Hooked on Hillary

I would like to put myself among the growing chorus of people demanding that Hillary Clinton withdraw from the election. I don't really think it's fair to ask her to withdraw, and I certainly don't believe she's going to; she'll hang in there till the last dog dies, or till she runs out of money, whichever comes first. I'm not asking her to withdraw because I prefer Obama, and I don't think she should withdraw "for the sake of party unity," or whatever current bromide is being flung at her to get her to pull out. I think she should withdraw because I'm losing my mind.

Don't get me wrong, this primary election has been swell. Like Michelle Obama, I feel proud of my country for the first time in a long time. I loved Dennis Kucinich, and I had a big sneaker for Chris Dodd. But now that we're down to two contenders, it's turned into an unending last episode of Survivor. They're eating rats and they're frying bugs, and they're frying rats and they're eating bugs; no one is ever going to get off the island and I can't take it any more.

I am particularly sensitive to this because I'm a woman of a certain age, and this means that part of the pie that passes for my brain contains a large slice called Hillary. I've been thinking about her in a fairly pathological way ever since 1992 and dreaming about her as well. She is me, and then again she's not. I used to love her and I no longer do, but unlike what usually happens when love dies, I still think about her far too much. When she tells a big lie, like her recent Bosnia episode, I can lose hours trying to figure out why. I mean, why? Was it one of those things that she'd said so often that she'd come to believe it? Was it a story that had worked in the past so she thought she'd gotten away with it? Did she honestly think that no one would rat her out? Does she not understand that if you're famous, there's almost nothing you do that someone doesn't have a picture of? I have no idea what the answer is to any of this because I'm not a liar and she is. (By the way, I don't think she was always a liar, the way some kids are born liars and never get over it. I think she was once a truthful person and her lying skills were forged in the early years of her marriage, forged in the crucible of Bill's infidelities and in her role as point person in dealing with them. This is what happens when you marry a narcissist: he spills the milk, you clean it up and your love grows. And then you end up a liar, just like him.)

But the point is that it doesn't matter why Hillary lied; what matters is that I'm hooked on Hillary and on the Rorschach process that defines my relationship with her: she does something, I spend far too much time thinking about it, I superimpose my life and my choices onto hers, I decide how I feel about what she's done, I bore friends witless with my theories, and then, instead of moving on, I'm confronted with yet another episode of her behavior and am forced to devote more hours to developing new theories about her behavior. I don't have time for this.

I understand that asking Hillary to withdraw from the race has more to do with me than it does with her, but that's my point.

Comments

[Steverino]

Nora, this is pretty funny and I can relate to it (even though I'm a male and I wound up voting for Obama in the end, literally at the last minute).

Meanwhile, best of luck sorting through the whacko responses you're sure to receive on this site. People here are just insane. They're nuts, and they hate Hillary. So I doubt you'll get many objective responses to your honest and funny post. That's a shame.

[AceInTheHole]

Did you ever take the time to try and figure out just why so many people dislike this woman SO MUCH! For you to do so, probabvly would be a very good exercise in Reality Thinking.
Most sane people don't dislike someone for no apparent reason. Most people didn't wake up one morning and decide, well this is a good day to start disliking this person with out cause to do so. I admit that on some occasions , intuition or kharma or whatever else method of discernment, one might have available to them , does sometime come into play, when deciding to like or dislike someone. But sadly I must say that the bottom line is that most people have enough experience in disliking other people,until they know exactly why they dislike someone, including her:)

[myskylark]

Yes I have thought about why so many people dislike Hillary Clinton. The conclusion I come to is that the Republican slime machine and a media that loved the "story" went about the business creating a stereotype of her for fifteen years.. What is really horrifying to me is that Demcocrats who support Obama have picked up that stereotype and bought into it because just supporting their candidate is not enough for them - they have to drag his opponent through the mud.

I no longer think of myself as a Democrat because I don't want to belong to party where the most vicious, hateful comments about your candidates opponent is considered normal.

