Hillary Clinton’s latest memoir, What Happened, is coming out next month. We already talked about the title and how it should have been called Pantsuit Bae or WTF or I Won The Popular Vote. Still, I’m looking forward to Hillary’s book tour. Ten bucks says that every time Hillary gives a television interview, Trump rages on Twitter. It’s going to be “Crooked Hillary something” or “Everyone’s talking about John Podesta” or “BUT HER EMAILS” throughout the book tour. Bring it on. For now, the first quotes from the book have come out and Hillary totally called Trump a “creep.” I have some other pejoratives for him.
This isn’t a comprehensive look at the election: “I don’t have all the answers and this isn’t a comprehensive account of the 2016 race; that’s not for me to write. I have too little distance and too great a stake in it. Instead, this is my story. I want to pull back the curtain on an experience that was exhilarating, joyful, humbling, infuriating and just plain baffling. Writing this wasn’t easy. Every day that I was a candidate for President, I knew that millions of people were counting on me, and I couldn’t bear the idea of letting them down, but I did. I couldn’t get the job done. And I’ll have to live with that for the rest of my life.”
A Russia joke: “In this book, I write about moments from the campaign that I wish I could go back and do over. If the Russians could hack my subconscious, they’d find a long list. I also capture some moments I want to remember forever, like when my tiny granddaughter raced into the room while I was practicing my convention speech, and what it was like hours later to step onstage to deliver that speech as the first woman ever nominated by a major political party for President of the United States.”
The discomfort she felt during the St. Louis debate, where Trump stalked her across the stage. “‘This is not OK,’ I thought. It was the second presidential debate and Donald Trump was looming behind me. Two days before, the world heard him brag about groping women. Now, we were on a small stage, and no matter where I walked, he followed me closely, staring at me, making faces. It was incredibly uncomfortable. He was literally breathing down my neck. My skin crawled. It was one of those moments where you wish you could hit pause and ask everyone watching, ‘Well, what would you do?’ Do you stay calm, keep smiling and carry on as if he weren’t repeatedly invading your space? Or do you turn, looking him in the eye and say loudly and clearly, ‘Back up, you creep. Get away from me! I know you love to intimidate women, but you can’t intimidate me, so back up.’ I chose Option A. I kept my cool, aided by a lifetime of difficult men trying to throw me off. I did, however, grip the microphone extra hard. I wonder, though, whether I should have chosen Option B. It certainly would have been better TV! Maybe I have over-learned the lesson of staying calm, biting my tongue, digging my fingernails into a clenched fist, smiling all the while, determined to present a composed face to the world.”
Even just thinking back to that debate and how Trump physically invaded her space makes me feel so bad for her. We knew at the time too, we saw it in real time and people spoke about it, how it was Trump’s misogynistic intimidation tactic, and how Hillary showed as much grace as possible. But yeah, in retrospect, I wish she would have stopped for a moment and said “you’re invading my space, back up.” She wouldn’t have even needed to call him a creep (that would have been implied). Sure, she would have been criticized, but when was she NOT criticized?
Photos courtesy of Getty.
“If the Russians could hack my subconscious”.
The SHADE !!!!!!!! SPOT ON, HILLARY !!!
Sigh. What could have been, huh?
Yes. I’m still mourning.
Our “Perpetual Lady of What Could Have Been”.
Oh my god, I almost cried just now. Is what she describes here, him physically invading her space and her “keeping her cool”, not something that resonates with every f*cking woman everywhere??? The moment he decided to do that, there was no winning for her. Say nothing, let him get away with it. Say something, be sensitive and whiney. I need a drink.
Also, she needs to stop apologizing for an imperfect campaign. Nobody has ever run a perfect campaign but Orange Adolf gets elected and it’s the woman’s fault for running an imperfect campaign. And emails. Lest we forget the emails. F*ck this.
Or she could have done something very spontaneously, like W did when Al Gore invaded his space, sighed loudly, and rolled his eyes during their pre election debate. Without saying a word, W communicated through his facial expressions and body language that Gore’s behavior was out of bounds.
Spontaneity is not what is drilled into candidates during events though. And for me personally, as a woman, it’s usually the voice of “Don’t act bitchy, it’s probably not as bad as you think.” that wins out. And she’s twice my age. I don’t expect her to be spontaneous when the creepiest creeper in the land stalks her across a public stage.
