Posted on 05/24/2006 12:24:18 AM PDT by MadIvan
Hillary Clinton may be the Democratic front-runner for the presidency but she seems to have a lot to learn about campaigning for the White House.
In a weighty speech to journalists at the National Press Club in Washington yesterday, the senator squandered an opportunity to shine before a critically important audience - the journalists who will present her to the public if, as expected, she declares her candidacy for the 2008 nomination.
It began well enough. Resplendent in a lemon yellow two-piece and expensively bejewelled, her star power was plain the moment she entered the room. Everywhere, necks craned for a sight of the immaculately coiffured New York senator.
But then she lost it. The half-hour speech was achingly dull, a meandering lecture on energy policy which left the audience stifling yawns.
It was hard not to recall the charisma of her husband, Bill, the former president, and Mrs Clinton seemed to sense things had not gone well.
As she droned towards the finish, she looked out at a silent, glassy-eyed audience and acknowledged that her speech was a little unusual. "I know this is probably more wonkish than many of you had anticipated," she said, moments after offering her plans for something called geologic carbon sequestration. "But I feel very strongly about it."
There was a murmur of laughter but only minutes earlier some of those at the breakfast meeting appeared to have slumped into unconsciousness.
Others stifled yawns, held their chins in their hands or stared at the carpet or ceiling. By the time two women peace protesters made their predictable intervention on Iraq (and were predictably carried out by Mrs Clinton's burly secret servicemen) the assembled journalists had largely stopped listening.
The melee did at least open the way for questions. Mrs Clinton was asked: "You're here to talk about energy, but most people are here because they think you will run for president." She affected surprise before offering a cautious and well-rehearsed answer, claiming that she didn't think about such things.
However preposterous her response (she has raised more than £10 million for a senate re-election battle which will cost far less), there was a respectful silence. But everyone laughed when she was asked what she would like to be remembered for if her career ended now. "I don't want it to end now," she said.
That sort of ambiguity feeds America's fascination with Mrs Clinton.
Yesterday a 2,000-word examination of the Clinton marriage in the New York Times, produced no firm conclusion other than Mr Clinton remained by far the better public performer while she was "starchy". Her performance yesterday did nothing to overturn that notion.
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
"...the senator squandered an opportunity to shine before a critically important audience..." Excuse me if I chuckle at the idea they are "critical" of Hillary in any way.
Which I predict she will declare on 6/6/06.
should be "who will represent her to the public.."
I flipped into C-Span just as the event was ending and saw Hillary wearing that "lemon yellow" silk pantsuit. I swear, an exact replica of what she wore standing behind Clinton when he did his finger wagging, "I did not have sex with that woman...Ms Lewinsky" declaration.
She often wears pastel colored, silk pants suits reminiscent of what she sported as First Lady. Turquoise, peach, but you think she'd avoid that yellow one.
****
"America's fascination with Mrs Clinton" --- "fascination"? --- where was the BARF ALERT?
;-)
Bunk. The leftwingnut "journalists" (aka propaganda practitioners) and the lunatic base will come out in full force for Hitlery.
Oh, they might stage some very public "spats" or critiques of Clinton (like the "marriage" story on the front of the NY Slimes earlier this week) but make no mistake...the left's utter contempt for traditional values and conservatism, for strength in foreign policy and freedom from government confiscation of your labor will drive them to promote the junior senator from New York to the Oval Office.
I don't think they'll succeed--but they will definitely try.
This report is merely a precursor of what we can expect if Hillary when annouces she is running for the presidency. The report is mildly critical of her delivery of the speech, but, by and large, is laudatory of Hillary.
I boldfaced "wonkish" in the cited passage because I think Hillary appears to be laying the groundwork and signaling the media that she is indeed the "smartest woman" in the universe. This ploy is exactly what has transpired in too many elections in the past. The only Republican candidate that I can recall as being considered reasonably bright by the media is Richard Nixon. On the other hand, the media has made a list of inellectual giants out of the likes of Adlai Stevenson, Jimmy Carter, Michael Dukakis, Bill Clinton, Al Gore and John Kerry.
Ya think Dodd is going to slide through while these two phonies fight each other to death?
Sheesh. When some wacko protester confronts Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, it is front page news.
Numerous front page stories about Rumsfeld's protester
Hillary's boring speech gets protested, and the reporters still yawn and hardly bothered to tell us.
I submit to you that Hillary! is pulling the same move here. This speech was aimed at the Press Corps, and meant to convince them that she was a serious thinker about policy. It accomplished that mission. From now on, whenever she makes a really stupid statement (which she does, on average, every 18 minutes) the MSM will scratch it's collective head and wonder how such an intelligent woman could say such idiotic things.
The Clintons have only one playbook, and they keep running the same plays over and over again. Eventually the Cowboys figured out how to stop the Redskin's Counter Trey. We 'Pubbies have to learn how to stop these plays.
Look for Hillary! to stage her own "Sistah Souljah" moment sometime within the next two months.
What's worse is this is written in a suposedly right wing paper.
They should be ripping into her, instead of giving her a pass.
One of the big media dudes said that if Hillary WAS SMART, she'd just stay in the Senate for 20 years. Sounded like a BIG "No Confidence" in winning the Presidency.
I marvel at peoples' politeness. Being a classless clod, I would have said,
"who will pimp her to the public.."
But, but, but, ...
This is the unbiased, CRITICAL national press corpse. (Er, corps.)
Our "snob" town didn't want a windmill in their back yard either. "Unsightly" they said.
We have a windmill down the road a bit. Very cool and I have yet to see a bird be attacked by the windmill. I have seen a robin deadbreast laid out under my patio door!!
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