[ARBOC2]

Nora, I have long been an admirer of just about everything you have to say on just about any subject. and find myself asking the same questions concerning Hillary's unbelievable lies that should plague anyone of us who have loved and admired Hillary from the very beginning. There can be no rational explanation unless she is a psychopathic personality given to bald-faced prevarication on any subject that benefits her .

I have always suspected that Bill, whom I have also adfmired greatly, is a clasic psychopathic personality. but I have never, before Bosnia, found reason to seriously suspect Hillary of sharing such character faults. I do not believe she can now recover from her exposure as a proven liar.

Since there is no reason, outside of self delusion for us liberals to believe that the country at large will vote for a black man to be president for a few more election cycles it seems that we will have to live with our lost opportunity to win the election that could not have been lost only a few months ago. It seems the liberal's proud history of taking pride in losing elections in good causes will live on.

[Semper]

Sorry Nora but Hillary is like an abusive parent. The Reese's Monkeys. You know, you are clinging on to a certain self destruction. You may need some help, seriously.

[RadicalPatriot]

Think about it—Hillary has the same despicable characteristics of President Bush-Cheney.
With Hillary, it’s the same old:
· deeply polarizing and divisive self, even within her own party.
· record of secrecy, lies, and prevarications, a government of hidden agendas, secret policies, and outright deceit, resulting an inability to believe in what she says or trust in what she does.
· my-way-or-­the-highwa­y mentality, with politics itself not a matter of compromise and necessary (if at times unhappy) cooperation, but a constant battle against vast political conspiracies.
· reckless fiscal policies, bankrupting America without control and without end.
· being totally in the pockets of Corporate America, lobbyists, and special interest groups.
· imperious disregard for the rule of law, of her party or of America, never being concerned about bending it, reinterpreting it, or disregarding it altogether if it does not suit her own personal needs.
· the same old politics of fear, so much that we must be afraid of, and the hollow promise that only she can save us.
· staged and choreographed presentations of public appearances, controlled in advance so significant and challenging questions will never have to be answered, so inconvenient truths will never have to be discussed.
· mentality of arrogant superiority, which refuses to genuinely admit that she is or ever was wrong about anything in any way, so the experiences she does have are rendered useless for she never learns from them.

America deserves much better

[northeast73]

Obama DID NOT WIN 11 IN A ROW!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!

It was NINE which included "democrats abroad" (1700 votes) and "virgin islands" (15,000 votes.)

The grand total of ALL THESE CONTESTS IS ABOUT AS MANY VOTES AT TX AND OH.

B F D!

[mensa999]

Your right he did not win 11 in a row. He won 12.

[ChandraSF]

When the dust settled Obama won more delegates in Texas than HRC. So why do her supporters still claim TX in the victory column for her? They fudge and lie, just like her. Which means it is hard to take them seriously.

[NewtonSylmar]

Your statement may be accurate, but in the primary process, the basic unit of measure is delegates, not voters. For that reason, Obama not only gets credit for the "11-in-a-row", but also, as reported yesterday, for Texas.

I don't have a problem with Hillary's qualifications (inflated, as they may be) nor do I lack confidence in her ability to do the job if she were to get the job. My only problems with her are very simple. She exerted more energy and aggression in the last three months toward a member of her own party than she did for her entire Senatorial tenure against the Iraq war and other policies that went against the better interests of the voters. It is also bad enough that she "embellished" her qualifications and experience. But, when presented with irrefutable evidence to the contrary challenging her claims, she just chose to continue the lie and expand upon it.

Hillary has disappointed me because I truly expected better from her. She thought she could simply walk into the Oval Office on name value only. She never saw Obama coming, and he made her pay for her complacency, and is continuing to do so by making her look as desperate as she is. Here it is, April 1st, and what was supposed to be a guaranteed Democratic landslide in November (thanks to seven-plus years of ineptitude and unabashed cronyism) has now turned into a race too close to call.

