus on her seeming to appear emotional, instead of what she was saying! When she laughs, they call it a cackle; when she's gives an opinion in a tough and direct manner, they say she's cold. The press is magnifying everything and she is being harshly criticized for stupid things because she is a woman.
Citychik, I agree that she is analyzed in a completely different way because she's a woman, and I was really hoping not to be able to say that once we got down into the election.
As for Ron Paul, I don't want him to get elected, but I hope that he stays in the race for a while. He's that crazy uncle at the family dinners that says all those things that everyone else has sort of tacitly agreed to never bring up.
I can't say how Hillary's feeling sorry for herself played for anyone else, but to me it was the Howard Dean scream of 2008.
I can understand the frustration she must feel in having her presumed ascendancy to the presidency so rudely interrupted, but as others have pointed out, this played as nothing more than her feeling sorry for herself.
Most of us can appreciate what it feels like to lose; feeling sorry for oneself is human but self-pity is not the most noble of human traits, and it does not wear well.
There are times when we need our leaders to show weakness and sorrow- as unpopular as Giuliani may be on this forum, there were times in the aftermath of 9/11 where he displayed the loss we all felt, cracks in his facade of strength, and in those moments, despite his other flaws, he shined as a person and a leader, because his emotion made him one of us, we were united in those feelings.
Hillary's crying about losing a primary and falling in the polls might make her seem human, but it does nothing to unite us, nor does it make her seem presidential. Her words- the spin that she is frustrated because she sees so much opportunity for America, fails to mask the true emotion she was revealing. The whine of an expectant child told no. There may be compelling reasons to vote for Hillary; the capacity to feel sorry for herself is not among them.
but crying takes the sad out of you...
citychick, if a male presidential candidate voice craked with emotion you'd never hear to end of it. You're delusional to think the press would not be all over that. Hillary gets a pass because she is a woamn.
She did not cry.
As for citychik's comment, Hillary has always had issues connecting with people, she definitely does not have her husband's charisma (few do). This has been an ongoing issue for her as a politician. There is nothing wrong with being a tough chick; Margaret Thatcher was tough and direct and wore it well, she wasn't worried about baking cookies or being perceived as warm.
Hillary can't go one-on-one against Obama as far as charisma and, unfortunately for her, her core strength- experience in the Senate and being a Washington insider who can hit the ground running- won't play well in this election year.
All candidates, male or female, are scrutinized at times of emotion, and for other reasons that have little to do with their ability. Male candidates are similarly judged on factors like looks and demeanor. Nixon v Kennedy. A male candidate's unattractive laugh might not be called a cackle, but will hurt him nonetheless. Male candidates are similarly scrutinized at key moments for how they handle victory and defeat.
Sexism is not to blame for Hillary's problems as a candidate even if it makes for an easy excuse.
I've never been moved that strongly by Hillary in either direction. I think she's a decent woman and a decent legislator, and though she's not my first choice, she'd probably make a decent president, if elected.
That being said, after watching that video, it looks to me like she genuinely got a little choked up, but then decided to milk the hell out of it, which is a little annoying to watch in a grown up, particularly in a contest of this nature.
Polite New Yorker wrote:
That certainly would be nice."I have so many opportunities from this country just don't want to see us fall backwards... [voice starts to break] You know, this is very personal for me. It's not just political it's not just public. I see what's happening, and we have to reverse it.
"Some people think elections are a game, lot's of who's up or who's down, [but] it's about our country , it's about our kids' futures, and it's really about all of us together. "
Actually, I thought she got choked up when she made the honest statement that we, as a country, are in peril, and she, as a potential leader, fears for us. In this way, she is upset (she didn't cry, kids) "about lost troops in Iraq or a personal story about Hurricane Katrina or someone losing there house and family due to a bad mortgage" (Matty) and not "about losing a primary and falling in the polls" (eyekantspel) or her hairdo. Someone asked her a frivolous question, and she gave a very serious answer. Do you guys need sign interpretation on this or something? Clearly, many of you see only what you wish, and hear nothing at all.
"I have so many opportunities from this country just don't want to see us fall backwards... [voice starts to break] You know, this is very personal for me. It's not just political it's not just public. I see what's happening, and we have to reverse it.
"Some people think elections are a game, lot's of who's up or who's down, [but] it's about our country , it's about our kids' futures, and it's really about all of us together. "
Actually, I thought she got choked up when she made the honest statement that we, as a country, are in peril, and she, as a potential leader, fears for us. In this way, she is upset (she didn't cry, kids) "about lost troops in Iraq or a personal story about Hurricane Katrina or someone losing there house and family due to a bad mortgage" (Matty) and not "about losing a primary and falling in the polls" (eyekantspel) or her hairdo. Someone asked her a frivolous question, and she gave a very serious answer. Do you guys need sign interpretation on this or something? Clearly, many of you see only what you wish, and hear nothing at all.
"I have so many opportunities from this country just don't want to see us fall backwards... [voice starts to break] You know, this is very personal for me. It's not just political it's not just public. I see what's happening, and we have to reverse it.
"Some people think elections are a game, lot's of who's up or who's down, [but] it's about our country , it's about our kids' futures, and it's really about all of us together. "
Actually, I thought she got choked up when she made the honest statement that we, as a country, are in peril, and she, as a potential leader, fears for us. In this way, she is upset (she didn't cry, kids) "about lost troops in Iraq or a personal story about Hurricane Katrina or someone losing there house and family due to a bad mortgage" (Matty) and not "about losing a primary and falling in the polls" (eyekantspel) or her hairdo. Someone asked her a frivolous question, and she gave a very serious answer. Do you guys need sign interpretation on this or something? Clearly, many of you see only what you wish, and hear nothing at all.
Basia, who says your interpretation is correct? I see what I see and you see what you see, let's leave it at that.
What I saw in that moment was consistent with what the Clintons have displayed since Iowa - upset that her preordained ascendancy to the presidency is slipping away...
Moreover, she is not a potential leader, she's a US Senator. The problems you attribute as the focus of her being choked up have been hers to address for a few years now.