“I Think I Would Really Like Hillary Clinton If I Knew Her Personally”
By NoQuarter on February 3, 2008 at 8:34 PM in Chelsea Clinton, Chris Matthews, Hillary Clinton
While listening to Tom Petty … “I won’t back down” … during the Super Bowl Halftime show, I was reading this beautiful, personally touching diary posted at Daily Kos and at MyDD. The entire diary is special, but here’s just a snippet that meant a lot to me because it’s very hard for me, as a supporter, to read and hear the cruel attacks on her:
This year I watched in Chicago when Hillary Clinton came to Yearly Kos [the second annual national convention of bloggers and diarists at Daily Kos]. She was not in friendly territory. Kossacks were respectful enough but it was clear by and large that their hearts belonged to someone else. Several someone elses in fact. Hillary Clinton was viewed as the establishment by a crowd who saw themselves as an insurgency. But she was there and she sat on that stage through a nearly two hour debate not shying away from positions that were not tailored to win that audience’s approval. And Hillary remained in good humor throughout all of it.
That is something I have been thinking about today. I think MoveOn.org’s rejection of Hillary as a candidate may have something to do with my thinking along these lines. Hillary Clinton, you may recall, defended MoveOn.org when they were red-baited in the U.S. Senate, and she was in a minority of Senators who did so. Hillary never runs against the left no matter how ugly the attacks on her have been. She keeps seeking our support respectfully, whether or not the netroots treat her respectfully in return. That is classy, and, I think, a public reflection of the private grace that her own family is more privy to seeing than we.
I see Hillary forced to banter with people like Chris Matthews and I come away impressed. He could have been knifing her yesterday and Hillary will still embrace him in public while dead panning “I don’t know how to handle men who are obsessed with me”; but the truth is she has handled all of them, all of the Hillary hating, double standard setting, sexist talking head media males extremely well. They are the divisive ones, the unlikable ones, not Hillary Clinton.
Here’s more, from the beginning of the diary:
[H]ow would it affect me if that type of bitter derision and accusatory hatred was aimed toward me every day? And not just by those who I can understand may have good reason to be my enemy, but also by those whose goals and vision for America I too share. A whole lot worse than it has effected her was my very quick and certain answer for myself. And Hillary has been dealing with this, to greater and lesser extents daily for over 15 years. All because she long ago dedicated her life to making a positive difference in other people’s lives.
That is really what this is about for her, I have no real doubt about that. And I know that Hillary Clinton is far from being alone in politics in having made that type of personal commitment. But very few have been attacked as fiercely, as relentlessly, and for as long because of that commitment than Hillary Clinton has. She has incredible inner strength. Many people notice that, but lately I have been seeing the grace in Hillary Clinton also. Though sometimes she flashes angry, it doesn’t harden into bitterness. Hillary can take a punch and come back swinging, but she knows when, and how, to take off her boxing gloves when each round is over.
Hillary’s words of unity may not sound as inspirational as another famous Democrat whose name pops up a lot nowadays, but she knows how to live those words. She does it so our nation might prosper. Less than three years after the Republican dominated United States Senate tried her husband in public for high crimes and misdemeanors in an attempt to remove him from office, Hillary Clinton entered that chamber as a Senator herself. She went hard to work building the type of connections that were necessary to accomplish goals on behalf of her constituents in a divided chamber under the control of Republicans. And by all reports she succeeded.
On a very personal level Hillary’s own house was earlier divided, while people across the globe discussed her husband’s semen stain on another womens dress. It pains me to write that, what must it have been like to live it? Not only did Hillary Clinton find the strength to hold her head high and continue to function in public, but she stepped forward on a political level to call out by name “the vast right wing conspiracy” then attempting a quasi legal governmental coup against the elected President - her husband.
And Hillary continued to raise her teen age daughter throughout all of it, somehow shielding Chelsea’s spirit from the soul deadening effect of the toxins that swirled around their lives. …
Read all of Tom Rinaldo’s moving diary, “I Think I Would Really Like Hillary Clinton If I Knew Her Personally.”
