Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Hillary's Inadvertant Metaphor

Hillary made a conscious decision long ago to try to game the system: she decided that rather than be a courageous, inspiring leader, she'd be a safe, moderate inevitability. So she set about girding herself against everything her attackers would use against her, irrespective of the reality of things. She would use the Senate to carefully construct a facsimile of herself from a tapestry of statements and votes. It would be Fort Hillary.

An example is the current Iraq posture. Everyone knows that she cast the vote for war because she calculated that Fort Hillary could not stand the charge of "weak woman" had she opposed it. Now she's in the unenviable position of rolling Fort Hillary out to try to explain why she voted for the war:
"I take responsibility for my vote. It was a sincere vote based on the facts and assurances we had at the time. Obviously I would not vote that way again if we knew then what we know now."
Much as she thought she couldn't afford to vote against the war for political reasons, she feels she can't admit she was wrong to vote for it now. The barrage she suffers at every press conference will continue because the explanation rings hollow.

All of this is a metaphor for why people aren't excited about her campaign: they don't want to have to vote for another human facsimile who doesn't have the courage to come out and speak from the heart. It is no secret that the two candidates most dangerous to Hillary are passionate truth-tellers. Obama shouldn't even be running for office after less than half a term in the Senate, but he's willing to sacrifice his fort for his heart. (Funny thing is, when he gives them the truth, they don't think it's hell--they love it.) Hillary can't tell the truth on Iraq and everyone knows it. They also know it's a metaphor for her entire candidacy. What's to get excited about?

2 comments:

Chuck Butcher said...

It's not only a metaphor it's a definition of her politics. I firmly believe she's the worst thing that could happen to the Democratic Party. I've never actively opposed a Democrat, I am now, at least partly because I don't see a Democrat, just a (D).

Zakariah Johnson said...

Agreed. And agreed. I'm continuously baffled by the description of Hillary as a "strong" or even "ballsy" candidate. She is one of the most calculating and timid out there.