Hillary Clinton: Her ducks are far from in a row
Listen to this articleA visit to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign website relies heavily on action words: when visiting www.hillaryclinton.com, an email capture pops up that reads, “This Starts with You.” On the home page, visitors read “New Adventures. Next Chapters.”
This is interesting from a candidate that seems to be uninterested in actually starting anything, and has pushed back her campaign launch date until July.
It has been almost six weeks since Hillary has made any comment to the press. She did gently chastise reporter Ed Henry when he attempted to throw a question her way during a recent public event, sounding like a school marm who, through gritted teeth, plays nice to her students while plotting their multiple suspensions and detentions.
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She has a coyness with the public that, if carried on for too long, will become not intriguing, but just plain annoying. Of course, she is busy getting her ducks in a row for her run, and some of her ducks have run wildly off course, and are quacking for our attention.
Duck #1: Benghazi. Her famous “Who cares why it happened” comment is, unfortunately, on tape, and will be trotted out by opposing candidates and the media for years to come, ad nauseum. The general murkiness surrounding this tragic event which claimed the lives of four American officials including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens will haunt her, too — when was she notified of the attack, and by whom? Did she act appropriately when informed? Was there a rush to blame an anti-Muslim video in an attempt to continue the Administration’s assertion that America was safe from terrorists after bin Laden was “neutralized”?
Duck #2: Emails. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used a personal email server, and claimed that this server was full of missives to and from her in her role as a grandmother, mother and friend, instead of a world leader. Mrs. Clinton also said that the server was originally set up for Bill Clinton, and was heavily protected by Secret Service agents.
Mrs. Clinton further said that she chose to work only with her private email server because she didn’t want to carry two email devices. How does she get away with this stuff? A Republican would have been publicly skewered by the media, the Democrats, and even his own party. Hillary – not so much. The outcry has been so persistent that Mrs. Clinton recently tweeted that she wants all her emails to be seen.
Duck #3: The Clinton Foundation. The Foundation received donations from foreign donors that in turn received massive American aid. Coincidence? The mere appearance of a conflict would stop most political figures, so great is their fear of losing all they had worked so hard for. It is a little frightening that either A) this never came up at the dinner table, or B) it did, and they just don’t care. They are doing good for the world, and that’s all that matters. To heck with those that would question them … about anything.
Are Democrats awakening from the Clinton spell? Many are, notably younger Democratic voters, Elizabeth Warren fans, and all those nervous about a coronation of a candidate rather than a true primary process. Democrat Zephyr Teachout, who challenged New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo from the left in last year’s Democratic Primary, addressed the email fallout in the New York Daily News. “She should come forward and give a press availability on it. Just as a matter of leadership, she should address it directly … this is why we need a primary, to force debate both about policy and leadership style.”
Hillary may just be tying up loose ends (read: addressing quasi-legal problems that the press has gotten wind of) between now and July, when she begins talking to America about why she should be our Queen — ahem, President. While she gets these ducks in a row perhaps we ought to duck — and run for the cover of a less-entangled, more transparent Democratic primary candidate.
Deirdre Reilly has written one humor book, and authored a syndicated family life column for Gatehouse Media for 13 years. She has won a Massachusetts Press Award for humor, her op-eds have been published in the Boston Herald and The Hartford Courant, and she has had short fiction published in literary journals. Deirdre was raised in Columbia, Md., and now lives outside Boston, Ma. She enjoys outdoor pursuits, and is obsessed with the care and happiness of a retired carriage horse named Nello that she bought for a few hundred dollars on a menopausal whim.