I was reading about Clinton’s difficult childhood, her father, according to the source I read, was abusive toward her mother, and Hillary, of whom perfection was expected, and even then, not good enough.
Toughens a girl up.
In this day and age of Oprah, I found it admirable she did not once fall back on any excuse to gain public sympathy,despite the brutal humiliations, and I mean BRUTAL, regarding her husband and reputation. She bravely soldiered through, STILL not trading on her childhood difficulties.
This is why, some surmise, she presents a carefully controlled face to the public, this was the face her family showed to the public. Anyone brought up in a chaotic but somewhat supportive home understands.
No self pity, either.
And still, she protects her family, she stood by Bill, and Chelsea, maintaining dignity and poise.
Really, a very rare and remarkable trait.
I wish more people would see it.
Is that why she always talks about the difficult life her mother had (aside from her mother’s tragic childhood)?
It’s so lovely that her mother lives in their beautiful home — the first real home they’ve had aside from “public” housing in decades. It’s fitting that she spend her last years in luxury and great comfort. Wonderful.
And Chelsea is a tribute to both parents — she’s always appropriate in her behavior, elegant, respectful, cordial. Amazing young woman.
It’s amazing how Hillary deals with all of those people who’ve been so cruel, at various times, to her and/or to her husband. Oh god, and those horrible things they said about Chelsea when she was a teen.
SIMON: I went off on my own track, but wanted to acknowledge your very thoughtful response to that lovely diary.
In relation to Hillary dealing with great maturity and dignity at all the great vitriol directed at her - did you see Issa on Bill Maher Friday? He could not answer why he hates her; no one can. He came up with a ridiculous claim that she proposed a health care plan that no one found palatable, huh? They jumped on his absolutely silly reason. This is all to say that when you pin someone down to answer why they hate her they cannot tell you why, it’s all emotional. Bill Maher did a nice job sticking up for her.
I saw a side of Hillary I hadn’t seen before, and I was impressed.
I never saw her as cold, I always saw her as highly competent, the idea a woman has to cater to and charm men while running a country, or a state, is to me, nonsense. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, so do the best you can…
But to understand in more detail why she is so protective was moving, really, I admire her even more for not falling back on easy excuses, and self pity.
And thank you, Susan, for your great work, I always look forward to your diaries, I learn so much.
You do all the work, we benefit.
I have seen it; at exactly the time when she was being questioned and she stated “the vast right wing conspiracy”
That was so heart wrenching. I came from a very similar childhood. And the oldest in the family so I know what it is like to be iron fisted and a female. However we do have feelings and they run deep, you hide them and there seems to be no one to share them with..
Little men are scared of Hiliary. She’s smarter and more disciplined than they will ever be. So they hate her because they’re completely and totally out-classed.
That explains men. WHat about women?
Some other women hate her because either:
1. Their preacher tells them to;
or,
2. They sense that, in the final analysis, they can’t carry HRC’s shoes.
I’m sure Hillary is a fine person, but an example of why many people don’t like her is the race baiting in South Carolina. She’s divisive because it suits her purpose.
rich … explain to me in detail how hillary was using “race baiting” tactics … be specific if you can. i really want you to be very clear about when and where. also, clearly identify your sources.
HaHa, good luck getting that. All I’ve ever seen is some fabricated stuff or misquotes etc. Really pathetic that people keep making these race charges and it just can’t be backed up with facts.
