Letters to the Editor
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hard to know
My suspicion is that she's in raw survival mode, which is what I mean by siege mentality.
I don't think she has an endgame per se, other than simply surviving day in, day out, until the bitter end.
I could be wrong about that, but that's what it looks like to me. Her chances are so remote, and her tactics so desperate that it's hard not to draw the conclusion this is about short-term political survival, plain and simple.
That's probably why Carville called Richardson a "Judas." He was speaking as a wounded animal more than anything else and the only response to setback these people know is to lash out.
Actually, that's not entirely true. First they were in denial, as Clinton kept up her "ready on day one," inevitable candidate routine long past the point where it appeared to be resonating.
Then she tried to be charming for those couple of weeks, gracious, even, before going full boar with the Rovian tactics.
Some mix of instinct and calculation, I guess. But I don't know, politics isn't my field of expertise, I'm just an engaged amateur.
Who really knows what's going on, in the end. I only know what I see through the media.
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A woman of her times?
"In fairness to her, though, as my mother pointed out to me recently, HIllary did come along at a time when, in order for a woman to succeed, she had to "out-male" the men." Weeping for Brunhilde
I don't know if that explains it. I'm not much younger than her myself.
I actually think it just has more to do with her personality type and psyche. And that I actually understand a little bit more, since I probably have some tendencies in that direction myself. I am female but am stronger on logic and analytical intelligence like she is, weaker on creative intelligence.
I don't think so much about a person should be explained by their gender and by gender politics. We are way too complex a product of the interplay between our genes and environment for that.
BTW I think personality/intellect-wise Barack's power comes from a unique blend of high analytical, creative, and emotional intelligence, including deep empathetic understanding of diverse points of view.
"Great Spirit, help me never to judge another until I have walked in his moccasins." Sioux Indian prayer
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@unschooler Right On to that!
I don't think so much about a person should be explained by their gender and by gender politics. We are way too complex a product of the interplay between our genes and environment for that
That's a nugget of gold
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@ unschooler
"I don't think so much about a person should be explained by their gender and by gender politics. We are way too complex a product of the interplay between our genes and environment for that."
Agreed.
"BTW I think personality/intellect-wise Barack's power comes from a unique blend of high analytical, creative, and emotional intelligence, including deep empathetic understanding of diverse points of view."
Yes! I definitely respond to this in him. He really seems to respond genuinely to criticism and to different perspectives.
The fact that he went out of his way to acknowledge the legitimacy of white resentments about their perceptions of being short-changed by affirmative action speaks volumes about him. He really does have empathy.
It's so interesting to me how we can have such varied perceptions of the same guy. You and I see emotional intelligence, creativity and empathy, detractors see phoniness, vagueness, lack of substance, even duplicity.
Actually, from a certain point of view this makes sense: the ability to empathize necessarily means the ability to shift perspectives.
Perhaps this kind of shifting strikes some people as duplicitous or as lacking a core.
To me, he has a strong core, and it's just what you point out. It's not squishiness at all, but rather a bedrock confidence in who he is that allows him to listen to others without the fear that doing so is somehow a sign of weakness.
What can I say, this guy is truly special.
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yup, he's the real deal
And you're right that even his supporters are going to be disappointed with him when he doesn't toe some party line on something, and he's already been accused of being "too centrist" or "selling out". They aren't seeing the big picture of what he is trying to do. My Republican sister got it right away when she started listening to the Audacity of Hope cd's I gave her. She wrote:
I think one of the challenges for him is that most people's thinking is oriented around details and specifics, whereas his main thrust strikes me as being oriented on Process - how to go about achieving good results, not specifying details about the results. Most people don't easily grasp the value and importance of building a process that works and trusting that if the process is good, it will deliver good results - they are too busy arguing about what the results should look like. The next few months should be very enlightening and interesting.
Furthermore, I expect him to bring in advisors and make appointments that are going to be very, very eclectic although not severely ideological. Pragmatism is the name of the game here.
It isn't the calculating pragmatism of immediate political opportunism however, it is a pragmatism grounded in a better and more informed vision of where this country needs to go.
I think it goes back to his grasp of history. This is someone who has studied history in a great deal of depth--someone who deeply understands the lessons world history teaches us.
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The Real Deal is part of the problem
And you're right that even his supporters are going to be disappointed with him when he doesn't toe some party line on something, and he's already been accused of being "too centrist" or "selling out". They aren't seeing the big picture of what he is trying to do.
Too many people are already asking themselves, "How do I work this". That's Hillary's situation in a nutshell.
I found the section on the Constitution in the Audacity of Hope to be most inspiring, but I think it might be disturbing to some. Beyond certain unalienable rights endowed by our creator, there's no guarantee to a stream of pork.