In recent times, I have found myself at loggerheads with people who support Hillary Clinton. I also think that, in some ways, it is wrong that she evokes such strong negative opinions in me. I like to stay balanced in my perspective about things in general but in this case, this doesn't seem to hold true. I am still trying to figure out why this is the case but in the meantime, I would try and present the reasons I have been able to find out till now. I am a Obama supporter and some of it might sound like the campaign talking points..so bear with me:
1) Hillary, for a long time and even today, portrays a picture of entitlement, an almost baffled look at people's inability to understand her rightful right to the post of presidency. This entitlement seems to come from the fact that she is Bill Clinton's wife and more importantly, went through all the trauma during Clinton's impeachment all the time standing through the humiliation thrown at the family. I strongly resent anything that people claim as their own based on anything else except hard work.
2) She comes across as too calculative...almost maniacal in everything she does. What further compounds the problem is that she has a lot of difficulty hiding this calculative nature....one day she is nice, next day she is shouting and third day, she is sobbing!!! I am one of those people who thinks that she should have divorced Bill after the affair broke out, and by the way this was not the first time Bubba did this...think about Jennifer Flowers and Paula Jone et.al., and by not divorcing him, she set a bad example for everyone around. I think the calculation must have been that she stood to gain more by the sympathy of a woman mistreated by her husband and still standing up to everything that came their way.
3) Third reason is her husband and the general tenor of her campaign. In terms of pure numbers, it seems obvious that she has lost purely for strategic mistakes rather than because Barack has been flawless. When she decided, for whatever reason and no wonder: sense of entitlement and over confidence must have played into it, to not compete in 11 contests in February, you know that not many people she surrounded herself with had the guts to tell the lady the truth....and we will look back and evaluate the role of everyone around her at that time....people like Patti Solis Doyle, Mark Penn etc. Again it plays into the common narrative you hear about big people and the sycophancy they feed upon. So it is not whether why she is sticking around even after there is no chance of winning. Its about not having the grace to accept reality. Anything and everything goes to get elected...change rules to count Michigan and Florida, tell the world that caucuses do not matter and then states that have voted for Barack will not help Democrats win the general election. Last time I checked, even I will win California, New York and Massachusetts if I was the Democratic nominee.
I had been a huge fan of Bill Clinton for a very very long time...especially for his extraordinary speaking style as well as the fine work he has done around the world post presidency. What was completely baffling was the role he took up in Hillary's campaign... Some people really can't forget those good old days of peddling in power and care little for the legacy they are leaving behind. Bill Clinton has spoken previously about his appreciation for Karl Rove tactics in 2000 and 2004 elections and it seems that he decided that the best way to fight was by bloodying everyone around. Sadly, it didn't work this time and Clintons are not ready to accept what the reality is. Last time I checked out, the only other place around the world where you can find a parallel for this is Zimbabwe and Clintons have some fine company in the defiant Robert Mugabe!!!
4) And then the Bosnia incident...and how smoothly she lied about landing up in sniper fire....and then rather than acknowledging her lie, deciding to tell the world that " She Misspoke"!!. You know what Hillary, people in my country, India, bear this crap all their life with politicians like Mayavati, Laloo Prasad, Mulayam Singh and all...but that country has more than 40% illiterate people and they have so little money that they drive their bicycle 30 miles to a get one meal promised in a campaign rally. America is slightly different and you really cannot hope that people will ignore this kind of nonsense easily.
So as you can see, except for the fourth reason, the first three reasons I mention have to do with my perceptions based on what I have largely observed on television and electronic media. I have a lot of friends who point out this flaw in my argument and I do agree that I might be wrong. But then, isn't a good leader, and we all know how desperately America needs one right now!!!, about inspiring people, showing a sense of character and making people believe that they are capable of doing better than what they deem is possible? And really, does anyone really think Hillary can do that?
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