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Cry Like a Man, Hillary!
Hillary Clinton bursts into tears, stunned at her own Herculean ability to keep campaigning. Edwards comes out cockswinging:
I think what we need in a commander-in-chief is strength and resolve, and presidential campaigns are tough business, but being president of the United States is also tough business.
Successful male politicians, of course, never cry. Here's George W displaying a stunning lack of resolve. Here's his dad falling apart over Jeb. Here's the other Clinton conveniently welling up as he spots a camera. Romney cries; brags about crying here.
|1.7.08 @ 5:33PM|#
I am not a Hillary supporter but the media seems to really enjoy taking her down, its a little bit sick. I'm still feeling a bit annoyed by what they did to Dean in 2004.
|1.7.08 @ 5:38PM|#
Not to worry. Politician tears are easily blotted away with fabric from the Constitution.
Edward|1.7.08 @ 5:41PM|#
Ron Paul is tough. He didn't even cry when he found that some secular atheist had removed all the references to God from the Constitution. He sat down and wrote boldly that they are there anyway. That's what the Ron paul Revolution is all about--seeing what isn't there!
h-dawg|1.7.08 @ 5:44PM|#
Didn't Hillary's people warn her that the folks in Manchester don't take too warmly to crying pols.
|1.7.08 @ 5:46PM|#
There are many delicate and expensive servos which could be damaged by those tears.
|1.7.08 @ 5:48PM|#
I am not a Hillary supporter but the media seems to really enjoy taking her down, its a little bit sick.
I'm not. I fucking hate dynasties.
|1.7.08 @ 5:49PM|#
I mean, as a woman, I know how hard it is to get out of the
house and get ready. Who does your hair?" Clinton chuckled, made a
few jokes about how she "has help" on certain days
"Voters just aren't the same today,"
I hear ev'ry pundit say
They just don't appreciate that you get tired
They're so hard to satisfy. You must tranquilise their minds
So go running for the shelter of the campaign's little helper
And four help you through the night, help to minimise your
plight.
Doctor,plese, some more of these
Outside the door, she took four more
What a drag it is at the polls.
Anthony|1.7.08 @ 5:51PM|#
worst case: the 'tears' were scripted in an attempt to use the
fact that she is a woman as an advantage to gain sympathy
not as bad case: she was sincere. however, i really am not looking
forward to Mama Clinton dictating how all 260 million of us should
live. Sometimes the scariest people of all are those who truly have
the best intentions.
|1.7.08 @ 5:52PM|#
I'm not. I fucking hate dynasties.
I wouldn't mind a Paul dynasty. Our next 4 presidents: Ron Paul,
Rand Paul, Rothbard Paul, and Rousseau Paul.
Gilbert Martin|1.7.08 @ 5:54PM|#
"I think what we need in a commander-in-chief is strength and
resolve, and presidential campaigns are tough business, but being
president of the United States is also tough business."
A good reason to keep the Breck Girl out of the oval office.
|1.7.08 @ 5:58PM|#
I don't understand how those people manage to keep it together as well as they do. Ever read about what it's like to live on the road during a campaign?
|1.7.08 @ 6:00PM|#
"I am not a Hillary supporter but the media seems to really
enjoy taking her down, its a little bit sick."
You mean the Liberal Mainstream Media? They are secretly plannin
the HRC campaign aren't they? Yes, there is all this rabid biting
at her, but who cares about that, evidence is for those weak kneed
liberals who refuse to just call it like they sees it!
|1.7.08 @ 6:01PM|#
If I had to campaign for office I would drink a great deal of
alcohol.
Wait, I already do that...
|1.7.08 @ 6:02PM|#
Your right, Joe.
All that make-up, bright lights, fans, wigs.... RuPaul must be
continuously exhausted!
|1.7.08 @ 6:06PM|#
I will respect her if she defeats Fedor Emelianenko (a friend who does martial arts sent me this link because, well, because it's pretty damn nuts).
Ventifact|1.7.08 @ 6:22PM|#
A Paul dynasty would be plenty bad. People tend to be libertarians or liberty-minded only when they are not the establishment. Like how upper-middle-class liberals are surprised by pro-gun-rights poor (nonwhite) liberals.
|1.7.08 @ 6:24PM|#
Minorities, especially poor ones, support gun control by a considerably higher margins than the public at large. Really bad example.
Ventifact|1.7.08 @ 6:25PM|#
By the way, great post Miss Howley. It's becoming apparent to
me, partially by monitoring my own reactions to "Hillary" (who for
various reasons colloquially does not get to have a last name like
other candidates) how psychologically difficult it is for most
folks to see H-Clint as another candidate among peers, without
being put off because of gender.