What LittleMissNaughty said. I mean come on, she was (and some night say she still is) arguably the most hated woman in America. She was trying to remain composed and calm because if she showed a hint or animus she would be instantly labeled as “crazy” or “unhinged”.
There was no win for her. The right defined her long ago, and they looked for reasons no matter how insignificant to attack her.
How sad is it that even the first female presidential candidate has to deal with male aggression and intimidation ON STAGE DURING A TELEVISED DEBATE? What hope is there for the rest of us?
Our hope has to be in each other.
Our feminism has to be intersectional. Or it’s shit.
Ugh. That one stings, doesn’t it? Knowing that if she says anything, it’ll dominate the headlines – she was “too sensitive”. Not wanting to rock the boat. Weighing the options of feeling safe, or being “difficult”.
Haven’t we all been there.
“Our feminism has to be intersectional. Or it’s shit.”
Hear, hear.
YES, Cbould!!
MamaHoney, it is so incredibly sad.
Cbould, I didn’t carry a sign at the woman’s march, but sometimes I think back to what I should have chosen to write. The line that says in my head is “My Feminism is Intersectional”. I kind of want a t-shirt.
What the hell, the candidates are required to be seated during election debates in my country, to avoid intimidation. I can’t believe roaming around is even a thing in the US???
Cried & shuddered. Everytime this happens to me in the work place, I freeze up. Smile froze lay. Then flee as quickly as possible.
Hate that I still do that, even after all these years.
Cbould, I feel you girl. I work in a male dominated industry. And men that either invade my space, talk over me, mansplain, etc. is an every day occurrence. I work for family, so its mainly the customers that pull this crap. My uncle told me to stand up for myself.
And I do. The men get really embarrassed when I talk back to them, or say something about how I’ve been doing this for 20 years, I’ve probably forgotten more than they know. etc…… and the beauty of it is, if they complain, my uncle takes my side because he knows what I have to deal with.
I hope things change for you.
I have two typical reactions, and both of them make me feel shame later on. I either do what you do and freeze and smile…or I kind of flip out and assert ownership of my space in the room by standing, pulling my shoulders back, getting in their face, talking louder. I can be a kind of rabid beast when I get cornered. Lingering effect from being touched without consent.
KTAE87, damn, you a bad ass lady. Good to know & see & hear how other women confront this.
I’ll get there.
I can’t imagine how you worked in a male dom. industry & dealt with it. I was a teacher for about a decade & was (naively) shocked to experience it so often.
Tiffany, I can so relate to your rabid beast & then shame afterwards. I seem to also vacillate between the two extremes. Neither feels great, but the shame afterwards of losing your humanity & feeling somehow complicit in that robbery is THE WORST. Any advice / tips?
Cbould,
It took me ten years before I finally said I had enough of this shit. I can do this job better than some men. Why am I taking lip service from them. But it was hard to break out of what I was trained that a nice young lady’s response should be. I used to just back up and put equipment between us or smiled nicely when they would interrupt or talk over me.
Really it was my uncle that woke me up. I had just gotten cussed out on the phone by a customer who was pissed that his five year old product had plastic parts breaking. He asked me why I didn’t hang up, and I said something about not offending the customer, that it wasn’t my place, etc….
He told me to stand up for myself, never take shit from any of the customers because you (I) know what I am doing. Anyways, like I said, that pattern of behavior was ingrained. It’s taken about 2 years to really be fully in control and not apologize for knowing more than a man and to not take shit from them.
This so perfectly sums up my thoughts. There was no winning for her, only a cost-benefit analysis of how screwed she was going to be.
Right, what could have been. I guess the moderators should have said something, but they had to seem “neutral”? I thought his behavior would just dig his grave- but Russia had already hacked the brains of the deplorable.
Yes, she let us down.
Some days the only thing keeping me sane is my silly little fur baby.
Hmm did she? She stepped up and she has spent years contributing as a public servant. Americans let Americans down by not voting or voting for the crazy. I guess crazy sells.
She did the best she could. She was amazing. She didn’t let me down.
@Harryg – you said exactly how I feel!!!
Alexandria, didn’t you know? She let us down by:
– having a voice that sounds like a person’s voice, which some people didn’t like
– not being able to control every one of her husband’s action
– being the candidate of a campaign that had some flaws, just like every other campaign for president, ever
– not being best mates with Julian Assange, thereby giving him a reason to leak info about her and not the info he had on her opponent
– winning the popular vote
– soldiering on despite being probably, per capita, the most hated female in history for no good reason
What a disappointment she is, huh?