[campgranata]

obama won texas. it's the delegate count, stupid. Ask ex-president Al Gore how much the popular vote means.

[wilhelmR]

I am an Obama supporter and I don't believe anybody, as of now, should be talking about Hillary quitting. I used to think that but now it's too late, doing so is just to play into the hands of “Operation Chaos.” Letting the race run its course Obama can win the Presidential nomination against McCain with only two months. It is not how much time he has to run against the Republican but the quality of time and message. Whatever is in the works will be in the final run.

[lescargot]

Dear Nora,

It’s not entirely about Hillary you know. And it is most definitely not about you. Her numbers may be lower than Obama’s, but they are still considerable and they STILL represent a lot of American votes. Is that OK with you? I mean you don't mind do you?

It's about her numbers. Once it becomes clearly about Obama, the public will turn down the numbers and Hillary will follow. It will be about numbers - not numbers this close, but the kind that convinced Edwards and Kucinich to drop out.

Hate to intrude on your narcissism but ... it's called a democracy.

Let me ask this - not of you, but to all those who want HRC to drop out:
If Dennis Kucinich or Jon Edwards had as many delegates as HRC, would you want them to drop out now?

Think before answering.

Please.

[ProgressiveNotLiberal]

Yes and if it was anybody but Mrs Clinton, she would have dropped out after Wisconsin.

If the positions were reversed, I can assure you that Camp Hillary would be demanding Obama drop out. Bill said Hillary needed to win Ohio and Texas to stay in, well, she lost Texas. Bill is right. She needs to drop out and find a graceful way to do it.

Of course the best way I see it is if PA refutes the Hillary lies and pathetic assaults on a fellow Dem and votes overwhelmingly for Obama. That would be the best way.

[mensa999]

Yes I would want them to drop out. The longer the race goes on, the more I begin to think of Mitt Romney. Had Hillary dropped out of the race beforehand this Bosnia fiasco wouldn't have come out and she would still have had some level maybe even higher level of dignity and integrity left. To have once been in her corner, I have had time to analyze her and quite frankly she is not a woman that I respect.

[trinity29]

Here is a question for you. Hillary wants the numbers to count but at the same time wants the superdelegates to overturn the will of the people? Which side of the argument are you on? The whole piece was a tongue in cheek piece called satire. But I won't explain that to you since you seem all enlightened.

[NewtonSylmar]

I thought about it.
I want Hillary to drop out for the same reason that "Happy Days" should have closed up shop after Richie Cunningham moved out. It wasn't the same show after that, and the show that was left wasn't that good. When Hillary decided to challenge Obama with experience that she lacked as well...when she pulled out the 3AM phone call ad...when she said that McCain would be a better choice than Obama...when she challenged his patriotism because of his pastor's remarks...when her campaign compared him to Ken Starr because he was asking for her tax returns...when she lied about Bosnia...when she continued to lie about Bosnia after the video was made public and expanded on that lie, as well...when she shifted positions on Jeremiah Wright after a week had passed because the expected "damage" to Obama never materializ­ed...Hilla­ry wasn't the same Hillary after that, and the Hillary that was left wasn't that good.

[crazyv]

As an Obama supporter I think the calls to have Hillary quit are out of line and as a constituent of Sen. Leahy I am deeply disappointed that he asked her to. As long as there is a possibility of her winning she should continue. I would expect no less from Sen. Obama if he was in the same position. At least the ads that I have seen and heard about (with the exception of the 3AM one) have been generally positive and have sought to introduce the candidates to the electorate. I don't see how that hurts the general election prospects. Furthermore, the winner will have strong organization in all the states augmented by experienced volunteers and staff from the losing campaign who choose to make this about the Democratic party. Given Hillary's allergic reaction to the truth I am not sure that anything she is going to say is going to have much of an impact in November.

[Monrocsol]

NORA GO BACK TO MAKING MOVIES OR ASK OBAMA TO DROP OUT.