CNN posted a study awhile back (which I couldn't find) indicating
that both men and women perceive anger from a male authority figure
with respect, while they perceive female authority figures to be
acting inappropriately if they "loose their cool" and display
anger. That's just an example among
many on the subject indicating, for example, that both men
and women don't even actually notice when women get angry as
reliably as they notice male anger. I
don't like Mrs. Clinton's politics or history, but I don't like
indulging myself in misogyny by conflating objective faults of a
politician with sexist psychological habits.
This might be a decent time to mention for anyone on
reason's staff who notices or cares that Cathy Young was
the reason I started caring about this publication.
GILMORE|1.7.08 @ 6:25PM|#
I saw that clip on the news hour just now.
I found it totally calculated and staged to appeal to the
"pathetic" (read: emotive instead of appeal to reason or
authority)... which (not being like sexist or nothing) tends to
swing well with her middle aged female constituency.
"im going to so cry if I lose new hampshire! Dont you remember how
it felt when YOU lost the vote for prom queen? When you didnt get
promoted instead of that jerk down the hall? When your husband was
caught freaking interns half your age with a cigar tube? LETS GET
THOSE BASTARDS AND THEN WELL ALL HUG AND CHUG WHITE WINE YOU GO
GIRL!!!
I mean, that might read as a horribly cynical and unfair and sexist
POV, but call me nuts for knowing that Hillary doesnt weep on TV at
this stage in the game for no good reason
She and her consultants had thought they'd had this in the bag
since the beginning. those are tears of fear and resentment. Not
things you admire in the commander in chief.
God, I will be sick if I hear one more:
"It's about CHANGE!
.....HOPE!
(doer! not talker!)
.....BUZZ WORD#3!
(children)
.....CHANGE! CHANGE! HOPE FOR CHANGE!
(also,terrorists)
But I believe in change!
(mortgage bailout)
AND delivering Hope!
(mexican boogymen)
BELIEVING POSITIVE!
(children, children, children)
FOR MORE CHANGE THAN THE OTHER CHANGING CHANGERS PROMISING FALSE
CHANGE!
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGRGRGRGGGRGRG
What bothers me most about the run for the Lowest Common
Denominator in political speech these days is that it reveals less
about the candidates than the fact that treating the voting public
like kindergarteners/retards is the accepted best-practice.
Steven Douglas and Abe Lincoln's graves now registering on richter
scale from speeding, spontaneous corpse self-rotation
GILMORE|1.7.08 @ 6:33PM|#
I don't like indulging myself in misogyny by conflating
objective faults of a politician with sexist psychological
habits.
Well, i dont LIKE indulging, but there's this thing about calling a
spade a spade...
I mean for shits sake, if any male candidate got all weepy he'd be
dropped from consideration out of sheer self-respectability. Hilary
can get away with it because 'well, its not the same'.
I dont know of any presidential flashes of anger in recent times
that have earned points for anybody. CNN be damned... maybe thats
the case. But it says little about the self composure we should
naturally expect from people campaigning for the highest offices of
the country.
|1.7.08 @ 6:37PM|#
I mean for shits sake, if any male candidate got all weepy
he'd be dropped from consideration out of sheer
self-respectability.
I guess you didn't notice the multiple links Kerry provided of
successful male politicians who got tears in their eyes like
Clinton did.
And, more important, you missed the media stories covering those
episodes and declaring that Dubya, his dad, Bill Clinton, and Mitt
Romney were all "dropped from consideration."
Oh, wait, nevermind. There were no stories in the media about those
episodes. But remember, the press is going easier on Hillary over
this.
|1.7.08 @ 6:38PM|#
GILMORE,
It appears Kerry has come up with a few counterexamples of big boys
crying all the way to the White House...
Ventifact|1.7.08 @ 6:41PM|#
I care, but I won't believe you if you don't show some evidence. I can claim all sorts of things, but you're not gonna believe them unless I can prove them, right?
|1.7.08 @ 6:42PM|#
Then don't believe me.
Don't make me no nevermind. I've seen plenty of polling. If I was
making a point, I'd want to know whether the example I was using
was correct.
GILMORE|1.7.08 @ 6:43PM|#
Oh, im not casting the thing as isolated = im pointing out that
most often candidates will whip up the tears only for the most base
and cynical reasons. It's yukky all round. I was attributing less
barrier-to-entry for HRC as opposed to ... well her husband could
get away with it too. Dude could get away with a lot as we well
know.
