A Laugh, And A Label

This just in: Hillary Clinton has been laughing a lot lately. Yes, it's true — a candidate long accused of being cold and unappealing has taken to emitting a hearty chuckle in public, and on the airwaves. We hope you were sitting down for that one.

Actually, in this highly-monitored campaign, the decisions of its most-disciplined and most-focus-grouped candidate are news, and the Hillary Laugh Tactic has been noticeable. Jon Stewart picked up on it in earlier this week, splicing laugh segments together (in a way that, let's be honest, would make anyone appear manic), but it certainly set up the punchline: Jon fixing the camera with an intense, humorless gaze and saying "I'M JOYFUL." Frank Rich noted it too: "Now Mrs. Clinton is erupting in a laugh with all the spontaneity of an alarm clock buzzer." And then, of course, there was The Cackle.

NYT reporter Patrick Healy is an expert on The Cackle. He's been observing it carefully since January 2005, he tells us right off the bat. In the middle of heated press questioning, "suddenly it happened: Mrs. Clinton let loose a hearty belly laugh that lasted a few seconds...This was my first close encounter with Senator Clinton, and with The Cackle." This reads with all the slow-building horror of a B-movie Professor explaining to his save-the-world student how he first came face to face with Evil, and learned to name it.

"Friends of hers told a different story," says Healy, that she actually had a "fantastic sense of humor." (Well, they would say that, but Healy can see through them.) Then there's this:

Mrs. Clinton goes for the lowest-common-denominator display of her funny bone: She shows that she can laugh, and that her laugh has a fullness and depth.

Oh, you — you with your laugh of fullness and depth — we're on to you. Go back to the gutter you crawled out of, lowlife.

Seriously. What IS this? This article was deemed significant enough by the NYT to publish not once, but twice, under two separate headlines and two separate dates (Sept. 28th on the web, graduating to Sept.30th in the paper). But when I look at it, I see a hit piece masquerading as analysis. Why? "The Cackle."

Not "The Laugh" or "The Guffaw" or "The Full-Throated Chuckle." No, Patrick Healy, unbiased reporter for the New York Times, called it "The Cackle" — a word best associated with witches and broomsticks ( "I'll get you my little pretty, and your little dog, too!"). If this article were a picture, Hillary would be in a pointy hat with a wart on her nose.

I have no issue with the thesis of the article. Like I said, the laugh is notable, as both a non-verbal element of her presentation and an indication of strategy on the part of by far the most careful (or, as some would say, programmed) candidate. I had noticed and remarked upon the laugh, too, in the last debate, and how it was deployed semi-inappropriately in response to Mike Gravel's Iraq war vote admonition of "Shame on you Hillary!" ("her laugh was a tad inappropriate, given the gravity of his accusation. You can dismiss Gravel but not the sentiment"). I find it less puzzling than Healy why she'd chuckle saying she'd love to talk about health care with Chris Wallace — that's a sweet spot for her, obviously she'd way rather discuss it than be challenged — but it is absolutely worth excavating as a phenomenon overall, given its sudden prominence. Does it mean she's more comfortable? Does it mean she finds Tim Russert hilarious? Does it mean that Mandy Grunwald and Howard Wolfson sat her down and carefully explained to her that a hearty laugh would resonate with 64% more voters 46% of the time in 60% of the primaries? All of that is interesting, and worth reporting out.

But Healy did that glancingly, if at all ("'Seems pretty basic -- that's the way she laughs,' one Clinton adviser said. 'She has a good sense of humor about the process.'" Wow! Awesome intel you got there! You have great sources in that campaign, dude!). What might have been interesting is if Healy had been able to get someone from the campaign to explain how such softening mechanisms are arrived at ("Let's chat!" springs to mind) or who makes those final calls (Grunwald? Wolfson? Bill?) or even introduce polling data that reflects the New Era of Laughter, or maybe juxtapose the laugh-to-airtime ratio of Obama and Edwards. Just to get some data in there. Sometimes that's fun to have.

The Laugh is a great catch, a great story, and a great indicator of what kinds of details can matter in campaigns. And "The Cackle" is a great nickname — if you're Frank Luntz. "The Cackle" is pretty devastating as nicknames go...and just happens to be pretty damn gender-specific. There's a lot more here than that, and if the New York Times had gone for it, they'd have a story and not a smear.

Patrick Healy: Laughing Matters In Clinton Campaign [NYT] (Sept. 28/07)
Patrick Healy: The Clinton Conundrum: What's Behind The Laugh? [NYT] (Sept. 30/07)

Related? You Betcha:
Patrick Healy: For Clintons, Delicate Dance of Married and Public Lives [NYT]

Related In Popular Music From Winnipeg:
Laughing [The Guess Who]


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Comments

[comatoast]

Rachel, you are SO right about the use of the word "cackle"- it really doesn't matter that the article may analyze speech patterns and what they might or might not reveal about a candidate's true feelings. As long as the word "cackle" is used, the writer is the one whose true feelings are being revealed.

[4State]

The New York Times:


All the BushCo propaganda that's fit to smear.


Thanks for the marketing job on the Iraq occupation, formerly credible news source.

Take Judith Miller and the rest of the "mushroom clouds" and other BushCo bullshit with you down the tubes, you yellow journalistic scumbags.

[DEFuning]

I cannot believe what baloney I am reading in these comments. Hillary laughs out loud --like a real woman--not some nicey nicey Barbie--at the sheer audacity and bull that she is hearing. It is the laughter equivalent of "you are full of sh*t". Chris Mathhews, who I might add DOES cackle like Phyllis Diller in a fat suit, will not let go of this bone.