I AM A HILLARY SUPPORTER AND I DON'T WANT HER TO QUIT.

[vulcan]

And why in the world would he drop out?

[MRINSPIRED]

As Peggy Noonan said, you just don't get it do you? It's totally fine with you to have a proven bold faced liar and manipulator for a President!??

Sheesh!

[trinity29]

Nora is a blogger here and therefore she is free to express her opinions as you are also free to comment on her blog. However to ask her to go back to making movies is beyond a third grade level response.

More importantly, how do you explain Hillary calling for the having people vote and have their voices heard and then asking the superdelegates to turn the will of the voters?

[townsurrl]

Hillary is a liar albeit without effective skills and a common sense to have her lies stick..She lies because she is the closet Republican. She learned that in this country you can get far if you lie, you can even be the president! She is also married to another liar, just her finger is shorter...

[mickyx65it]

Nora Ephron seems to avoid answering some basic questions regarding your change of opinion. First of all, are you sure Hillary is not a narcissist? To my knowledge Hillary is a narcissist big time. Then, how can you explain your change of mind without clarifying why did you supported Hillary's Zionist warmongering stand against Iraq and recently against Iran? Is a war against Iraq or Iran something irrelevant in your view? Is it secondary, or are you hiding something?

[Miket53]

Nora...Hillary always came across as a power hungery person. Not a person running to change the world but her supporters were blind to the reality around her. You wonder why she told the "sniper" story....w­ell...that didn't surprise a lot of people. Hillary comes across as running for the sake of having power not because she wants to help society. Her every move from staying with Bill after his issues to running for Senator in a state she did not live in was all a design to win the Whitehouse. Then her supporters basically, and arrogantly, assumed winning the presidencey was in the bag. Now...because she can't let go of it she risks tearing the democrats apart. If not careful her legacy in history will be that she was the one to bring down the democrats in a year they assumed someone in their party was basically guarenteed the election.
http://mtaricani.blogspot.com/
Mike

[FJRinLA]

THE CLINTON INSURGENCY IS IN FULL SWING

CALLS FOR HER WITHDRAWAL ONLY FEED IT!


Fueling the current Clinton Insurgency against Obama AND the entire DEM party is the Clintons’ belief THEY were robbed of this nomination.

This belief provides them internal psychic comfort and external rationalization for ANY and EVERY behavior we have seen and will continue to see RIGHT THROUGH 2012.

Only the naive think this ends at the Convention. After losing there, the Clinton Insurgency goes underground to further expand their support of McCain's candidacy. If unsuccessful, it moves to the Senate where Hillary as Lieberman REDUX, will practically caucus with McCain to deny President Obama any success.

Between Super Tuesdays Obama won 11 straight states; and the Campaign to Elect Hillary morphed into the Campaign to Defeat Obama via this new political Insurgency we are witnessing daily.
Indeed, Hillary's campaign is an undeclared death-struggle to deny Obama not the nomination (she knows that's already lost), but the Presidency and any media coverage that would aid him.

The goal is no longer winning. Victory is in prolonging the battle and denying the favorite his expected result, while spoiling it so that ultimate victory is worth less each day the Insurgency continues. This new Clinton campaign can only be by design of our Chief Democratic Architect, former President Bill Clinton, himself.

We all know this in our hearts. The only question facing loyal DEMS, to paraphrase Sean Connery from "The Untouchables": What are WE prepared to do?

