Why Hillary Clinton is so widely loved
Chimamanda Adichie writes in The Atlantic of how beloved Hillary Clinton is.
…millions of Americans, women and men, love her intelligence, her industriousness, her grit; they feel loyal to her, they will vote with enthusiasm for her.
Human beings change as they grow, but a person’s history speaks to who she is. There are millions who admire the tapestry of Hillary Clinton’s past: the first-ever student commencement speaker at Wellesley speaking boldly about making the impossible possible, the Yale law student interested in the rights of migrant farmworkers, the lawyer working with the Children’s Defense Fund, the first lady trying to make health care accessible for all Americans.
There are people who love how cleanly she slices through policy layers, how thoroughly she digests the small print. They remember that she won two terms to the United States Senate, where she was not only well-regarded but was known to get along with Republicans. They have confidence in her. There are people who rage at the media on her behalf, who see the coverage she too often receives as unfair. There are people who in a quiet, human way wish her well. There are people who, when Hillary Clinton becomes the first woman to be president of the United States, will weep from joy…
Because Hillary Clinton is a woman, she is judged too harshly for doing what most politicians do—hedging sometimes, waffling sometimes, evading sometimes. Politicians are ambitious; they have to be. Yet for Hillary Clinton, ambition is often an accusation. She is held responsible for her husband’s personal failings, in the gendered assumption that a wife is somehow an adult and a husband a child.
There are millions of Americans who do not have the self-indulgent expectation that a politician be perfect. They are frustrated that Hillary Clinton is allowed no complexity. And they love her.
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10 responses to Why Hillary Clinton is so widely loved
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arc99 November 4th, 2016 at 11:24
A lot of people across the political spectrum will scoff at the headline, and the very notion that anyone could possibly love Hillary Clinton. No doubt, lots of people who have never met her, do in fact “love” her in an abstract way. I can’t say that I have ever really “loved” any politician or having any real emotional attachment. Only exception that comes to mind is 11/22/1963. I was 11 years old. I broke down and cried when Walter Cronkite told us that John Kennedy was dead.
I question the wisdom of people having too much “love” for the candidates they vote for. To me it reeks of the kind of cult of personality which goes hand in hand with fascism. Trump is a shining example.
But to address the main point of the headline, there are lots of people who will be voting for Hillary and there will be lots of people voting for Trump, and it will not be because of love. Lots of people are disappointed with both choices. I share their frustration to a certain extent. However when looking at the reasons why the selection of candidates is less than ideal, we will need a mirror to cover all of those reasons.
Time and time again we ask why we cannot have better candidates. Time and time again we see that when someone does run for political office, they are attacked not just on policy, but on their ethics, their integrity, as well as cheap personal attacks. And let us not pretend those attacks come only from the right against liberal and Democratic candidates. I have lost of track of how many idiotic fat jokes about New Jersey Gov. Christie I have seen in this forum and others.
So to everyone who complains about our choices of candidates, I would ask why in the world should our best and brightest subject themselves and more importantly their family and loves ones to the ugly mean-spirited diatribes that are common in contemporary politics? When we talk about qualifications for office, the two which top the list are money, and a thick skin to endure the inevitable nastiness coming your way.
If Americans of all stripes are disappointed with their choices, I say we are the people causing the problem. We expect strong, competent, ethical leaders to enter politics and subject themselves and their family to the ongoing hate-fest that is the American election cycle. Why should they do that when they can earn twice the income in the private sector without having their friends and loved ones villified on cable news and Twitter?
mea_mark November 4th, 2016 at 11:50
I don’t think it is so much the people that are the problem, it’s the system. A two party winner take all system just doesn’t represent enough of the people. It causes excessive fighting and argueing. We really need a system that includes more people and gives as many people as possible a voice in their government. The more people that get their voices heard, the more we would build coalitions to govern ourselves effectively. We really do need election reform in America and perhaps a whole new system of representation and governance.
BigD November 4th, 2016 at 14:02
If you had been attacked by the massive RWNJ hate media machine since the 1990s, I bet you wouldn’t still be standing tall like Hillary. She is awesome to millions of women and enlightened men. She is so ready to move us forward from day one. I feel bad that you just don’t get it.
arc99 November 4th, 2016 at 14:05
I feel bad that you clearly do not understand what I wrote…
Robert M. Snyder November 4th, 2016 at 16:32
That’s one of the best posts I’ve read here in a long time. Agree 100%.
oldfart November 4th, 2016 at 12:08
I’ll give her four years to develop a crush for her…
When it comes to ANY politician, my love is not blind.
Watt_deFalk November 4th, 2016 at 15:57
Crush? Love? I’m sick of people all across the political spectrum treating candidates for public service like they’re TV stars. Symptomatic of a culture where schools are nothing but jails, freedom of speech means a dumbshit’s opinions are as valuable as a thinking person’s, and too few can distinguish advertising from information.
OK, so I overreacted to your offhand little remark… felt good to rant.
oldfart November 4th, 2016 at 20:41
Glad to hear you feel better…I think.
I call it, tongue in cheek but what ever.
BigD November 4th, 2016 at 14:00
I have waited my whole adult life to be able to vote for a qualified Dem woman. It is so sad that so many Americans have been brainwashed and propagandized by the RWNJ mass media machine to hate Hillary. They started their hate attacks going back to the 1990s. Hillary is knowledgeable, caring, able to take criticism and is a fighter who will prove it every day just like Obama did. My husband and I will proudly vote for Hillary and Tim next Tuesday.
The Original Just Me November 4th, 2016 at 23:03
” I STILL BELIEVE IN HILLARY !!! “