These attacks on her cleavage, her laughter etc are what people do to strong women they fear in order to put women back in their "place". The intensity of the attacks are proportionate to the amount of fear which powers them. Please go read "The Wimp Factor: Gender Gaps, Holy Wars, and the Politics of Anxious Masculinity," by Stephen Ducat if you have any doubts about how women politicians are attacked in our culture. Or if that is too much work for you, read the criticisms of the book because it sure makes some people very very anxious.

This story of the "cackle" follows the playbook, act for act. And all of you who are disecting Hillary's laughter contribute to the sexualization of this election. I'd be laughing out loud too if I heard the crap hurled at me that she has. That laughter was a signal of aggression. And good for her. That is a sign of courage and strength and intelligence to laugh right in their faces.

I am the political assistant to a very strong female elected official and I see these attempts to marginalize, trivialize, and ultimately, minimize her by the focus on her sexual characteristics, attractiveness, smile etc every day. You can hear the sound of male genitalia shriveling when a strong woman becomes a leader. But the worst critics are the women. A little old lady told me that women should not be political leaders "Because ,dear, that would be too much power for a woman--women have too much power already."Read The Wimp Factor because all of you who are focusing on a "laugh" for chrissakes are featured in it.

[ChrisR]

Excellent - great comments! I think she's got a great laugh. Anyone who follows up on this nonsense will next be saying she's got Cooties. The world's crashing around us, and we're subjected to nasty little snot-nosed pundits from the playground. Why watch that show called Kid Nation - we're living it! Where's the adults???

[LeonFreilich]

LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO THE KITCHEN

The fear among her staff,

Which fears she will not stop,

Is that she's headed for

Snip, cackle, flop.

[Lisette]

We all know haughty Hillary is a phony----but she thinks she is fooling us.

Someone should tell her that a stranger can talk to you for 5 minutes and know you better than you know yourself.

Guess the cackle is on you Miss HILLARity!!

[jbgnyc]

Great post. Recently, at some conference or other, several press "gurus" admitted they really didn't treat Gore fairly, didn't get him, or understand what they now see as his many strengths. They totally fell for Bush the idiot because he joked with them on his press plane and Gore didn't (Someone actually admitted this)So here we have Hillary: smart, together, right on the issues, tough and, now, funny. What's wrong with this picture for the press?? It doesn't fit THEIR image so they attack it as inauthentic. God help us, AMerica.

[realitytrumpsbull]

Yeah, I saw that on Jon Stewart, it was kind of
a Smilex moment...

[nunzia]

Remember how they buried Dean with that "Scream" bullshit? They will try to bury Hillary with this, and will fail. They will try with something else, and will fail. Her team is comprised of a lot of women; smart, savvy, hardworking women. It'll take a lot more the reichwing money and the msm to undo this campaign. She still has my vote, and my contributions.

[eaglecapri]

Slowly, but surely, Hillary will be exposed for who she really is, which is - she ain't all that! The NY Times article cited in this article is a well-written one. Some things the article stated:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/opinion/30rich.html?em&ex=1191384000&en=efb1ebae91c3cf5b&ei=5087%0A

1. She's a follower more than a leader. (Is that a characteristic we want in our presidenct?)

2. She still can't give a credible reason why she gave W the authority to go to war. (Hmmm....see #1. Or worse yet, she can be fooled by the most simple man.)

3. She still can't give a credible reason why she voted against the Levin amendment.

4. How her votes have more to do with hedging her political bets than with principle. (No surprises here.)

5. Why she can't explain why it took 2 years of the war going south before she started speaking up against it.

6. Why she waited for Edwards and Obama to reveal their health care plan before releasing hers (Now, THAT....shows confidence! Ha!).

7. How her campaign works relentlessly to shut down legitimate journalistic vetting of her record.

8. How she has been labeled as a 'practitioner of systematic caution with 'no big ideas'. (We don't know about this article telling us why because (drum roll please)....the Clinton camp killed the story.)

That's okay, sometimes these things take time. A strategist knows you have to know precisely when to drop the bomb.....

Are you sure you're voting for Hillary, or are you voting for Bubba? I'm sorry to break it to you, but Obama is much more intelligent than Bill.

[Nezua]

i don't personally approve of a name like "the cackle.' but you have to admit, her sudden manufactured boisterous persona is a bit disturbing, as well.

[kellygrrrl]

Honestly, if the worst thing they can find to criticize her is her cackle, then she's doing OK.
She best keep that sense of humor intact
for when the Rovarian Smear is hurled upon her she is going to need it.

[CarmanK]

Hillary has to have a great sense of humor to get her through her "mission". Actually, I like her cackle. And her smile is attractive. She has great teeth!!

[RealBlackGirl]

Great article. This is why the traditional media gets attacked for bias. The issue with Hillary is the lack of authenticity that continues to plague her campaign. Nothing she does is perceived as sincere. Every comment, event, outfit appears to be a well researched tactic. The reason she lacks authenticity with the public is because she can't ever stake out a position. You have to have identified at least one option you are willing to consider to save social security if you are going to be ready to lead on the first day. I can't decide on a baseball team. Yes, its a trivial question; however, her response spoke volumes. Why can't the pundits have that conversation?

[nunzia]

"every outfit"? oh please.

[arniezak]

The laugh is annoying. The subject is serious and then we're greeted with an inappropriate laugh. It's annoying and tiresome.

[billbird]

GREAT POST! My thoughts exactly.