[Bozwellian]

(TRULY HATE agreeing, one of those that kept TRYING to think Hillary had potential to BE a good leader but sorry to admit, as she evolved or became further exposed, SHE IS NOT THE ONE, certainly NOT THE BEST CHOICE for Fems to promote as THE first Fem POTUS, she would be just another version of the present chief POUTUS and a bit of steroids added due to the precents the Bushlers have managd to insert into "executive" EMPOWERMENT capability !!! She is NOT a good choice for VP either..that too brings a SHUDDERING with visions of CHeney-esqueing ...TIME REALLY FOR THE CLINTONS TO RETIRE, do NOT even want to think of her being givn the Senate MAJORITY spot..THAT TOO WOULD NOT BE A GOOD THING and many REALLY DO KNOW IT !!! Hear some have "dangled" the NY Govenor spot to her as an enticement...NOT too sure NY'er's would go along with that..perhaps, but think Rudy stands a better chance (LOL) especially after the latest Dems that have filled the position !!!! Best option, have Hillary join up fully with her husband and become a truer dynamic couple in Bill's "foundation" doing good deedings around the world !!! (sorta ala Carter, who knows, maybe some day they too could ganer a Nobel for their Library /legacy and there in fid some worthiness..or even authentic pride !!!

[Wasp35]

Hillary Clinton, tireless advocate for universal healthcare, gets busted for failing to pay $300,000 in premiums for healthcare coverage promised to her own campaign staff. Shocker.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9274.html

[dawlishgal]

The only really shocking thing is that she didn't pay the big healthcare corporate giants first. If she doesn't pay them, then how are they going to give all that money back to her as reward for her previous failure and as downpayment on the next healthcare failure she has already promised them, if elected. It shocks me as a new resident of PA how duped people here can be to think that either one of the Clintons is on the side of the little guy. How quickly they forget NAFTA and the healthcare debacle that left our disempoyed among the uninsured.

[Pquid]

I don't suppose any of this hysteria about Hillary in Bosnia has anything to do with trying to get people's attention away from the Rezko trial?

[memoryaid]

What about the Rezko trial? Spill the beans! Know something we don't? Wanna "insinuate" some stuff?

Go ahead. Lie some more. Maybe it'll blow up in your face and this will end up even sooner.

In case you don't know where to start, how about looking at the names of the co-defendants in the case. And compare to the list of donors of a certain junior NY senator.

Oh, and report back soon, I haven't got all night.

[Pquid]

Oh my. Looks like I touched a nerve.

[ohdear08]

The Rezko trial has no momentum because the greedy, indicted rich abandoned by aspiring politician is tired as a story. Obama needs a bomb not a match to lose this and Rezko is just not interesting or perceptible enough for the masses to care. On the other hand, Hillary embellishing, at best, her "experience" in foreign policy, among other things, is too perfect, too hilarious and offers too much insight into, not her lying but something better, deeper and utterly Shakespearean: the delusional egoism of her whole entitlemen­t/ambition­/femme icon schtick. She doesn't lie because she believes her own lies. Her experience is as good as reading the Cliff Notes but passing the test. It's as big as Wright, just not as surprising.

[gallonjug]

no. I think it has more to do with the shockingly jovial and animated way she told the story on multiple occasions -- with SUCH conviction. I don't think she knew she was lying-- which may be more scary, and probably evident of NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) --look up the symptoms, it's pretty clear she has it.

[Pquid]

I know what Narcissistic Personality Disorder is. Overconfidence is one symptom. Deliberately misleading people is another.
http://www.youdecide2008.com/2008/03/31/obamas-campaign-caught-misleading-voters-about-1996-questionnaire/

[Bozwellian]

LOL, The Rezko trial resonates as much as Hsu's who got sentenced to fed prison and actually is on lesser grounds than Hsu's !!! Good try, are you next going to attempt to reinsert Wright for controversy sake ? AMazing ability to NOT see what folks DO see in the EXPOSURE of the Bosnia fabrication, false claim to glorified experience on parade spun to impress the masses for whom obviously figure too stupid to notice details or too guillible or too, well fill in the blank and note, found to be a reminder of Clinton penchant for REDEFINING realities !!!!

[trinity29]

Is there anything going on with the Rezko trial that you think warrants our attention? If so, please share.

