Thursday, March 16, 2006

About Hillary

As Hillary Clinton keeps amassing heaps of money for her political campaign, the concern (as we all know) is whether she can be President. Not whether she'd be a good President, but whether she can get there at all. If there are so many doubts and fears, then who's giving her all this money? The Republicans?

I have a few burning questions, so I'll just come out and ask. Do you know anyone who likes Hillary? I know a lot people who agree with her and like the "idea" of a woman President, but don't like Hillary. Next question: Do you really need to be liked to be elected President?

I was at the Pho Cafe in Silverlake recently, eavesdropping on the table next to me. They were two people talking politics-- both liberals, both disliked Hillary. Why don't you like her, the woman asked? "Well, she's always wanted to be President," the man answered. Yes, she probably has. And?

I suspect that a lot of people don't like Hillary for reasons they can't quite articulate (or perhaps would rather not articulate). Hillary's much less popular than any other woman who's previously run for President, but that might be because she's the first woman to actually have a chance of winning.

As for me, I'll admit that whenever I think of Hillary, it's inevitably of her circa 1992, with the shoulder-length hair and the headband, talking about how she isn't Tammy Wynette. That was 14 years ago and still one of the first images I think about. Why is that?

So tell me, what's your theory on why people don't like Hillary? Even if you like her and/or her politics, tell me why other people don't like her.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

BTW- I really enjoy your blogs and look forward to them daily. The TV-related ones were great, too! Don't beat yourself up about excessive TV (well, I'm guilty of it too). So, about Hill---if I could take a stab at it... Actually, I've had the same burning question myself...and over the years overheard some Hillary-bashing conversations as well. Well, here's my pseudo-quasi-not-that well thought out analysis: I think her Over-Driven-Success Oriented Ways make most people feel badly about themselves...like who the hell is she and why haven't I or can't I do more? It's like a jealous thing, simplistically put. I don't know. Like the comment the man in the coffee shop made about her always wanting to be President (what a scheming wretch)---instead of commending that kind of ambition/success---people would rather she her or someone all punked down and victimized (like when Bill cheated on her and humiliated her she seemed more popular). Having said all that, I like her okay.

chanchow said...

Hey CSP! Good to hear from you! Thanks for the positivity about the chanchow. Love your comments!

About Hillary, no doubt that she is threatening to most people. She's blazing a trail that many people wish they'd blazed themselves. She's got it together and that's intimidating. She's the kind of person you'd never want to debate. It's hard not to feel inadequate in comparison.

In addition, I think people dislike her because they can't relate to her. Not that we can all relate to John Kerry or the Bushes, but at least we have met (or can imagine meeting) people like them. Law school was full of white guys who were practicing to be in politics (Kerry, Bush Sr, Gore). And living in NYC, you're bound to meet an underachieving trust fund baby at every hotel bar downtown (W). But I don't think many people have met a Hillary. She's not like your typical mom, sister, favorite aunt, classmate, girl down the street. She's sort of an unknown, which is partly why I think she's threatening and, by extension, unlikable. I'm curious to know whether wives who have been cheated on take a liking to Hillary. That's one group that can relate to her.

Octopus Grigori said...

I think it's because she doesn't use enough of those down home sayings involving dogs.