Everything awful that can possibly have
been said about Hillary Clinton has been said. Every sinister interpretation
about her actions has been made. Every conspiracy theory has been elaborated on
and substantiated by exactly nothing factual. Millions of dollars from
tax-payers and wealthy Republicans have been spent trying to dig up facts that
don't exist, trying to turn lies into truth. Her whole life in public office
has been characterized by this battle. Notably absent has been a public willingness to penetrate the myths and their origins. Hillary met with conservative resistance in
1979, when Bill Clinton was elected Governor of Arkansas. She was interviewed on In Focus and asked if
she felt comfortable in her new position, if it could be called a position, to
which her response was,
"Well I do think it's a position and I do feel
comfortable, but there's still a lot to learn and a lot to be done that we're
just becoming acquainted with" so she couldn't really comment too much
yet. When the host asked if it worried her that she didn't exactly fit the profile
expected of First Ladies, she said, "No. I assess
everybody by who they are, not by how they look." She might as well have
added "And not by the things that are said of them," but she had no
way of knowing what was in store for her.
No way of knowing that a huge sector of
America was still unprepared for a woman who had the audacity to be
intelligent, courageous, and outspoken.
It's been a long journey for Hillary
Clinton from then to now. She was very openhearted in those days, not afraid to
speak her mind. She didn't change because she became somehow untrustworthy and
corrupt, or gain a reputation for being unlikeable because it was the truth
about her, but because she encountered a savagery she hadn't known existed.
Because it didn't exist in her family or in her. She did change her appearance,
she did give people what they wanted as far as that went. But she stood her
ground on her principles, and a certain misogynist element of America has never
been able to forgive her. Women are not supposed to be powerful.
Or likeable. Everybody who knows Hillary
Clinton likes her and not in a milk-toast way. They're enthusiastic about her.
She's warm, she's funny, she has a great laugh, her smile lights up the room,
she's a brilliant listener, she cares. Her 'unlikeability' has nothing to do
with who she is.
It's not just an American thing. Julia
Gillard, Australia's first female prime minister, learned it the hard way too.
When she was first elected, she said she expected the supportive and the
negative rhetoric but believed it would dissipate after a while and that she
would be treated as any normal prime minister. It didn't happen. The misogyny
she encountered, such as the Leader of the Opposition's comment "If it's
true that men have more power generally speaking than women, is that a bad
thing?" and "what if men are by physiology or temperament, more
adapted to exercise authority or to issue command?" The misogyny ramped up
over time until Julia Gillard had had enough and said so.
Her 'misogyny speech' went
viral. Recently on GPS
she said it probably resonated with every woman who has ever met with misogyny
and longed to speak out but missed the opportunity as it arose. Fareed Zakaria
also asked her if she thought Hillary Clinton was being held to a different
standard. Her answer was a categorical yes.
President Barack Obama and First Lady
Michelle Obama have been exposed to the same bullying, spite, murderous
persecution driven by white male identity crisis—although the role played by
conservative women in supporting it shouldn't be underestimated. For the last
eight years it's been like the Civil War take 2, except that the first was
never really won. The Obamas have triumphed with tremendous dignity and in
doing so have renewed, strengthened and invigorated all that's good about
America.
Now it's Hillary Clinton's turn. She too
has survived everything that's come at her and never let it thwart her and now
that she's running for president she's looking the monster right in the eye. By
standing her ground against the worst she's exposing it in all its glory for
sane Americans and the world to revile.
The first presidential debate between
Hillary Clinton and the GOP candidate had the most viewers in US history. More
than 80 million watched Clinton behave like an outstanding president. Close to
70% saw her as a winner.
They saw that she was ultra-prepared, which
telegraphed that she respected them enough to do her homework well. They saw
her confronted with bluster, lies, misogyny, rank stupidity, horrific racism,
disrespect—bullying of every kind. She didn't once lose her composure but more
than that, she knew how to deal very effectively with it without returning kind
for kind. Hillary Clinton conducted
herself with humor at times but never stooped to being snide. She was graceful
throughout but there was never any doubting her steel, which Trump, for all his
puerile and disgusting but considerable arsenal, couldn't get past. It showed
what she'll do when she encounters that same behavior as president, which she
will, in Congress and internationally. It also showed that she learns through
challenges—referring to decades of facing the same kind of obstacles—without a hint of bitterness.
About 66 million watched the second debate
and saw the same woman. When asked questions her answers were, as always deeply
thoughtful and insightful. Her opponent's were incoherent, as always. 57% saw
Hillary Clinton as the winner.
At least 50 million people for the 1st
debate and 37 million for the 2nd got and believed the message that Hillary
Clinton respects them, takes her task seriously, has the capacity to overcome
barriers, and can be trusted with the job as president. I think the tide
finally turned with this debate, not because her opponent had a meltdown—which
he did—but because she rose to a very challenging occasion in a big way, which
she has done her whole life.
It's no surprise that the NYT puts Hillary
Clinton's chances of winning at 90%. Talk about triumph through adversity. Which
is what America is really about.
The photo is from the video of Hillary Clinton's interview on In Focus in 1979.
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