“She makes Imelda Marcos look like a Girl Scout. Oh,did I mention that I think she is evil?”
I think it’s unfair to compare Imelda Marcos to Hillary Clinton. Imelda was from semi-humble roots, but from childhood she was exposed to people of power. She used her striking beauty to advance herself in social and political circles. Somewhat like Hillary she was a money and power grubber once she got involved with Ferdinand Marcos, but that’s about where the similarity ends.
Imelda never forgot nor forsook the “little people”, and gave a lot of her money, ill-gotten or otherwise, to charity for the poor. She cleaned the gang scum from several places and completed beautification projects, especially Rizal Park, where common people could visit in safety.
The common people of the Philippines loved Imelda, and still do, though most hated Ferdinand. When Marcos appeared in public, it was Imelda the people came to see, not him. Without her Ferdinand would have been an unknown nobody. I remember seeing throngs of people in Manila shouting “Imelda! Imelda!”, and not one shout for Ferdinand.
Imelda did a lot to promote Filipino culture and arts, but was an extravagant spender which aroused the ire of some. She was charged with racketeering by the US but was acquitted in American courts. Certainly she was guilty to some degree, if only through association with Ferdinand, a thief of the first order.
I’ve learned through personal experience in Latin America, you can help some, but nobody can help all. And those you can’t help will always, to some degree, look on you as a greedy, heartless bastard. Most loved Imelda, a few hated her, but she was certainly NO Hillary Clinton.
Thank you for the reply and the information about Imelda. I must confess I never knew too much about her. All I knew was what from what I read and heard. but we know what the media is like for people like her.