Or how about he provides us with some insight on the overall campaign strategy of the Clintons and how the tactic of “race baiting” could ever be of benefit to her campaign. She already had the vast majority of the white vote, the woman vote, the latino vote and a fair percentage of the black vote and was making gains in that area when the “race baiting” charges became vogue. Unfortunately for you Obama supporters I think you’ve been duped by a very cynical campaign strategy that only benefits one person, Obama. I think his campaign staff saw the writing on the wall after New Hampshire and knew that dropping “race baiting charges” was the only way to solidify his base support of African Americans and to pick up white voters in the process. He was counting on the backlash against Hillary to gain sympathy votes and to help gloss over his mediocre record and his blatant flip flopping and pandering. Hillary on the other hand has nothing to gain from race baiting and everything to lose. Really, do the Obama supporters think that Hillary and Bill were campaigning in South Carolina to create discord with black voters? It is so preposterous that it strains the imagination beyond belief. What were they doing in South Carolina? I’ll give a hint. They were asking for votes from African Americans, white people, and every other demographic from that state and it was working until the media went berzerk at Obama’s prompting. Frankly, if they thought that they were just going to lose and lose big then they’d have just skipped South Carolina and focused on a state that would matter in both the primary election and the general election. The race baiting charge is the biggest, bunch of nonsensical, idiotic bullshit I’ve ever heard. And this all leads into exactly why the Democrats have elected only 2 presidents since 1972. Right now we have probably the strongest candidate we’ve ever had in terms of character, strength, charisma, intelligence and compassion. Hillary Clinton is by far the best candidate for president and yet the party leadership and its extreme ideologues are tearing the party apart because she is an independent voice and isn’t controllable. We have the choice to nominate a great candidate in Hillary or a complete idiot in Obama. I am going to be surprised if the party does the right thing.
Thank you for that insight. I’ve long thought the same thing. During rare times when I’ve watched the MSM I’ve noticed anytime someone mentions that it was not in any way to her advantage to “race bait” that person is silenced or ignored.
My take was that going into NH, after the Iowa caucus the Obama people thought they had this thing wrapped up and were willing to leave it to the MSM and friends to kill her campaign with sexist comments. After all, get caught doing that and it’s “heh, heh, oops, didn’t mean to offend any of you hyper sensitive, over wrought girls, er, women”.
When Hillary won NH a new game plan was necessary and they remembered how successful the cocaine=racist accusation was. With Obama’s comparing himself to MLK several times a day, and MLK day coming up, it was just a matter of waiting for almost any quote. It didn’t take long. The MSM latched onto the alleged slur and ran with it with a little fanning of flames along the way. By the time they reached SC, I think almost any mention of “black” in any context would have been sufficient. They dogged Bill Clinton’s appearances until the had a suitable quote, in the mean time earning themselves a lecture on journalistic integrity which was portrayed as Clinton “lashing out, beside himself with anger, and out of control”. I think the whole thing worked beyond their wildest dreams.
WAKE UP PEOPLE.. this man (Obama) does not seem to have any original ideas or plans for this Great Country. He is like a college kid (maybe that is why they are being hoodwinked) plagiarizing, speeches and the proposed changes he will make when he is president; from Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.
my father was a tough ol bird … he was seriously wounded in ww11 … he was a china marine. one of the few times, i can actually recall my father becoming teary eyed was when he spoke of FDR and eleanor. he admired FDR, no doubt, but he dearly loved eleanor for what she did to work for the poor and later on how she protected the veterans. we had many a conversation about the roosevelts and their contributions to america.
the reason i bring this up is i just recently reread the excellent biography of the roosevelts written by doris kearns goodwin. i was struck, once again, of the similarities between eleanor and hillary. strong women married to the preeminent political genuises of their time … and both husbands also shared similar and profound character flaws. yet, somehow someway they found the courage to continue to serve on in their own ways. champions of the poor … no matter the race or gender. both were villified by political opponents and even sometimes people from their same party.
one of the silly games pundits play during any election is to ask the profound question of what candidate would you like to have over for dinner. well for me … john edwards and hillary clinton are always welcomed at my table … hell, i will just throw in a couple potatoes into the pot!
The Obamabots are the ones who insist on bringing race into everything. They twist everything to try to find a racial connotation. Go to Obamington Post, formerly known as the Huffington Post. If you dare question anything about Obama you are an old, white racist, probably a Klan member.
Susan, thanks for publishing that diary. It was very moving to me, as I’ve long wondered how people could NOT see what a special human being Hillary is. How could they not respect a woman who went through what she did in the ’90’s with such grace and then come out stronger for it?
