Our colleague at Buck Naked Politics wrote way back even before the primaries about the ever-evolving Hillary mythos, and it's true: no matter how she behaves or what she does "she thicks men's blood with cold." Equally chilled---so they claim---is the blood of certain well-known female pundits. Why is that? Hmmm? Why?
Whatever she does, she just can't get it right. If she shows real emotion, however carefully held in check, she's wrong; if she shows a "game face" she's ruthless, vindictive, a sadomasochist, an android, a robot, and a machine. If she doesn't fire her campaign staff, she's weak and spineless and incapable of running the country. If on the campaign trail her eye twinkles---once---with an unshed stress-tear, she's trying to cry her way into the White House and has proved that she can't handle the job.
Now that she's been made Secretary of State she's being reimagined as a diva who will throw things, bridle and stomp her feet, cry, and scream "Off with his head!" whenever someone crosses her. Never mind that the known facts bear out none of these characterizations.
In February 2008, Stanley Fish wrote about the loathing that Hillary evokes in her detractors.
Respected political commentators devote precious network time to deep analyses of her laugh. Everyone blames her for what her husband does or for what he doesn’t do. (This is what the compound “Billary” is all about.) If she answers questions aggressively, she is shrill. If she moderates her tone, she’s just play-acting. If she cries, she’s faking. If she doesn’t, she’s too masculine. If she dresses conservatively, she’s dowdy. If she doesn’t, she’s inappropriately provocative. (New York Times)
Here's Arianna Huffington speaking of the first viable woman candidate for the presidency in history, explaining how Hillary is an enigma wrapped in Velvetta.
TIME: Do you think Hillary Clinton is frightened of anything? If so, what?
AH: She is clearly frightened of losing. You can smell the fear on her. It wafts around her like a cheap perfume: Eau de Don't Let Me Screw Up and Flush My Chances Down the Toilette. As a result of her fear of losing and the soul-sapping tyranny of trying to please and placate everybody, she's become more processed than Velveeta. You can almost see every word that comes out of her mouth first being marched through the different compartments of her brain — analyzed, evaluated, and vetted by each of them. What will the consultants think of this? How will it poll? Will working women between 25-35 in eastern Ohio think it's okay? Her fear has caused a complete disconnect from who she really is and what she really thinks — that is, if she even knows anymore.
Time Magazine, Arianna Huffington, 10 Questions for Arianna Huffington
Some time ago Buck Naked Politics addressed some of the contradictory Hillary memes that a certain Hillary-hating female pundit was trying to get into circulation during the early stages of the primaries.
So where are we? Hillary is:
- inhuman
- quasi-divine
- a "blood countess," which I am going to presume is a literary reference to Bram Stoker or Swinburne or Goethe or an obscure Pre-Raphaelite painting
- bone-chilling and mirthless
- an arrogant over-achiever who "intrude[s] and domineer[s]," bullying hapless men into "a passive torpor"
- a vampire who sucks all the energy out of her male competitors
- Rosie O'Donnell
- comfortable in her own skin, now that she's given up wearing Bill's
- an android who has been reprogrammed to seem "less programmed" and/or "effortlessly charming"
- Bill Clinton's sock puppet
- Bill Clinton's brain
Are you scared yet? I know I am. Turns out she's Scylla, Charybdis, Rosie, Medusa, Circe, Medea, Kali, all the harpies, the Eumenides, Clytemnestra, Geraldine, the talking mannequin from The Outer Limits and the nightmare LIFE-IN-DEATH all rolled up into a single package! (How did Bill Clinton dare, I wonder? Or did he, in the immortal words of Basil Fawlty, have to sew them back on?) (BN-Pol)
And who can forget Cleavagegate, the internet kerfuffle brought on by Hillary's modest V-neck?
The "Clinton is a Drama Queen" meme is the latest in a long line of media misrepresentations, where "media" includes such Democrats as Olbermann and Matthews and quite a number of progressive bloggers. Why are they doing it? I can only assume that the resentment is due to the fact that no matter how many times they cavort on her grave, she punches right through the coffin lid and pops back up again.
Some of them must genuinely fear her by now, though---despite deranged internet rumors---she has never shown much disposition to bother with her enemies. And this is not because she is too good, but because she is too focused.
Anyway, I can only assume that the constant repetition of "Clinton Drama" is an attempt by Hillary media haters to instill in the public consciousness by constant repetition a projected image in the hope that it will "take" and that life will imitate hype. It's a technique that served George Bush and Fox News well, after all.
Melissa McEwen pointed out:
None of it happened. Not even close...
And yet still, still, the same people who have incessantly predicted "drama" of one sort or another from Hillary Clinton, and who have batted exactly zero, are now positively insistent that her relationship as Secretary of State with President-Elect Obama is going to be "dramatic," despite all evidence to the contrary.
At any rate, like all unprovoked attacks, the many attempts of Hillary's detractors tell us more about their fear, envy, and insecurity than the object onto which they project them.
Case in point. This is all over the internet because Jon Favreau, a good enough speechwriter, apparently doesn't understand Facebook, the internet, or certain things someone who hopes to serve the president-elect really ought to know about where to draw the line. Roy Edroso:
Wonkette deadpans:
To be honest, I expect Hillary was amused, the way most women---speaking as one such--- who have reached a certain stately age are amused by the sexual strutting and posturing of young men.
It's like when a puppy tries to show who's boss by mounting your leg. I'd say this photo represents a very raw young man's attempt to show he ain't intimidated by big bad Hillary---watch and learn, as he feels up a life-sized photo of her for the cameras, while posing next to a guy making kissy-lips at her head while wearing a backwards-facing baseball cap?
Who kicks puppies? The most you do is smack their noses with a newspaper. In all probability, you just pry them gently off your leg and say, "No no. Here, play with your sock."
Here's the official response to Favreau and his apology:
"Senator Clinton is pleased to learn of Jon's obvious interest in the State Department, and is currently reviewing his application," he said in an e-mail.
Heh. Heh. Bwah hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! Dance, little poodle! Dance!
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