Hillary's Moment

This race was supposed to be over right now, with Obama moving victoriously on. What happened?

There are plenty of different lenses through which to view Tuesday's New Hampshire democratic primary, but as someone who teaches public speakers how to connect emotionally with their audiences, here's mine: As of yesterday, Hillary Clinton was the most likable candidate in the Democratic field. Yup, that's right. Her "choking up" performance on Monday cast her in the most sympathetic light we've ever seen her. This woman, who has spent her entire public career stoically projecting strength so she could compete in the big leagues finally showed us the warm, genuine person underneath. Women and old-line democrats were moved and showed up to vote in greater numbers than pollsters had predicted, delivering the day to Hillary.

The incident in question was certainly a remarkable sight. Hillary was asked how she perseveres, and her answer personalized her in several ways without ever making her look too vulnerable. She talked about the range of pressures on her, from the stakes in the race to the challenge of watching her weight on the trail. When her voice choked up, she got very quiet, and if you'd heard her on the radio you might have imagined she was about to cry, her face twisted in grief. But we all saw her, and she kept smiling warmly through the whole thing, showing her determination to stay positive through all her troubles. In that clip, more people saw Hillary smiling more genuinely for a longer stretch of time than has happened in the whole rest of her campaign. It was not an exuberant smile, for sure, but a real, warm smile nonetheless. Her "Chillary" image suddenly seemed like just a mask she wears to do battle with the boys.

Many in the media wondered whether this was a fatal show of weakness, the emotional female cracking under the first sign of real pressure. Others, primarily conservatives, accused her of a cynically "calculated" play for sympathy. That only makes sense if you assume she is at her core a heartless ambition machine and any show of human emotion on her part is artifice. But if you understand her as a deeply committed activist who usually hides her emotions to avoid being perceived as weak, it makes sense that she might finally choose that moment to let more of her true feelings show. That decision may well have been a "calculation," but no matter how the media spun it, we saw the emotion in those images for ourselves, and it was the real deal.

In working with public speakers, we often talk about "warmth," which is closely related to "likability." Throughout the campaign, Hillary has always seemed to do well when she allowed herself to show a little more warmth: the YouTube videos making fun of her singing, the Sopranos spoof, the "I'm Your Girl!" moment in the Chicago debate. It remains to be seen if this latest display was a one-time glimpse behind the curtain or if we will be seeing more of this warmer side of Hillary going forward.

Either way, it would be wise for Obama to take note. Throughout the campaign, he has worked hard to wring the warmth out of his image, fearing his winning grin would outshine his intellect and keep people from taking him seriously. He still almost never smiles when speaking in public -- just before or after he speaks, sure, but not while discussing matters of state, no matter how hopeful he may be about them. Lately he has been downright snippy at moments, as in his half-sarcastic quip that Hillary was "likable enough." Obama certainly has it in him to be friendly and self-effacing, to joke around with people, to connect not just as an inspiring leader but as a good, friendly guy. If he would show us more of that side of himself, it would make the thought of seeing him on TV every day for the next four years more appealing.

Hillary lost her inevitability in Iowa, and Obama's movement stalled in New Hampshire, so now they've both been brought down to earth. And now that they're down here with the rest of us, being a little more personable could be just the thing.

Comments

[nypoet22]

This is by far one of my favorite posts thus far on huffpo this year. short as the year has been, there have been precious few articles telling about the positives of one candidate without slinging mud at another. in general, i think you've captured something important about the way democrats tend to feel right now. in a word...

POSITIVE!

Hillary is showing some emotion. Obama is showing some mettle. Edwards is sticking to his guns in the face of long odds. Kucinich is hanging in there and carrying a few idealists. For the first time in recent memory, the Dems have a field full of superb candidates to get excited about. Even the stodgy old republicans aren't all 100% evil this time around. Instead of tearing down the dems we don't support quite as much, let's recognize the mutual strength all of them bring to the table. Obama may himself be a bringer of change, or he may just be a by-product of the optimism we all feel in general. Hillary may be cold and calculating as a politician, but we now recognize she's putting on that face for a reason, and it's more just naked ambition.

in any case let's do a little happy dance, as we're finally faced with a field of candidates we can really be proud of. this could be a great time to be a Democrat.

[LeeFromVA]

Isn't it ironic that Gloria Steinem says that Hillary can't win because she's a woman and then she wins NH BECAUSE she's a woman. Doesn't that disprove her theory. Gender has only been a plus for Hillary. If she were a man we'd never put up with her reinventing herself every time the wind blows. Hawkish Hillary. Weepy Hillary. Our "gal" that fights republicans Hillary. Warm and fuzzy Hillary. Mother and Daughter by my side Hillary. Use Bill. Don't use Bill. Blame Bill. Old people in the crowd. Young people in the crowd. Inevitible. comeback kid. The boys are picking on me. That hurts my feelings. Don't sling mud. Kindergarten. Crack Dealer. Muslim emails. Triangulate. Change is just a word. Change is my word. False hopes. Roll the dice. ENOUGH.