Sometimes I think people just weren’t paying enough attention back then. How could they see the repugnant tactics of the republicans and turn around and blame it all on Hillary and tear apart her character for it. I can’t think of anyone in public office in this country who has ever had to go through the kind of onslaught the Clinton’s endured. But here we are all these years later, and people are blaming the victims when they should be questioning what is wrong with our press and our political system that this could happen. Just the fact that the press has worked so hard to foist Obama on us is a gigantic reason for me NOT to vote for him. And the flip side of that is that the press has been working so hard to tear Clinton down, that I could almost believe she was the best candidate even if I didn’t know anything else about her. I just hope the rest of the country isn’t as blind as I’m afraid they are, or we’re in for years more of the same.
People are not seeing the real Hillary Clinton because the Clinton hating media has conditioned people to hate her with no reason for doing so. It is sick and sad that any human being has to be so hated because a disgusting bunch of clowns with air space or columns get to twist and distort her every word and lie through their porcelain capped teeth when twisting isn’t enough. Bottom feeders the whole bunch of them. Led by cretins like Frank Rich and Bitchy Maureen Dowd who are supposedly liberal? Give me a break!
When dimwits like Chris Matthews say things about her “playing the victim” there are those of us that know that SHE WAS THE VICTIM YOU PINHEADS! And she went through all the slime and the daily doses of disgusting obsession about a damn blow job with her head held high and her dignity intact. What was she supposed to do, cry like a baby? We all saw how she was pounced on just for tearing up so you can imagine how well that would have worked.
She refused to let this incident bring her down. The media, and many radical feminists, will not forgive her for not leaving her husband and breaking up her family. I don’t know what I would have done. It was her decision to make and anyone with any integrity would leave it at that. Her refusal to give up and give in earned my respect. And the media’s continual attacks on her earned my utter contempt.
People also never got to see the real Al Gore because the media spent their time gleefully repeating the dishonest media spin about him, like the lie that he had claimed to have invented the internet. At the same time they gushed over what a straight shooter Bush was, even though he openly lied about things like his stand on a bill of rights for patients.
This is the real problem Democratic candidates have faced. Maybe their love affair with Obama will endure past the primaries, but he would likely go up against their old flame, McCain. And the Republican attack machine will gladly be providing bogus talking points.
Democrats have not only passively sat back and let the media get away with this behavior, many have been taken in by it. That is why so many Dems hate Hillary. They have drunk in the right wing Kool Aid that has been fed to them for years by our “liberal” media. It is time we all stood up to them.
Absolutely Bernie! Democrats are never portrayed honestly and Republican War-Mongering Flip-Floppers are touted as Mavericks and Straight-shooters. What a bunch of bull!
What a great uplifting diary by Tom Rinaldo blogging at the big orange & also posted to the (Wes) Clark Community Network - http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14589#comment-277739
It is very tiring to be be continuously & simultaneously hammered at about what a “polarizing” figure Clinton by the people doing the actual polarizing, all the while being stuffed full of how wonderful O! is.
What I love about Hillary Clinton is that she has grace under pressure in abundance.
I find Clinton to be an elusive creature rarest of all things, a highly skilled & pragmatic centrist, which will of course get you enemies on both ends. In my view, she will be able to much more effectively implement policy changes that have been properly prioritized.
What I long for is to get these two into isolation booths with pen (or pencil) and paper & four or five hours to write an essay about what exactly their first day in office will look like.
That alone, I believe, would be incredibly revealing, as would an essay about the proper scope of the presidency, as well as their philosophy about how to set priorities.
Thanks for this much needed & much appreciated take on Hillary Clinton. She’s an American original who doesn’t get adequate credit for being the American original she really is.
I love the story in her wiki of how in the summer of 1969 the former Goldwater Girl worked her way across Alaska, washing dishes in Mount McKinley National Park and sliming salmon in a fish processing cannery in Valdez (which fired her and shut down overnight when she complained about unhealthy conditions).
As a byproduct of having lived such a public life in the petri dish of the spotlight, I think many people feel that they “know” her - others seem to have swallowed the rightwing salted earth about her wholesale.
I think she is a bit of enigma, for all the reasons the diarist provides.