Teary-eyed Hillary: Is this her "human side" or expose a campaign in serious trouble? (1 Viewer)

[BullDawg]

I think she can recover from this.

If it was a guy you could go ahead and engrave his political tombstone with the words "He Cried". Male politicians are only allowed to cry as a sign of patriotism. Anything else is weak and unacceptable.

I don't know if she can or will recover, but the rest of your post was spot on.

If a male politician cries, it had better be for a good reason. If it is for a good reason, he's suddenly a "man of the people" who "feels your pain" or is "compassionate" (do those key words sound familiar?). If is isn't for a good reason, he's weak.

If a female politician cries, it was obviously a)"that" time, or (b)the "change". Either way is a no-win situation regardless of the absurdity of it all. Regardless of the truth of the matter...whatever the truth may be...she's "weak".

 

[4saintspirit]

I think it was a deliberate move by her. Do not be fooled -- her campaign is cold and calculating and she has learned from the master - Mr Bill -- and just as she could pull out the old pink sweater to defend hubby she can certainly call upon her emotional acting to come up with tears about how tough it is while at the same time discussing why her credentials are so much better.

As for dropping out -- remember Bill was called the comeback kid -- she has the organization and money to continue and compete -- and who knows -- she may be willing to start off in the VP role to solidify her presidency for the future.

 

[philipkw]

Thirty years ago, Edmund Muskie's campaign for the U.S. presidency was cut short when he violated political decorum by weeping in public. During the New Hampshire Democratic primary, the Manchester Union Leader published a story describing his wife as "emotionally unstable." Outraged, he mounted a truck in front of the newspaper office and defended her with such passion that (The New York Times said) he "broke into tears."

Snow was falling as Edmund Muskie spoke, and he claimed that the drops on his cheeks were actually melted snowflakes. That did him no good. The Union Leader declared that crying proved he "lacked stability," like his wife, and Senator Bob Dole agreed that he was unstable.

<a href=http://www.robertfulford.com/Crying.html>link</a>

I think there's a difference between an elected official and someone running for office to cry in public. The former will be given a pass since they've already been vetted and duly elected. The latter is looking to be vetted. The last thing people want to think is that a potential leader has an emotional problem. And yes, I think it's worse for a woman who's striving for office. It's not fair, but the *prime* stereotype a woman must overcome is that she's emotionally stable.

Whether genuine or feigned this was a big mistake and sign that the Clinton machine might very well be grinding to a halt.

.02

 

[Jeff Miller]

i think its rediculous to think that after 1 primary out of 50 people and media are trying to call the election over. I think the media needs to shut the hell up and let the other 49 states have their say.

 

[SaintsFan11]

I think she can recover from this.

If it was a guy you could go ahead and engrave his political tombstone with the words "He Cried". Male politicians are only allowed to cry as a sign of patriotism. Anything else is weak and unacceptable.

See: Ed Muskie

A male politician cannot cry except as a show of patriotism or possibly after a great victory. For instance, if Obama won the Presidency and got choked up in his victory speech talking about whatever obstacles he may claim to have overcome, people will say 'what a great leader, blah, blah, blah.'

Of course, sobbing is terrible for anyone.

The only recent example of crying is Blanco after Katrina, but I think the backlash over that was more because she showed no leadership. Of course, this was after a tragedy whereas Clinton is really only lamenting the fact that her vision for America is slipping away.

My gut tells me that the effect of this will be muted because the people who would respond to Hillary's tears are probably already in her camp, and the people who would be turned off never were.

 

[CitySaint]

I still believe Hillary will get the nomination despite the early hype.

 

[SoonerJim]

She probably has data making her electoral toast. None of this is an accident. This is the result of a voting hemorrage.

