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The media and the Republicans have crafted a powerful narrative that portrays Hillary as a calculating, inauthentic panderer and you guys have completely fallen for it. Mr. Shapiro reasonably says that Hillary is not phony, but a moderate. Instead of engaging that point, everyone piles on calling her a panderer without pointing to specific instances of pandering.
Instead, speaking of phoniness, we hear about her unwillingness to call her vote a mistake. We hear about her lack of an apology. That whole issue is a ginned up non-story. Hillary has repeated that she would not have voted to authorize force knowing what she knows now. Why isn't that good enough? Liberal bloodlust over the travesty of a war has made people irrational about what we expect from our candidates.
That bloodlust is indicative of the effectiveness of the divide and conquer strategy that worked so well in 2000. Thanks to a couple years of deception by the media, Gore was viewed by many moderates and even some Democrats as a big phony. Some didn't feel he was all that different from Bush. As a result, while some people held their noses and voted for him anyway, others went to Nader. But the truth is, Gore wasn't a phony; he wouldn't have made a terrible president. Just as with Gore, the desire for the perfect candidate has blinded some to the admirable traits of Hillary.
If I had to build my ideal candidate, none of the current lot would be it. The only traits I'd consider taking from the current group is the oratory and writing of Obama. Though seeing Hillary interact with the crowd on C-Span, I might take her ability to connect with people one on one. Of course, the sad truth is, even if my ideal candidate were elected, he or she wouldn't be able to get many of the liberal/progressive measures I'd like to see through Congress. The perfect is the enemy of the good; I'd prefer to see the country take a step in the right direction rather than continue down its current path.
The point is, don't let the conception of Hillary as a phony be the determining factor in judging her. If her policies are a step in the wrong direction, then don't vote for her. Certainly don't vote for her in the primaries if her policies don't measure up to those of Obama or Edwards. But how about this time around we focus on the issues and we don't let the media get away with calling a Democratic candidate a opinion poll tested phony?
