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.
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."
LOL
The bent one dies tragically and his grieving widow runs for President.
Basically, she's just passable when speaking about something she believes in and fails miserably when she spouts her nonsense.
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