Hillary the Admonisher

My favorite part of Hillary Clinton's speech last night was when she admonished her followers not to put their affection for her over the issues. When she reminded them that what's at stake is far more crucial than their loyalty to her. When she reproved them for thinking for even a moment that her historic thrilling campaign was more important than the real campaign to defeat the Republicans.

Where any of her followers could have gotten the idea doesn't seem to have crossed her mind. The fish stinks from the head down. The Clintons' narcissism (and yes, I know, it's an overused term but if there was ever a moment for it in our national life, this is it) perfumed every bit of Hillary's campaign, and it leaked down to her contributors and followers. "Were you in it for me?" was her funniest line of the night.

In this morning's Times there's a piece about the Hillraisers, the people who raised over $300,000 for Hillary, many of whom are apparently bitter and angry that they were not given rooms in the Denver Ritz-Carlton, as the early Obama fundraisers were. They are so mad, according to the Times, that some of them are flying home today and deliberately missing Obama's speech on Thursday. (If you're not nice to me I'm just going to take my private plane and go home.) These are people who, may I remind you, were thinking about their Cabinet and sub-Cabinet positions, who were dreaming of Ambassadorships, who were on the verge of looking at houses in Georgetown. They're miserable. They lost. They were wrong. They're worth millions, or in some cases, billions, and they're not used to being wrong, much less to paying a price for being wrong, and they can't stand it. There's an expression for this -- narcissistic mortification -- and you can smell it all the way from Denver.

My other favorite thing about Hillary's speech is that she wrapped herself up in Seneca Falls, and my God Harriet Tubman, even Harriet Tubman, and yet somehow she never once referred to Roe vs. Wade. She never once mentioned choice. She never once said the truth, which is that any Hillary supporter who doesn't understand that this issue alone is the reason to vote for Obama has no business pretending to be a Democrat. I realize that sounds as if I'm admonishing her, but I caught the admonishment bug last night and this blog is an attempt to shake it off.

Comments

[EGNY]

Great post! I couldn't agree more. You know, after she finally made her concession speech (which was very well done) there were a lot of people -- myself included -- who made a point of calling for everyone to put the primary race behind us.

I saw reply after reply-- and made some myself -- suggesting that bitter anti-Hillary comments should stop and that it was in everyone's best interests to cool the rhetoric. "UNITY," we all said. I still feel that way.

Back then, we said "give the Hillary people a while to calm down. Don't take the bait every time one of them repeats foolish lies about Obama or makes wildly inflated claims about Hillary's dominance of the primary popular vote." I still feel that way.

But, watching her speek, I found myself getting really angry. Here she was, speaking at the Convention to nominate Obama, and she was STILL giving her stump speech. How many times did we all hear those same anecdotes during the primaries? The first half of her speech was "me, me, me." She pulled it out somewhat by the end, but still left the feeling that her defining characteristics are ego and hubris. God knows, we've had enough of that!

All this time later, there are still plenty of Hillary people who have NOT calmed down, and in her own version of "dog whistle politics," Hillary still seems to be encouraging them. She does not seem likely to change.

[dreffein]

Your HRC hatred is doing nothing to calm the waters and Senator Obama needs HRC even more today after naming a woman to be his VP (according to MSNBC).

[cyndeewi]

Hillary did an excellent job.. Who cares if she was using her stump speech or not. Can you please give her a break. Heck, my profile shows that I am a supporter of Obama but these slurs on Hillary has got to stop.

[iLogos]

Yes Sen. Clintons first part of the speech was a lot about her, what she had accomplished and thanking her supporters­... but it was done not to further puff herself up so much as to let them down gently.

Her speech was fantastic, quite possibly the best of her career... the one sticking point is she did not recant what she knew to be false statements about Sen. Obama not being ready to lead. No matter how much you dislike a family member they are still your family, you never give someone else ammo to hurt your family, because they'll turn it soon you the first chance they get.

If by some twist of Fate Sen. McCain does win and Sen. Clinton runs again, she will face an entire slate of Democrats all who will happily point out they lost the election because of her. They will use it as a hammer to drive home every bad quality she has real and imagined, and if she manages to make it through that Sen. McCain will do the same.

[MrCoffeeCup]

Nora you get it! There is something that stinks and the disappointment of HRC big buck contributo­rs/loyalis­ts screams to be noticed. Just follow the money and WHO EARNED WHAT?

1. Hard fought campaign. Hillary loans millions to her campaign with intent to be paid back PLUS interest. Details not known.
2. HRC loses nomination battle. Supporters out big time on/of their own resources and their influence diminished by asking for money to a loosing battle.
3. Loyal supporters angry with results, demand HRC go the distance and fight to the bitter end. HRC declines. WHY??? She possibly could have stolen the nomination! Why not go for the gold,aka risk everything?
4. HRC wants her money back with INTEREST! NO PRAISE UNLESS SHE GET'S HER RAISE.
5. HRC dances all around "Nice Guy, yada, yada, go Obama, but does not say he should be the PREZ. WHY? Cause she's gonna run in 2012.
"Never praised him, never liked him, didn't trust him?" HRC will claim she still can do a better job in 2012.
6, HRC GETS hubby to give praise! Why? Because HRC+ BC gets their money back with interest!! if her Hubby was wrong about BHO...well it's his opinion. ......all other supporters get nothin!!!! Not a bad Deal for the Clintons!!!!!
Did you actually NOT WONDER why HRC WAS SMILING SO BROADLY DURING BC SPEECH? They walk away with the gold mine; supporters get the shaft.


