The enigmatic Hillary Clinton
Though the Democratic convention is over a year away, the Democratic Party struggles with unpredictability as to who will be their candidate in the 2016 Presidential election. Right now only Sec’y of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senate Bernie Sanders are showing any support by the average Democratic voter. While Sec’y Clinton currently leads in the poles, Senator Sanders continues to move up in the standing which suggest Sec’y Clinton’s inevitability is in question. Added to her slippage in the poles is the possibility that current Vice President Joe Biden is considering a run for the 2016 Democratic nomination. And recent poles show Biden, if he should run, doing very well against most of the Republican presidential candidates.
As her campaign moves forward Hillary is slipping in the polls and beleaguered by controversy. When a Quinnipiac survey asked the respondents to name the first word that comes to mind [with Hillary Clinton], the response was “liar” followed by “dishonest” and “untrustworthy.” She places blame solely on “the vast right ring conspiracy” but on some level she has to contemplate how her actions may have fostered such negativity and suspicion. A lyric by songster Kris Kristofferson comes to mind that could apply to Hillary’s persona – as “a walking contradiction partly truth and party fiction finding all the wrong directions on a lonely way back home.”
Early on Hillary revealed her predilections. During the nationally broadcast 1992 “60 Minutes” interview of her and then Candidate Bill Clinton by Steve Kroft the questions centered on his alleged 12 year affair with Jennifer Flowers. Rumors hovered over him like a swarm of wasps. When pressed by the Kroft about the rumors her response was sarcastic and angry. Instead of denouncing his actions she said “I am not sitting here like some little woman standing by her man like Tammy Wynette! I am sitting here because I love him and respect him!” As I recall Bill sat there beside her but said nothing. Feminists shuddered. Bill enhanced her standing among women when he declared the a vote for him was a two for one vote – a dual presidency. Despite his history Hillary stood by Bill as he denied a relationship with Monica Lewinsky claiming, once again, the press was out to get him. When the charges became incontrovertible she displayed anger, for a while. Later, it was reported, Hillary told a friend that Monica Lewinsky was a “narcissistic loony toon.” Dismissing her husbands repeated affairs and they blaming ‘the women’ is not a feminist position. Her actions reveal “a kind of stand by [her] kind of woman.”
Now we move 25+ years later and are watching Mrs. Clinton struggle to try and explain why she had a habit of using only one internet server when she was Sec’y of State for personal and State business.. Each time she tries to explain why she did not abide by state department rules she dances around the question saying, “The rules were changed after I became Sec’y of State and therefore didn’t really apply to me.” Or “The emails weren’t marked confidential” or the information was “deemed confidential after I sent the email.” If that doesn’t end the inquiries, she blames her usual suspect, the vast…. . They never name the culprits, their assumption being not naming them will make it easier to claim, “It’s them again again.”
Many bright people whom I respect say that she is very smart, experienced, and affable. Which raises the question: Why is it she does some very stupid things over and over and keeps getting caught for doing them? Why does she continually push the envelope. She should avoid any behaviors that could be even remotely linked to impropriety. It doesn’t make sense. It is not smart. It is the water in Arkansas or Chappaqua New York? I spent twenty-two years drinking Washington DC water and have pretty much kept out of trouble for the past fifteen years we’ve lived in Sonoma. And I haven’t read of a water sickness rampages in DC or Chappaqua. It is a puzzlement. It is a flirt with danger.
Which brings to the title of this column: The Enigmatic Hillary Clinton! The online dictionary defines an enigmatic person as “a person of puzzling or contradictory character. Over the past 25 + years Hillary Clinton has come across to me as pretty much in line with this definition of enigmatic and given her age and standing it is highly unlikely that she can change her puzzling and contradictory behaviors. Which leaves me to say that if Joe Biden doesn’t declares his candidacy I will be voting for Bernie Sanders in the primary and will be writing in Joe Biden’s name in the general election in November of 2016. But wait! A Republican President appointing Supreme Court Justices – can’t have that. It’s a real dilemma!
