Hillary is bugging the crap out of me.
I want to like her. I like the idea of woman president. I think we should evaluate candidates based on their policy issues and leadership skills, and not whether or not we could envision tossing back a brewsky with them.
So, okay. Let's be adults. Let's line up the three Democratic candidates and compare their policy proposals. Frankly, the differences between them are shades of grey. Very, very subtle differences. If you care about national health care, each has a plan. There isn't a huge, huge difference between any of the plans. Any of the three options would be better than the status quo.
And, still, Hillary bugs me.
Maybe the fact that she bugs me comes from some hidden sexism programmed in me as a youth. Maybe the part of her that bugs me comes from society teaching me that women leaders are shrill. So, I've given her second, third, fourth chances.
Everybody hates her inner smug-smartypants-humorless-girl-from-third-grade. At the risk of morphing into David Brooks and reducing all politics to a high school lunchroom, let me just say that in the third grade, I was the space-cadet-girl-who-read-Little-House-In-the-Prairie-under-my-math-textbook. Hillary wins the prize for Least Fun to Party With.
She and Bill have been dreadful for the past few weeks. Their accusations of Obama being a Reagan-lover were stupid and juvenile. Bill has been too visible and aggressive in South Carolina. This isn't a woman hating thing. It's a Clinton hating thing.
I'm actually dismayed that Hillary is ahead in the Florida polls.
The New York Times endorsed Hillary today. But their opinion writers have been pounding her for weeks. Collins tells Bill to go home. Dowd writes, "Bill’s transition from elder statesman, leader of his party and bipartisan ambassador to ward heeler and hatchet man has been seamless — and seamy." Kristof mocks Hillary's experience. This endorsement from the Times must be their way of limiting damage to the likely Democratic candidate. As Democrats, this Hillary hatred is bad for business. It could push moderates into the McCain camp in November.
But we need to be honest that her low likability scores are a liability for us. Likability is a factor in elections. It shouldn't be dismissed as an irrelevant factor that only people with low policy knowledge use to make decisions. It will affect how she operates in Washington and abroad. The return of Bill into DC politics is something that few are looking forward to. If Obama loses, he's going to be Al Gore II - the martyred candidate that we wished had won.
Hillary better clean up her act now. Tell Bill to go back to his cushy charity job. Stop the low blows against Obama. Reduce the arrogance and attitude. But in the meantime, I'm a Obama girl.