Why is Dick Nixon still laughing?????

[rankola]

And what IF a BHO presidency is a failure???

[yourstruly]

What makes you think it could be? As far as I'm concerned, he addressed almost every problem posed by the last eight years. It's going to take a long time to clean up this stinking mess, and I don't expect success on every front, but at least Obama knows what the issues are.

BTW, there's more at stake in the Supreme Court than abortion rights. What about the erosion of our constitutional rights to free speech and against torture, and that ultimate biggie, habeas corpus?

[cyndeewi]

I wish you would write these things about John McCain new pick and leave Hillary alone.

[MrCoffeeCup]

Cyndeewi" First, John McCain hasn't loaned his campaign any money! Second, Nora Ephron stated correct facts about HRC fundraising and the result of the HRC campaigns.
Third, HRC, can't stand BHO and will do as little as possible to get him elected. However, BC will make highly publicised "joint" apprearances, yet, it will not be of true substance concerning BHO abilities. It will be about the Democratic Party taking the reins of power back. Just watch and listen to what is said and not said; especially what is not said.
The only reason that BC will change emphasis is if BC becomes nominated and wins the position of Secretary General of the United Nations. Only then will HRC openly become aggressive against BHO and attack him during his Presidency if Bill isn't nominated!

[Biotecchie]

Great comments, Nora. Hillary needed her moment in the sun, but it is time for her followers to understand that bigger issues are at stake here. We need to get out of the '60s... time to move on.

[Demfan]

Sorry, Nora, but your negative remarks about Hillary are so undeserved they give me heartburn.

[andrea.t]

try pepto bismol

[dgsweet]

Obviously the Clintons worked their speeches as a coordinated team. Hillary took the ball halfway down the field, Bill took it home. Her followers were not going to accept her filling her mouth with praise for Obama, so she didn't try to sell that. Bill, on the other hand, gets more mileage out of the gesture BECAUSE he's been so grumpy in the background. If he can overcome his own worse angels (and he's got some pretty funky angels), that resonates.

[happycat]

I love you Nora! Great post!

[michael429]

welcome back to the land of reason Nora......­thanks for this.

[save our neighborhoods]

May I just say, "RIGHT ON!"

[gotalife]

At least they stopped calling him racist. A new low in dem politics.

Watching his wife's speech, he comforted the survivors of two fellow Dems that recently passed. One on each arm, hugging them when Hillary honored them.

Then he was beaming with pride and love watching his wife give the best speech of her career.

The next night he had them eating out of his hand, the best in the business.

Not only are the Clintons great Americans, they are great people with big hearts. They should be honored and not attacked and called racists.

[Bitsko]

Very good take, home girl. Keep up the great work.

[kekoa]

It's common sense to now back up the winner of the Democratic party since she did not achieve her goal of beating Obama. I saw her speech and i think she did a great job. Her supporters will either split or be loyal and follow her lead, enough said. We all have choices to make and the overwhelming choice is for Obama for the Democratic choice of President.

[SethBLiNK]

Nora, when you wrote this (24 hours ago) I agreed with you 100%, but since then, Bill spoke, said all the things I felt Hillary had left out and now, as far as I'm concerned, all's well with the Democratic world.

I would have liked Hillary to publicly take back some of the things she had said during the race, but I can't help thinking of Bill and Hillary as a team, so the fact that one of them said it, plus praised the naming of Biden as VP, is enough for me.

[Tulka2]

Since the 1960s Black Americans have stepped up and voted for every decent Democrat. The Black community has been loyal and magnanimous to the Democratic party. Here we have for the first time a brilliant, wise and warm Black man for a candidate. I refuse to believe white Americans, my own race, will refuse to vote for Obama because of his race.

Hillary Clinton does not bear the whole burden here. White journalists are frightened ot speak of white American racism. It's time for ordinary, white Americans to remind other ordinary white Americans to do the right thing.

[slaxx]

personally, i think that anyone ignorant enough to not vote for someone because they're black probably wouldn't vote for a woman and probably doesn't care too much for gay rights either.

[YellowPanties]

Nice one, Nora. I think you hit the nail on the head: those Hillraisers need to pull their heads out and get behind the plow.

[wyntka]

Never in my voting life (always a Dem) has my favorite during the primaires become our candidate. Not once. But I've always backed the party's choice (what am I gonna do, vote for the dark side?). Neither O or HRC was my first choice, but I'm very enthusiastically supporting our candidate in this critical election. Any Clinton supporter who will not vote for O is a weak whiner. OK you didn't get your favorite; me either. But what are YOU gonna do, vote for the dark side?