Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Hillary Brings the Wrong Kind of Unity




This is Hillary's new TV ad that she will be rolling out for the February 5th "Super Tuesday" primaries.

This ad left me totally confused.

Is she running for President, or neighborhood block captain? I mean, if she really wants to help someone out every day, all she has to do is stuff $5 into some homeless guy's coffee cup; there is no reason for her to run for President at all.

One thing is for sure: The job of President is not the one she is describing.

The job of President is to lead and inspire the nation to greatness.

It is to make tough (and correct) foreign policy decisions, and to send clear and trustworthy signals of strength to friends and enemies alike.

Does this sound like what Hillary is offering? Listen to it.

Hillary seems to be promising us less.

Less energy. Less inspiration. Less results. More staff meetings. Less strength.

She is promising that she will think smaller.

On the up side, she's really going to practice snapping her fingers.

Wow! Am I the only one who wonders how her campaign managed to screw up this three-line script? Modifiers are supposed to modify the last thing said.

And remember, Hillary says she is a great manager. Right. Consider the quality of this great ad made with an unlimited budget at the most critical time in her campaign.

What makes all of this so sad, strange and frustrating is that the world is hardly uncomfortable with strong women leaders.

Pakistan has had a strong woman leader, and so too has England. The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives is a woman, and so too are several important Governors and Senators.

Yet, search your memory. Can you every recall Dennis Thatcher having to fight Margaret Thatcher's battles? How about Benazir Bhutto? How about Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano? How about Senator Diane Feinstein? How about Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius?

No? Can you recall them shedding tears? No? Me either.

But here we are just three weeks into Hillary Clinton's campaign, and she's already got tears under her belt, and her adulterous husband is already being called in to fight her battles for her.

Which begs the question: What is Hillary going to do when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls her a whore? Is she going to resort to bleating and tears? Is she going to ask Bill to fly over and punch him in the nose to defend her honor?

Or, more likely, is she going to pull out her clipboard and schedule one more meeting with the United Nations while she tries to get everyone to "be nice and work it all out together?"

And if that doesn't work out, she'll try to think of some small way she can do some nice thing for an individual. Like the homeless guy across the street in Lafayette Park. "Here's four bucks, go get yourself a latte."

What's infuriating here is that most Americans would be thrilled to stand up, rally around, and vote for a woman candidate for President.

We are ready for a woman candidate -- hungry for one, in fact.

But for God's sake, give us someone tough and smart.

Give us someone who does not pull out the "victim" card every chance she can get.

Give us Janet Napolitano, or former Governor Anne Richards, or even Maggie Thatcher.

Give us someone who swings iron, and fights her own battles, and has a track record of honesty, integrity, and legislative success.

Hillary Clinton is none of that.

Yes, she is a smart woman, but she is not much more than that.

Smart women are a dime a dozen. We need more than a smart person to lead this country. We need a leader. We need a uniter.

And truth be told, the only thing Hillary Clinton is ever going to unite is the Republican Party.

In opposition to her.

And pardon me if I am not thrilled by that kind of unity.

We really can do better. Much, much better. See for yourself.


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2 comments:

BorderWars said...

What, no love for Condi? She is arguably the most powerful woman in the world, and she's a double counter.

PBurns said...

Actually I think Condi is very bright and has done a good job. That said, she has never run for any office and is appointed, not elected.

If I go to her level, there are scores of thousands of capable women to choose from -- in this country alone. See >> http://www.guide2womenleaders.com for a list of women leaders from the U.S. and around the world.

Bottom line: there is no shortage of good, capable women leaders in this country or anywhere else.

That is the very reason why cutting Hillary slack for her lying, cheating and thin resume does no one any good.

Hillary is not breaking ground, she is eroding it.

Patrick