 

[gavinj]

Remember the Bill Clinton funeral vid? I had forgotten about it. Shows up to the funeral chuckling, sees the camera, immediately drops his head - grimaces - and starts wiping the tears from his eyes. LMAO

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vDtcyVbPvC4&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vDtcyVbPvC4&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

 

[Ti Rider]

Sorry but as a cynic and longtime Clinton observer I must paraphrase Fred Thompson's character from 'Hunt for Red October' - "The Clintons don't take a dump without first considering the political reprecussions". Obama is doing well with women. This is clearly an attempt by the Clinton campaign to humanize, soften, and give her a tiny bit of "victim" status to make her more appealing to women. It's supposed to make women look at her and say - "You go sister, We've all had to sacrifice so much to succceed in this man's world". Will it work? Well.....in a country that hangs on every stupid exploit of Brittany, Paris, and Lindsay what do you think?

This was just another chess move. It hardly finishes her campaign. Hillary's in for the long haul - this is her shot. She'll be 61 this year. If she doesn't get the nomination now it's possible she would be nearly 70 before she get another shot. So she's in it for the long run. There's virtual no chance she drops out before the Democratic Convention. She's got a huge campaign warchest and the political machine that got her husband elected twice. I suspect the Clinton political machine has been "playing nice" until a frontrunning opponent emerged. Now that Obama has, expect Clinton's team to ratchet it up and destroy him like they did to Bill's political rivals in the past.......

 

[SoonerJim]

After 28 years of potential Bush/Clinton hegemony, her demise is welcomed as balm for the Republic. Her executive experience in the WH consists of the healthcare fiasco in 1994, and the absolute requirement for a female AG, finally filled on the third try by the social worker Janet Reno. Between Waco, the revenge OKC bombing, and the handling of Elian gonzales which sent the Florida cuban vote to Bush in 1994, Hillary was at the vortex of these developments. This doesn't address the other fabled exploits of the Clintons which are legion in their, as Obama would say, "audacity".

 

[DadsDream]

After watching it on the CBS Evening News, I have three words...

Calculating.
Contrived.
Manipulative.

 

[RJ in Lafayette]

I hope it hurts her.

There are three ways to look at it, and two are bad for Hillary: (1) it was contrived, (2) it was sincere and calls into question whether she can handle the stress of being president, or (3) it was sincere and makes her more human and therefore more attractive. Is there an internal campaign e-mail somewhere suggesting that Hillary shed a few tears? My own assessment: one-third sincere, two-thirds contrived. The emotion displayed was honest, but like her best debate moment Saturday when she feigned injury when asked about likeability, a sense of being on stage and desire for the dramatic took over.

Hillary is not going away because of Iowa and New Hampshire. She has spent an entire adult life thinking about political power, if not the presidency. She is not going away quietly. The problem with the contrived tears scenario is that it's too late to change her image in New Hampshire and affect that state's primary. And the new sensitive Hillary image will last about 48 hours before her campaign goes ballistic after New Hampshire in a scorched earth approach against Obama.

My question: After New Hampshire, especially if Obama wins by eight points or more, what will the black political establishment do? Will it continue in substantial part to stand by Hillary? Or will it communicate to Bill that the price of the favor he is seeking has become too great?

 

[FWtex]

That was 100% contrived. It looks like she is thinking, "what can I do to make an impact with this opportunity."

Hillary is the Paris Hilton of politics. People know her and thats gotten her a long way, but when it comes to distiquishing herself above others she has no game. Her only claim for the job is that she has experience and can start from day one. Well, problem is she and everyone talks about change and she is not change ... she is old school and old news.

 

[Dougd]

Presidents don't cry tears of frustration. Real or not, it was not presidential.

 

[Severum]

I'm sure Penn polled and focus grouped every possible emotion.

My question: After New Hampshire, especially if Obama wins by eight points or more, what will the black political establishment do? Will it continue in substantial part to stand by Hillary? Or will it communicate to Bill that the price of the favor he is seeking has become too great?

I suspect they will begin to flock to Obama. Nobody wants to remain hitched to a losing candidate.

SC has begun to look like a sure loss for Clinton. Rasmussen is +12 Obama, SurveyUSA +20 Obama compared to a tie only two weeks ago. Clinton went from 37% to 23% black support in the same period per SUSA.