*consider all my comments produced by instictive disgust with the
whole campaigning froth that dominates the 'news'
|1.7.08 @ 6:45PM|#
If Hillary Clinton had been standing next to Benazir Bhutto and been decapitated, there would people in this country whose reaction woudl be "Yeah, right!"
Vent|1.7.08 @ 6:46PM|#
Not to get weird, but you probably do care if we believe you or
you would just speak aloud to yourself.
You might also take a moment to retrace things and notice I never
said minorities support gun rights more than non-minorities. I said
some minority people do like gun rights, and that still surprises
some liberals. My point is openly anecdotal, you are asserting
nation-wide trends.
|1.7.08 @ 6:47PM|#
What the hell is wrong with you people?! I don't want a damned crying president. What will the world think?
Vent|1.7.08 @ 6:48PM|#
Further analysis reveals I was in fact asserting a broader trend, though implicitly. My mistake.
|1.7.08 @ 6:49PM|#
What the hell is wrong with you people?! I don't want a
damned crying president. What will the world think?
That it's an improvement over the puking one?
|1.7.08 @ 6:52PM|#
Naw, my bad. You were asseting a broader trend, but about liberals, not minorities. Let's call it a tie.
Brandybuck|1.7.08 @ 7:00PM|#
I guess you didn't notice the multiple links Kerry provided of successful male politicians who got tears in their eyes like Clinton did.
But none of those successful male politicians were crying because
they were under pressure. I feel dirty typing this, but I agree
with the Edwards. If she can't handle the campaign trail, she's
going to implode from the demands of the presidency.
There are lots of things it's okay for a candidate to cry about,
but "it's too hard" is not one of them!
|1.7.08 @ 7:03PM|#
Regarding False Hope:
So this morning,
Obama says "Is Dr. King standing on the steps at the Lincoln
Memorial, looking out on the steps and saying, 'Sorry folks, false
hope, the dream will die, it can't be done?'"
Clinton, this afternoon?"Dr. King's dream began to be realized
when President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act," Clinton said.
"It took a president to get it done."
Given that the
elected president wasn't able to get it done, and was pretty
much going to blow it off, and Johnson basically managed to get it
passed by appealing to a still-shocked Congress with the memory of
the dead president, Clinton's next book should be It Takes A
Bullet.
King's dream began to be realized when people exercised civil
disobedience, arranged boycotts, and forced the issue. People took
action. This would confirm the contrast between Clinton's "I am
ready to be president" and Obama's "You made it happen, you made
this possible."
|1.7.08 @ 7:07PM|#
I hear you, Brandybuck. On the other hand, she didn't "break
down and cry." If she had, and couldn't go on, I'd agree with
you.
But she didn't. She kept going, and corralled her emotions to make
her speech even more effective.
Her eyes welled. Her voice trembled. Her eyes got red. If she'd
gotten irrationally angry and started pounding the podium and
yelling as she finished her speech (a more typically male response
to welling-up emotions), the story would be about how passionate
and real she was. If she was a dude.
GILMORE|1.7.08 @ 7:19PM|#
joe | January 7, 2008, 7:07pm | #
...But she didn't. She kept going, and corralled her emotions to
make her speech even more effective.
Why does it sound like you're James Lipton or something? :)
I dont get it - you're impressed because it was a *well-executed*,
stage-managed tear jerker?
Maybe thats what makes my stomach churn...
|1.7.08 @ 7:21PM|#
Show us...Mrs. Doubtfire.
Wonderful, wonderful!
I don't think it was stage-managed. I think she's exhausted,
depressed, frustrated, and scared.
|1.7.08 @ 7:24PM|#
It's not just that she's crying but what she's crying about.
When Mitt cries over the decision of his church to allow black
people to be in the ministry, that's considered good because his
tears are on behalf of others (if you believe him). Likewise when
Dubya teared up on Oprah at the memory of his daughters being born,
that conveyed the impression that he was a caring father (which
doesn't explain the DVD series, When First Daughters Go Wild, does
it?). At any rate --
When Hillary cries over her shattered dreams of personal ambition,
it is seen as contemptibly self-absorbed. If she had cried at a
wedding or funeral, no one would think anything of it, or might
even think of her as human (a good thing). But when the only time
in memory that she has cried in public is when she doesn't get what
she wants, that leaves a bad taste, and it doesn't matter that
she's a woman, Edmund Muskie went through the same thing in
1972.
GILMORE|1.7.08 @ 7:27PM|#
When Hillary cries over her shattered dreams of personal
ambition, it is seen as contemptibly self-absorbed...