[MrADR]

Emotion yes-but real emotion. Sen Clinton's "tear up" was acting-not emoting. Of course she knew she would get a "How do you manage the strain" question (all candidates and candidates wives do) and she had that canned answer in her pocket. Look at earlier footage of Hillary-especially the 1992 60 Minutes interview with her and Bill. Look at the acting job.

[dahlenu]

Just make a break with the past, please? No more Bush. No more Clinton.

[MariaHopeful]

I just cannot believe my country. This last remaining Super Power. We who seek (and have done) to tell the world how it should behave. How the world must laugh at us.
Consider: It would seem that NH women decided to vote for HC because she cried?! And so they felt empathy for her and based on that concluded that she should be the President. How utterly sophisticated! How Americans are won over by performances rather than substance. How rehearsed one liners during so-called debates will always "win" debates. HC: When I am President, I will!
I felt only disdain over President Clinton's loud and vulgar defense of his wife. Love, President Clinton, should have kept your zipper up!
I am voting for Barack Obama because I find him inspiring. That is a trait sorely lacking in today's politician (as opposed to those we read about of years gone by). He is the only politician who has made me cry...not once but quite a few times now. And don't talk to me about experience. Who has run the most experienced campaign to date? Who is the trend-setter thus far in this election period? Who has been copied the most in this campaign. Did you see the Obama-lite acceptance speeches last night? To take America to where it needs to go, we need some-one who can relate to rich and poor, black & white & everything in between, Christians & Muslims, Developed and Developing countries, children of slaves and those of the slave masters. I challenge you to find some-one more uniquely qualified to at least attempt to undertake such a job.
I don't agree with everything Barack Obama says or does. What I sensed about him at DNC convention in '04 is borne out by his autobiography as I have read it. This man is sincere, genuine, authentic...call it what you will. He is like no other politician. There will never be another Bruce Lee, or Bob Marley, or Mandela, or MLK, Bobby Kennedy, and there will never be another Barack Obama.

[JakeEasy]

I"ve seen a trend on several political sites that makes me think we Democrats are being scammed.

If you follow the names and posts, it becomes apparent that we are being cynically led into a self-feeding frenzy.

It goes like this. A Hillary supporter posts a mild comment about his choice. He is flamed back by someone who says he is a Barack supporter who also calls Hillary obscene names. This happens several time until the former Hillary supporter gets so angry that he starts posting Obama bashes and vows never to vote for him.

This also happens when Obama or Edwards supporters make reasoned arguments against Clinton. They get flamed by pretend Hillary supporters who make outlandish accusations about Obama"s and Edwards" character. The result is another angry progressive who vows not to vote for Hillary.

The flamers are probably paid republican bloggers. That or just malcontent losers who get off on pushing buttons. They are less flamers than arsonists who like the excitement of the damage they cause. Sociopaths.

Lets not let the sociopaths and neocons (I know, how can you tell the difference?)

I even think this is going on at the top levels. The three major candidates are being misled by posers who act like they represent opponents. Name calling starts and then animosity overwhelms intellect.

Let"s stop it here. The best thing is to support your candidate with reasoned examples and positive comments. Avoid negative-speak about the other Democrats. When the flamers pop up, everyone needs to identify them as a paid troll as soon as possible and not react to their ploy.

We can make a difference in America. Stop the sociopathic neocons. Peace to my fellow progressives and to the world.

[NABNYC]

I disagree. I don't think Hillary "finally showed us the warm, genuine person underneath." I think she just read from another script. I think her handlers had told her that she needed to show people that she was "sincere," that this was "personal," that it "hurt her feelings" that people didn't like her.

It's such a shock to see a tough politician get weepy that people have an automatic unthinking response. Some people rally round to support the wounded politician. Some people are more skeptical and see it as just another manipulative con. Remember, she's learned from Bill who looked us all in the eye and said "I DID NOT HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH THAT WOMAN." Remember that? And Hillary knew he was lying, but she sat there beside him, encouraging him in lying to and manipulating the public.

I don't care who he sleeps with and I don't care if Hillary has any feelings or if they're hurt. But I don't like people who are really good liars. They scare me. The next thing you know, they'll be out in public warning us about Mushroom Clouds and starting more wars.

Look at Hillary's platform, and let's stop with the analysis of the quality of her tears. She has no intention of ending the war in Iraq. She will leave troops there forever. She will leave troops to fight Hezbollah and Hamas, two of Israel's enemies, and get the U.S. involved in more wars.

Hillary's health care reform should be seen as Bush's "clean air" act. It does not reform anything. All it does is turn over to her big donors, the insurance companies, a completely captive audience of every adult in this country who will be compelled to purchase health insurance.

Social Security: she refuses to raise the cap to adjust for changed circumstances including inflation. Instead, she wants to privatize it by setting up individual 401k plans to be managed by her big donors on Wall Street.

Forget the tears. Hillary Clinton's election will just mean Four More Years of neocon policies. Vote Edwards.

