Until Obama's surprising victory in the Iowa caucuses, Senator Clinton was considered to be the frontrunner for not only the Democratic nomination, but also to become the next president of the United States. Her decisive defeat in Iowa has left many wondering, "What else can Clinton do to win?" At least one blogger suggested that desperation would drive her to a public shedding of tears.
Now there is this from the ABCNews Political Radar Blog: Clinton choked up in public (click on the link in the text to see the video). After becoming clearly emotional, she goes on to indirectly attack the inexperience of Obama. Senator Clinton has always been vulnerable to charges of insincerity and cold calculation, and this incident has only highlighted the issue. Some claim that the real Clinton is at last showing through. Others argue that it is a deliberate stunt designed to make her seem more warm, compassionate, and sympathetic much like the seemingly sudden appearance of the "Hillary Cackle" which is seen here in this heavily manipulated montage:
Some questions to consider:
1. Are the tears an instance of insincerity and cold calculation or do they reflect the real Clinton?
2. Does it matter whether or not the tears are insincere and calculated if they work? Aren't all politicians expected to be calculating? Is it more important for a politician to be successful or sincere? Read the text of the ABC blog:
After the event, Pernold Young told ABC News that she was glad Clinton showed emotion.
"She allowed herself to feel," Pernold Young said. " I was surprised and I said, 'wow there's someone there.'"
Another woman in the group, Alison Hamilton of Portsmouth, New Hampshire said she, like most of the people in the group, had been considering Obama.
But after seeing Clinton become emotional, she said she was going to vote for Clinton.
"Her whole thing today really convinced me but that really did clinch it for me," Hamilton said. "She's very impressive."
The initial response seems to suggest that the tears were effective in changing people's minds about her. Does it matter if they were sincere?
It will be interesting to see the impact this might have on tomorrow's New Hampshire primary.
--Cicerone
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
ly·ce·um (l-sm)
n.
1. A hall in which public lectures, concerts, and similar programs are presented.
2. An organization sponsoring public programs and entertainment.
3. A lycée.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Latin Lycum, from Greek Lukeion, the school outside Athens where Aristotle taught (335-323 b.c.).]
+1 for Chris.
Nice copy and paste job. What's your source?
--Cicerone
a private person as opposed to a magistrate, ruler, king
a common soldier, as opposed to a military officer
a writer of prose as opposed to a poet
in the NT, an unlearned, illiterate, man as opposed to the learned and educated: one who is unskilled in any art
Personally, I think this incident with Clinton is a response to what Edwards said about his own motives were for running for office. During the abc/facebook debates Saturday, Edwards emphasized his personal battle against the system and how his bid for presidency is more than just politics. That is a very good platform to run off of and I think that Hilary and her campaign staff saw it as a good tool to use in dispelling her appearance as "cold" and "distant" to the American public. I don't think that all of it was fake because obviously anyone that spends so much time, energy, and money for something like a campaign for presidency has a personal agenda that motivates them to action. I still do not understand why the media says that she was crying, she just was a little choked up, nothing as dramatic as it was hyped up to be. Another example of how the media behaves with something like this.
Alimc39:
Good observations.
I think that Senator Clinton has been under more scrutiny this campaign than any other candidate because she is (or was) the front runner. You have to expect this kind of scrutiny if you are going to run for president. I think the press pushed this story because it is at the heart of her "issues"--is she warm and compassionate or a coldly calculating machine?
After watching the videos today, I think that the laughing was rehearsed. Although the video is manipulated to make Hillary Clinton look the worst, the laughing is still ridiculous. If she wants to be seen as a warm, caring person, she should just act that way. Laughing during every question is not only not appropriate for the type of interview she was doing,but it really doesn't accomplish the goal of making Hillary more personable. However, in the other video where she chokes up, I'm not so sure. It is a stressful job she is doing and she really does want to be President. If it weren't for the obviously rehearsed laughing video, I don't know if I would question the "crying" interview.
Post a Comment