Hillary’s WOW Factor

As Hillary Clinton gets ready to announce, Republicans are obsessed with attacking her and the media is obsessed with her emails, her husband and her relations with, yes, the media. But voters are more likely to care about the fundamental strengths she brings to 2016: she’s a Woman, she’s Older and she’s White – the WOW factor.

 

Jill Lawrence in Politico put it this way: “…for all her challenges, self-made and otherwise, Clinton has demographic advantages that could swing decisive battleground states her way. She is not young; she is not black; and she’s not a guy. All of which gives her an edge in her quest to succeed the young, black guy now occupying the Oval Office.

 

Continuing, “For reasons that are not pretty, nominating Clinton could stanch the flow of white seniors and white working-class voters, particularly men, away from the Democratic Party. ‘She’s white,’ one national Democratic strategist says simply. ‘That’s going to make it easier for her in some places. The reality is race is still an issue in our society. We certainly see that in the way people vote.’ Another party operative, a veteran of several presidential campaigns, was even more emphatic: ‘The race thing cannot be overstated. It’s like a shark. It’s so close to the surface in some places that you can see its fin’.”

 

“See its fin,” hell. You can see the whole damn great white shark of Race hurling itself into the boat and grabbing you by the leg, just like in Jaws.

 

Lawrence’s article reminds us that Americans usually want a President whose main qualification is that he (or, now, she) is different from the last guy – often, but not always, including being a member of the other party: Ike was old, JFK was young. Nixon was a crook, Carter was honest. Carter was weak, Reagan was strong. Bush was a Republican like Reagan, but kinder and gentler. Bush was clueless about the economy, Clinton felt your pain. Clinton was a rake, both Bush II and Gore were (then) fine family men. Bush was a doofus, Obama was smart.

 

Ironically, Republicans who worship Ronald Reagan now say Clinton is too old. She’s 67, which is young (see my blog this week, Get Your Kicks at Age 66). She’ll be 68 on Inauguration Day, more than a year younger than Ronald Reagan when he took the oath. But that’s another story.

 

Probably, Republicans won’t be able to resist being ageist, which will alienate us older voters. And they’re proven over and over they can’t help being sexist and patronizing.

 

We’ll see how Hillary’s rollout goes. My guess is that she’ll run a far better campaign than in 2008. You learn a lot when you lose. She has a better team around her and gets better advice. Last time, her pros wanted her to act tough and downplay being a woman.

 

This time, the real Hillary could be exactly what Americans really want

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Gary Pearce

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Hillary’s WOW Factor

As Hillary Clinton gets ready to announce, Republicans are obsessed with attacking her and the media is obsessed with her emails, her husband and her relations with, yes, the media. But voters are more likely to care about the fundamental strengths she brings to 2016: she’s a Woman, she’s Older and she’s White – the WOW factor.

 

Jill Lawrence in Politico put it this way: “…for all her challenges, self-made and otherwise, Clinton has demographic advantages that could swing decisive battleground states her way. She is not young; she is not black; and she’s not a guy. All of which gives her an edge in her quest to succeed the young, black guy now occupying the Oval Office.

 

Continuing, “For reasons that are not pretty, nominating Clinton could stanch the flow of white seniors and white working-class voters, particularly men, away from the Democratic Party. ‘She’s white,’ one national Democratic strategist says simply. ‘That’s going to make it easier for her in some places. The reality is race is still an issue in our society. We certainly see that in the way people vote.’ Another party operative, a veteran of several presidential campaigns, was even more emphatic: ‘The race thing cannot be overstated. It’s like a shark. It’s so close to the surface in some places that you can see its fin’.”

 

“See its fin,” hell. You can see the whole damn great white shark of Race hurling itself into the boat and grabbing you by the leg, just like in Jaws.

 

Lawrence’s article reminds us that Americans usually want a President whose main qualification is that he (or, now, she) is different from the last guy – often, but not always, including being a member of the other party: Ike was old, JFK was young. Nixon was a crook, Carter was honest. Carter was weak, Reagan was strong. Bush was a Republican like Reagan, but kinder and gentler. Bush was clueless about the economy, Clinton felt your pain. Clinton was a rake, both Bush II and Gore were (then) fine family men. Bush was a doofus, Obama was smart.

 

Ironically, Republicans who worship Ronald Reagan now say Clinton is too old. She’s 67, which is young (see my blog this week, Get Your Kicks at Age 66). She’ll be 68 on Inauguration Day, more than a year younger than Ronald Reagan when he took the oath. But that’s another story.

 

Probably, Republicans won’t be able to resist being ageist, which will alienate us older voters. And they’re proven over and over they can’t help being sexist and patronizing.

 

We’ll see how Hillary’s rollout goes. My guess is that she’ll run a far better campaign than in 2008. You learn a lot when you lose. She has a better team around her and gets better advice. Last time, her pros wanted her to act tough and downplay being a woman.

 

This time, the real Hillary could be exactly what Americans really want

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Gary Pearce

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