Ok. right. exactly. I think that was my whole point too. Except i
didnt bother with the "seen as" part in your last clause. i.e. 'it
is contemptable'.
|1.7.08 @ 7:28PM|#
Yeah, I can imagine the stress is hard on Clinton and she's
frustrated because she sees the problems so clearly and how we need
to solve them. But guess what, I DON'T WANT HER SOLUTIONS!!!!
Ms. Clinton, rarely do any of us really get what we want, so suck
it up and campaign and leave the crying bullshit at the trailer
door.
I guarantee she had people polling the reaction immediately
after.
GILMORE|1.7.08 @ 7:28PM|#
Edward | January 7, 2008, 7:25pm | #
If Ron Paul comes in fifth again, will libertarians cry?
No.
But a lot of people here will, not because of Paul, but because of
you.
Has anyone considered edward might actually be donderooooooooo nom
de plume? :) Thats unfair i know. But not beyond all
possibility.
|1.7.08 @ 7:41PM|#
When can we get an image of a candidate having an orgasm? That
could move us beyond this silly tear fetish.
There should be a ten million dollar Google prize for the first
candidate showing him or herself having an orgasm. How far of a
stretch would that be from providing full details of previously
private encounters with Uncle Sam's IRS?
(And some disciples of the Apostle, Paul, still think elections are
driven by ideas.! Some here on H&R even!)
Ruthless
|1.7.08 @ 8:04PM|#
When Hillary cries over her shattered dreams of personal
ambition, it is seen as contemptibly self-absorbed...
Ever the losing team's dugout after the World Series? Buncha
self-absorbed dicks, I guess.
It's so obviously personal with some of you. I just don't get
it.
|1.7.08 @ 8:08PM|#
I think she's exhausted, depressed, frustrated, and
scared.
Doesn't it make you want to take her in your arms, hold and protect
her forever?
Me neither.
|1.7.08 @ 8:12PM|#
joe,
It's not personal, it's just the natural response to a person with
Hillary's reputation as a scheming manipulator. Like the Boy Who
Cried Wolf (no pun intended)...
|1.7.08 @ 8:13PM|#
so now we're comparing the presidential election to an athletic
contest? Has it become that trivial?
Convincing people that you're the best leader of free world is now
equivalent to mastering a chosen athletic skill?
joe, you should know better than that. This is a job interview and
you should never cry in front of your interviewer.
|1.7.08 @ 8:21PM|#
If Ron Paul comes in fifth again, will libertarians
cry?
I will. And I'll post a video on youtube of it. Because I'll know
that we're in for at least four more years of a another statist,
petty, would-dictator - no matter who gets the White House.
|1.7.08 @ 8:48PM|#
crimethink, I think a lot of it is personal.
But no, it doesn't really want to make me want to take her in my
arms in comfort her. It just doesn't make me look at her as weak or
crazy, either.
so now we're comparing the presidential election to an athletic
contest? Has it become that trivial? No, we're comparing
professional athletes to professional politicians, and how they get
emotionally wrapped up in their pursuits.
|1.7.08 @ 9:13PM|#
David E. Gallaher: "When can we get an image of a candidate
having an orgasm?"
For that I would recommend that you review the work of Italian
parliamentarian Ilona "Cicciolina" Staller:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilona_Staller
NP|1.7.08 @ 9:23PM|#
Losing sucks. You don't have to be the biggest Hillary fan (God knows I'm certainly not) to feel at least a bit of sympathy for her.
|1.7.08 @ 9:37PM|#
Did you know that there is a difference of only one chemical between tears and urine?
|1.7.08 @ 9:39PM|#
joe,
When the Patriots lose to the Jags, and they're lacrimating on the
bench, I'll make fun of them too. THAT will be personal.
Eddy|1.7.08 @ 9:39PM|#
Those were tears??? $5 says it was staged. Boo f-ing hoo, if she wants sympathy she can look in the dictionary between shit and syphilis like the rest of us. Why it's enough to make Thelma and Louise drive off a cliff.
NP|1.7.08 @ 9:45PM|#
You know, this is the only second time I've seen Hillary show an inkling of genuine emotion. The first time was when that nutcase tried to bomb her campaign office about a month ago, and at the conference held later that day she did seem genuinely thankful to the security officers.
RJ|1.7.08 @ 9:56PM|#
Edwards (in the last debate, in arguably his best moment): "And
it matters whether it's personal or not, because is if it's either
academic or political, when the tough fight comes, you'll walk away
from it. You'll do what's political. This fight is deeply personal
to me."