[dahpunkster]

Hi lady ! (was hoping you would post again) I don't agree with everything you say, but get where you coming from .(they all lie, all of them, you never what what they stand for)I kind of still like Hillary, but then again, sometimes I feel she will do anything to get elected. And it still bothers me she voted for the war.I don't know how she could stay with someone who cheated on her over and over and over .either, but I am not married so I don't understand the whole married life So I cannot comment on that.I dunno I am just worried, I don't want Mccain to win, because he scares me, and still don't know quite what to think of Obama and there is no one else to vote for.. And seriously I know that probably sounds really dumb and niave But I would like to have a woman President in this country in my lifetime..
Kristy

[Loeb]

I was never for Hillary. She is too "hawkish" and would never take
steps to recognize HAMAS and establish a sovereign,­independen­t
State of Palestine, lift embargoes, stop murder, exploitation, get
The Geneva Conventions enforced (Articles 45,47 prohibit
occupation), push for a nuclear-free zone in the Middle-East.

Neither would Barack Obama. He models himself after his
"mentor" Joe Lieberman of Conn who is doing the Democratic
Party many favors. A holocaust survivor, Lieberman cannot
comprehend the holocaust the State of Israel is itself
running with Jews as the SUPERIOR RACE (not "Aryans").

HOWEVER, I have marveled at the development of Hillary
Rodham Clinton as a campaigner. I have been through some
campaigns in my day and don't expect finalists to bow
out politely.

I think many will find Senator Liberman...excuse me...
Senator Obama much more conservative and more
cautious than he is in their dreams. (a "neoliberal"?)

(See article by Daniel Levy in "The American Prospect"
April 08)

Member, Jewish Voice for Peace, at www.jvp.org, an organization
of Jews, Muslims, Christians, and "Other", currently
20,000 strong.

[accountability]

Loeb, thanks for the link. very interesting site.
these kind of movements are exactly what we need in the world-- and in the Democratic party!

This hellfire over Hillary Clinton is so distorted and ugly it makes my skin crawl. What is most disturbing is how much hates stirs up more hate. If you go back several months and read the comments on different posts there is a huge preponderance of Hillary Haters... not surprising here at HuffPo, there always has been. But while reading you will see very little nastiness from Hillary supporters directed toward Obama. month by month you see an increase in frustration and anger from HRC supporters directed at BHO supporters, and finally Obama himself. It is such a glaring example of how hatred and ugliness engenders more of the same. many of us waited (and worked!) a long time to be able to see anything other than a white guy being a viable candidate for President. We struck gold and got two. Instead of spending our time working positively, setting an example of doing things differently we just wallowed in the mud of division and hateful name calling while the neo-cons point their fingers howling with laughter, delighted at the mess we are making. They know that their Hillary Hate agenda is being played out for them by the left and damn if it doesn't make them... lets say aroused. Terrible. Embarrassing.

[MaggieCat]

Amazing, no one seems to acknowledge that this woman who lies without batting an eye, that in addition to lying so egregiously, took her daughter on a plane wherein they would be susceptible to sniper fire!? The proof of her lie is just that; she took her young daughter into a previously war torn country. Does anyone actually believe that a good mother would risk the life of her child for a photo op? Grow up and stop soft pedaling on this issue and stop allowing the media to soft pedal. She is a ridiculous liar who shows that she actually believes in her fairtales. Does that make her pathological, sociopathic,...hmm, any takers on this question?

[AnninCA]

And Obama said he never heard Wright speak such things and then completely contradicted that in his great speech.

Is he also pathological?

[memoryaid]

Are you deaf, delusional or just plain gullible?

He said he never heard those specific things. Then he said he's heard some "controversial" things. Anybody that's ever been to a black church knows that any sermon has parts that would be considered "controversial". That's the whole point.

No contradiction if you're actually listening and not just hearing.

You might want to read about what the theology behind TUCC is before you parrot lines like that. NPR did a good piece on it. Churches and universities are talking about it. By Nov everybody in America will know more about black churches than they do about any other church.