[avicenna]

Finally. Everyone was trying to take Obama's "change" message - and it didn't work for Hillary when she tried to see if it would work its magic for her campaign. But now she has found her gold button. All she had to do was "show she was human" according to the media - that's the big story for Hillary. She is a human - vote her in and we'll see a lot more of those tears - right across the U.S. It will be a very human experience for everyone.

[Roses]

I'm a professional woman of Hillary's age. I admire Hillary for a being a very smart woman. This includes admiring her for being smart, playing the game while being at a disadvantage while on a very uneven playing field, HOWEVER I do not believe for a minute that those "tears" were a sign of real emotion or passion.

I think they were a mixture of exhaustion and frustration.

I realize this may sound extremely sexist, but I have noted anecdotally that men are many times swayed by women's tears while many women question the validity of those "tears" to prove emotion. Come on people, don't predicate your vote on "tears", judge on passion and ideas. So far Hillary hasn't convinced me.
Obama/Edwards '08 or Edwards/Obama 08-whatever

[LaurieLee]

I don't care if she cries or not. Her voting record while in the Senate on war/foreign policy is abysmal. Vote after vote aligned with the neocons. Vote for Iraq, vote for Patriot Act, unchanged Patriot Act, Patriot Act renewal, for cluster bombs on civilians, build ups in defense spending, for Kyl/Lieberman.

Maybe she teared up thinking about the little kids who will be killed with the cluster bombs she voted to continue selling to countries that use them on civilians?

[duggie]

Oh Puke! Enough with the savage sexist commentary. The depth of hatred for the female sex in this country is ASTOUNDING! Anyone who made similar disparaging jibes about a Black or Jewish American would be skewered by the press and every PC shark in the nation.

Has it occurred to anyone in this nation of DIM BULBS that HRC is not a robot, but STRONG? Has presented a "cold" (competent, male) exterior, because as a woman, she knows that one small perceived weakness and the KILLER WHALES will move in?

She's damned if she acts "like woman" whatever that is, and damned if she acts "like a man" (no comment on what that is.) She has just discovered that she can stop listening to the idiots who have been directing her campaign and BE HERSELF!

[evangelicalatheist]

This whole discussion is completely ridiculous John! The primaries are NOT the Oprah Show, or Jerry Springer for that matter. It's time we started discussing, and voting, the ISSUES - solutions to our problems. This is about the future of our country! PEOLPE, stop watching CNN & MSNBC and start watching C-SPAN! Ignorance has gotten us into this situation - try to be informed voters - THIS TIME!!!

[ariadne1]

upon seeing her "performance" monday it was obvious, to me anyway, that someone other than her usual coterie of advisors had gotten through... it was a "longshot" and could go either way but what did she have to lose?

speaking ad nauseum about how "personal" this election was to her-personal coming right out of john edwards repetoire-and assuming the mantle of joan of arc worked.

hopefully it will only work once... there are limits to the naivety of the american electorate.

[Camel54]

Obama's movement stalled in New Hampshire? He, a first term senator against Hillary Clinton, one of the biggest names in politics, comes within two points of her in a state she should completely own and he stalled?

It's like you guys who write these articles can't help but take things to absurd extremes. And it's hilarious reading the analysis of what happened in NH from the same people who got it so, so wrong.

It baffles me that a person who teaches communication would not recognize a thoroughly rehearsed performance. The fact that it came just when that was what she needed. The fact that it was just enough emotion, not so much that she'd appear weepy but enough to appear warm. Not that it's any different from any other part of a campaign, or that it should be offensive. I don't believe this little performance differs in any way from every other little performance a candidate puts on daily. I'm just surprised at the number of professionals who are discussing this as some sort of genuine article or "real deal".

From out here in the cheap seats, it looks more like NH just didn't want to be a follower. They wanted to make news, be different so they didn't play second fiddle to Iowa. It also looks like the weather cooperated with the older voters. Beyond that, I'm not sure how much the rest of the country likes her, really, really likes her, and it doesn't appear any of the experts have any more of a clue than the rest of us knuckleheads.

[preemptivelove]

i wasn't fooled one bit by her crocodile tears. i'm a progressive democrat. i voted for her husband twice.....and my aunt is friends with her. but i would NEVER vote for her. those tears were coached out of her by bill, no doubt. he tore a page from his own play book and handed it to her. this woman hasn't shed a tear over iraq, over katrina, over hunger or poverty in america. and then she starts to well up over the pressure of having to "watch her weight on the trail"?????? you've got to be kidding me. she's a phony. she hasn't done one thing of any substance to fight this current criminal administration, and i have zero respect for her. she hasn't been out in front on ANYTHING.

obama hasn't offered up anything specific. he keeps repeating that he's the "change" candidate. what the hell does THAT mean????

edwards 08 people. he's the only candidate besides kucinich who is addressing the root of ALL our problems--corporate and big business takeover of our democracy. from healthcare to war to the environment, it is greedy corporations who have been allowed to take over and trump the interests and the democracy of america. nothing will be fixed until we fix this. hillary won't do it, obama won't do it.....edwards will. it's simple.

phony tears don't move me in the least. and neither do empty promises of "change".