Hillary (the next day, while crying): "This is very personal for
me. It's not just political. It's not just public."
|1.7.08 @ 10:11PM|#
When the Patriots lose to the Jags, and they're lacrimating
on the bench, I'll make fun of them too. THAT will be
personal
It's difficult to speak in such theoretical terms.
You know what JAG stands for in football?
Just
Another
Guy
Gilbert Martin|1.7.08 @ 11:14PM|#
"I found it totally calculated and staged to appeal to the
"pathetic" (read: emotive instead of appeal to reason or
authority)... which (not being like sexist or nothing) tends to
swing well with her middle aged female constituency."
Of course that's what it was.
It's Hillary Clinton.
It's physically impossible for it be anything other than that.
GILMORE|1.7.08 @ 11:26PM|#
NP | January 7, 2008, 9:23pm | #
Losing sucks. You don't have to be the biggest Hillary fan (God
knows I'm certainly not) to feel at least a bit of sympathy for
her.
Uhh.
But she's STILL GOT ANOTHER DAY TO LOSE?
Meaning, was there some manifest destiny that she should take iowa?
We're now in the second primary. She's weeping not for her 'loss',
but for the sympathy of her wavering constituents to try and get
some motivation through letting them 'feel her pain'.
craven calculated emoting isnt exactly the tears of damaged pride
and lost opportunity after losing the an final or something.
I still dont get how people here are describing her display as
'less than sincere', but then also expressing pity. Thats like
politics as musical theatre.
GILMORE|1.7.08 @ 11:36PM|#
NP | January 7, 2008, 9:45pm | #
You know, this is the only second time I've seen Hillary show an
inkling of genuine emotion
sigh.
'genuine'. Right.
you know, there might be a reason this is only the second time
you've been under the delusion the Hilinator might actually have a
'sincerity' chip installed
she's about as spontaneous and emotionally sincere as Vladimir
Putin
NP|1.8.08 @ 12:14AM|#
GILMORE,
I know that calling Hillary calculated and rehearsed would be a
great understatement, but that should tell you that she's been
extremely good at shielding her vulnerable side from the public.
This afternoon she was less successful than usual, and it was
refreshing, for me at any rate, to see that. Call me delusional if
you want, but I think I'll reserve my own judgment.
|1.8.08 @ 12:34AM|#
Hillary welling up with tears right now is like a football player starting to cry because his team is losing at halftime.
|1.8.08 @ 12:40AM|#
Stop being so sensitive. Are you having your period or
something?
Bingo, it is highly offensive to blame a woman's emotions on her
menstrual cycle. Besides, she's 60 yrs. old, she dried up years
ago.
slick willey|1.8.08 @ 1:40AM|#
Aw shucks! T'aint nothing wrong with her that a good bangin' wouldn't fix. Now where did I put that see-gar of mine?
|1.8.08 @ 3:14AM|#
"It's a tough business"?
Isn't that something Dr. D told John
Stossel in a long-ago interview about pro
wrestling?
Dave W.|1.8.08 @ 6:26AM|#
I think that poster who mentioned dean wins the thd. After what she did to Dean, this is sweet justice. Don't even get me started on Ron Brown.
stuartl|1.8.08 @ 9:15AM|#
Hillary did cry like a man. That man is her husband with his
convenient tears.
She is doing badly in the polls, one of the raps against her is
that she is icy and people can't relate, and all of sudden the
woman who is always totally in control cries in front of the
cameras. How convenient.
|1.8.08 @ 9:27AM|#
I just think it's funny that Edwards, by far the most feminine candidate in the race, is making fun of Hillary, one of the most masculine.
|1.8.08 @ 9:34AM|#
Edwards is as scum-sucking bottom feeder. I cannot believe he
put out that press release.
Wait a second, yes I can. See my first sentence.
|1.8.08 @ 1:07PM|#
I mean for shits sake, if any male candidate got all weepy
he'd be dropped from consideration out of sheer
self-respectability.
Somewhere in the great beyond Ed Muskie is laughing his ass
off...
|1.8.08 @ 3:36PM|#
Kerry Howley,
I occasionally win a thread, and when I do, I don't do it like
Episiarch did, and it's not your place to award threads
anyway.
I'd hate to think I was competing to win that.
Seriously!
...besides, Ruthless won the thread.
|1.8.08 @ 3:37PM|#
"I mean for shits sake, if any male candidate got all weepy
he'd be dropped from consideration out of sheer
self-respectability."
It's not just candidates.
Any man who cries on camera is a wussy.
...unless his kid just got blown up or something, in which case he
should get to beat the shit out of the photographer.
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