|
|
The XX Factor: Slate women blog about politics, etc...
-
Near Tears, Again
I hope none of the rest of you has ever cried at work, but I have—three times in 24 years—and though in theory it's no big deal, in reality it's humiliating. (That tally includes the day a friend's husband and only child were hit by a bus while crossing the street in New York, an occasion on which, though I think it would be accurate to say I was bawling after getting the call, nobody in the newsroom even looked up. The woman who sat next to me told me later she would have cut her phone interview short if she hadn't put it together that it wasn't my family that had been killed.) So first, if Hillary Clinton is getting tears in her eyes even semi-on purpose, then there really is no limit to what she is willing to endure to win this thing. I guess the glass-half-full view of this would be, wow, that is one committed candidate. But please, somebody tell me we are not sitting here wondering whether watery eyes are or are not a winning strategy for a woman in a presidential race. And this is a victory for our power base?
Of course, it could be sheer coincidence that Hillary Clinton showed a rare glimpse of emotion on the day before the New Hampshire primary and again on the day before Super Tuesday. Just as John Edwards could be waiting to endorse until he's decided for sure which of his former rivals would be the better president. And maybe Clinton and Barack Obama will join forces and form that Dream Team. Yet though I consider myself a sappier-than-average person, none of these scenarios strikes me as even remotely possible.
The first time Clinton got misty, I fell for it, but this time around, it's hard to see her as anything other than a woman who sticks with whatever has worked for her in the past—sometimes to the point of diminishing returns. (Yes, Bubba, I am lookin' at you.) So, if she does well on Super Tuesday, I'll lay down money that she will be similarly overwhelmed on Feb. 8, 9, and 11.
Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article?
|
|
|