Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Hillary’s tin ear

Senator Clinton should have taken some of the millions she paid political consultants and spent them on acting classes. She just doesn’t seem to understand how to project her real personality, if you are to believe her closest friends. You never read an interview with one of them that fails to note how funny and what a good story teller she is in real life. But man, on the stage, under the spotlight, she is just plain tone deaf.

It’s downright painful when she tries to make a joke, like last night’s reference to the “Saturday Night Live” skit. (At least I think that was what she was trying to do.) And she can never tell when to just let a point go. Sen. Obama’s best moment, in my view, was when he responded to her harping on Louis Farrahkan’s endorsement of him by saying, "I don't see a difference between denouncing and rejecting. There is no formal offer of help to reject. I'm happy to concede the point. I'm happy to reject and denounce." He seemed much the bigger person for it.

I have some sympathy for her. SNL wasn’t far off the mark; the media does seem to fawn over Barack. Part of that feeling comes from the fact that Clinton has lived so much more of her life in the public eye, and blow-hards like Tim Russert can pick over and play gottcha with thousands of things she’s said or done over the last 16 years, while Obama’s limited experience gives the press less to chew on.


Finally, I’m glad this was the last “debate.” This format is so tired. What does anyone really learn? We had 15 minutes on health care reform and I didn’t hear a single new thing from either of them, and I’ve still never heard either of them put a price tag on it or explain how it’s to be paid for.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think that her problem is that she has no actual talent for electoral politics. She has no discernable sense of humor. She doesn't seem to be taking any joy from the campaign. She seems genuinely pissed off that she has to campaign for people's votes because she thinks this somehow due her for all she's had to put up with from her husband and the republicans.

I'm not convinced that she has all that much "experience" at anything. Living in the white house for 8 years as first lady doesn't qualify her to be commander-in-chief in my book. She's spent her entire career as a senator positioning herself to run for president (see: vote for Iraq war). This "experience" only qualifies her to know where the bathrooms are in the west wing on day 1 and not much else.

Anonymous said...

Most of us are truly dumbfounded by the incompetence of her campaign and her intransigence at holding to a failed strategy.

But -- I do see a huge book deal on the horizon -- co-authored by Bill and Hilary on "How the 2008 Democratic Nomination Was Hijacked by a Smooth Talker."

d'blank said...

Are there no Hillary fans out there?

Anonymous said...

Not here. Her lips are moving. Then she's lying.

Anonymous said...

She feels the nation just needs a wonk. What the nation wants is a leader. Like the rest of the animal kingdom, we can sense a leader. In a Darwinian perspective, we need to have an emotional connection to our leader to assure us they are on our side. We need to trust our survival to our leader. She is distant and cold. With all her education, she doesn't know we subconsciously turn off the sound and watch body language.

d'blank said...

They say she is stong with women, but most of the women I know can't stand her. Maureen Dowd has been brutal on her.

Anonymous said...

It's over 60 white women she connects with. We're not quite there yet. Not quite.

Anonymous said...

I'm completely with Hankster. She is a legislator (and by all accounts a great senator for NY, and good at reaching across the aisle) but she is not a leader. He is and that's why the country is aflutter over him. To Birdman, I am in her wheelhouse (female, over 60) but I don't like anything about her - nor do any of my female friends. Interestingly, however, she is a fave of gay men and lesbians. Thoughts?

Anonymous said...

fenway, birdman, d'blank and I are just checking our insurance to see if it will cover our sex change operations. If it is a go, we will get back to you!
-hankster