Thursday, August 14, 2014

Re-inventing Hillary


          It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of Hillary Clinton.  Her history before and during her husband’s occupancy of the White House is less than flattering; her reported vulgar treatment of the Secret Service and people in uniform is especially troubling.  We also have to recognize that her record of accomplishments as U.S. Senator and Secretary of State is rather thin.  But now that she is running for high office in 2016, she is trying very hard to put on a new face.  I think we are seeing the re-invention of Hillary Clinton.
          I am pleased to see Mrs. Clinton take a hawkish stance on foreign affairs.  She mocks the President on his minimalist policies, while advocating a stronger stance against terrorism in Syria and Iraq, getting tough on Iran, supporting Israel, and taking pride in America’s universal values.  All these positions are in sharp contrast with Obama’s and signal Hillary’s decision to distance herself from her former boss.  But is her latest metamorphosis genuine?
          As Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal has said, “The political opportunist always lacks the courage of his, or her, convictions.  That’s not necessarily because there aren’t any convictions.  It’s because the convictions are always subordinated to the needs of ambition and ingratiation.” 
          That last word—ingratiation--rings true.  The mainstream media is flooding us with images of Hillary smiling and waving as she strides to a podium or to a seat next to yet another late show host.  Book signings and interviews with left-leaning reporters are all meant to erase the public’s memory of her defiant testimony before Congress (“What difference, after all, does it make?”) and enhance her new phony image as a warm, affable, all-loving woman.  Even President Obama, whom she has never forgiven for denying her the presidency in 2008, gets hugs from her now.
          For those of us who see her as a power-hungry politician we have one wish: Will the real Hillary Clinton please stand up!

         

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