Peggy Noonan wonders:
Some time back I said she doesn't have to prove she is a man, she has to prove she is a woman. Her problem is not her sex, as she and her campaign pretend. That she is a woman is a boon to her, a source of latent power. But to make it work, she has to seem like a woman.
As Noonan points out, Hillary has gone full force convincing us of such. She talks about Chelsea's childhood now. She makes teasing references to her fashion and hairstyle choices. She goes on "The View." And I might add, she show us her delightful laugh on the Sunday morning shows.
But what Noonan understands is that Hillary is pretending and we all know that:
She is trying every day to change her image, and I suspect it's working. One senses not that she has become more authentic, but that she has gone beyond her own discomfort at her lack of authenticity. I am not saying she has learned to be herself. I think after a year on the trail she's learned how to not be herself, how to comfortably adopt a skin and play a part.
We all know Hillary well enough. As Noonan points out:
No close or longtime observer has ever been quoted as saying that she may be too soft for the job. Instead one worries about what has always seemed her characterological bellicosity. She invented the War Room, listened in on the wiretaps, brought into the White House the man who got the private FBI files of the Clintons' perceived enemies.
More:
It's always high drama with her, always a cauldron--secret Web sites put up by unnamed operatives smearing Barack Obama in the tones of Tokyo Rose, Chinese businessmen having breakdowns on trains after the campaign cash is traced back, secret deals. It's always flying monkeys. One always wants to ask: Why? What is this?
I had to laugh at the flying monkeys and cauldron references. Is she calling Hillary the umm.....owner of said monkeys? That's not like my Peggy!
Anyway, my feeling is that if Hillary can convince enough moderates that she is tough enough to use our military if necessary AND convince women in America that she is just like them, she can win.
Many women have empathy for Hillary. They know what's it like to be married to a jerk who seems perfectly wonderful in public, but treats his wife terribly on the side. They know what it's like to stay with a man like this for a myriad of reasons. They see the political system awash with men in suits and like the idea of a woman in charge.
Hillary can win as long as the masks stays on. But make no mistake about it, the radical feminist you see above is the real Hillary.
The Hillary you see on TV every night is the one wearing the stage makeup and hair.
Some time back I said she doesn't have to prove she is a man, she has to prove she is a woman. Her problem is not her sex, as she and her campaign pretend. That she is a woman is a boon to her, a source of latent power. But to make it work, she has to seem like a woman.
As Noonan points out, Hillary has gone full force convincing us of such. She talks about Chelsea's childhood now. She makes teasing references to her fashion and hairstyle choices. She goes on "The View." And I might add, she show us her delightful laugh on the Sunday morning shows.
But what Noonan understands is that Hillary is pretending and we all know that:
She is trying every day to change her image, and I suspect it's working. One senses not that she has become more authentic, but that she has gone beyond her own discomfort at her lack of authenticity. I am not saying she has learned to be herself. I think after a year on the trail she's learned how to not be herself, how to comfortably adopt a skin and play a part.
We all know Hillary well enough. As Noonan points out:
No close or longtime observer has ever been quoted as saying that she may be too soft for the job. Instead one worries about what has always seemed her characterological bellicosity. She invented the War Room, listened in on the wiretaps, brought into the White House the man who got the private FBI files of the Clintons' perceived enemies.
More:
It's always high drama with her, always a cauldron--secret Web sites put up by unnamed operatives smearing Barack Obama in the tones of Tokyo Rose, Chinese businessmen having breakdowns on trains after the campaign cash is traced back, secret deals. It's always flying monkeys. One always wants to ask: Why? What is this?
I had to laugh at the flying monkeys and cauldron references. Is she calling Hillary the umm.....owner of said monkeys? That's not like my Peggy!
Anyway, my feeling is that if Hillary can convince enough moderates that she is tough enough to use our military if necessary AND convince women in America that she is just like them, she can win.
Many women have empathy for Hillary. They know what's it like to be married to a jerk who seems perfectly wonderful in public, but treats his wife terribly on the side. They know what it's like to stay with a man like this for a myriad of reasons. They see the political system awash with men in suits and like the idea of a woman in charge.
Hillary can win as long as the masks stays on. But make no mistake about it, the radical feminist you see above is the real Hillary.
The Hillary you see on TV every night is the one wearing the stage makeup and hair.
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