We donated the legal maximum to her primary campaign in 2008 and to her campaign in 2016, we knocked on several hundred doors, and helped pound yard signs into some of the rockiest soil I ever seen.
We had a lot of skin in the game because we believed (and still do) that Hillary would be an amazing president. We were and remain deeply disappointed since we have dedicated our lives to progressive causes and watching years of hard won victories tossed into the flaming trash barrel that is the Trump administration kills us a little more each day.
I knocked on doors for her and I don’t think she let us down at all. She was up against so many factors, not least of which was a decades old smear campaign that was so effective that people started hated her almost as a reflex, seemingly without even stopping to consider how considerable her accomplishments and experience were. She came pretty darn close to winning and considering how many times she came back from the mom dirty tricks imaginable, I’d say she did many of us proud. Of course we’d prefer if she’s won but she should have no regrets about what she had to offer and how she conducted herself.
How did she let us down? Did we see the same election?
There was a covert campaign against her. We may never know how far it got. If Russia was able to hack voting machines it may be decades before that information is declassified. We do know that the internet was flooded with bots spreading fake news and right wing loonies egged it on.
So no, she didn’t run a flawless campaign. But you can’t discount the forces aligned against her. Nor is it ok to discount the role pure misogyny played in this mess either. Haters do not get a pass.
There is a difference between running a flawless campaign and running a good campaign. Hillary focused on the states she wanted, not the states she needed, and lost the electoral college vote as a result.
Any Democrat who loses to Trump is a disappointment to me.
Neither candidate ran a flawless campaign. With the intense dislike of her, she was going completely uphill to win and she did NOT play the game to win. She simply didn’t.
I’m still perplexed that she was beaten by DT though…..but yes, he was clear on where and how he needed to focus to win, and against all odds and predictions ……
What I “heard” was that coal would be replaced by clean energy and that would mean jobs for the disenfranchised. Call me crazy, but would you rather black lung for the next dozen generations, or to learn the technology of the future? Maybe I heard a different campaign. It was russian meddling (plus the bernie or busters). We need to stop blaming her- she was more than fit for the job.
I feel empowered by Hillary, not let down. I feel let down by the supporters, by the republican party, but most of all by the bernie bros and the third part “I vote my conscience” people.
Every speech she gave, every moment Michelle spoke about her, every debate, I felt the power of this woman and what she took on her shoulders, for all of us women, globally. She did it for herself, but also for us.
She has paid enough of a price for not winning. Circumstances were against her, Mueller has yet to have his say.
I feel inspired by her. She lost, yes. Partly because of rampant misogyny, partly because of timing and partly because people are morons. But she dedicated her life to public service and went for what she wanted. Losing this race doesn’t define her and frankly, this is the reality for so many women. This narrative of success through hard work, like it’s something that automatically happens, is dangerous. And women face a ton of crap that most men don’t face. It’s important that girls and young women see that and know what’s up. That only means you fight harder.
She didn’t let us down. The patriarchy did. Unsurprisingly.
^^^^^ THIS! ^^^^^
And don’t forget the racism. The pendulum was already swinging away from her, but the racism provided the extra push.
And when I say racism I mean both the extraordinary whitelash and simmering white resentment that was precipitated by 8 years of a black president as well as the white nationalist base that ensured Trump’s win.
I don’t feel let down by Hillary. I feel let down by people like my dad who voted for Trump. I also feel let down by people who voted for Jill Stein, something a close friend of mine said was a ‘vote of conscience.’ Both these men’s ‘consciences’ are now being governed by an incompetent moron. I hope all of those voters are burdened by their choice as much as Hillary is over having the nerve to be smart, well qualified candidate.
SHE let us down? Oh Hell NAH! She did the best she could and did a hell of a job campaigning. She is not perfect but she would have been a great President and set a precedent for more female leadership in the US. The only ppl who let “us” down were the American ppl who A. Didnt even bother to vote or B. Voted for an idiot who also happens to be a racist, sexist, pig. Don’t get it twisted Megan. Place blame where it’s needed and instead of hugging your fur baby go out there and raise awareness and vote for politicians who will be the voice of the people who can’t be heard. I’ll hug my fur baby and do the same instead of blaming Hillary.
@JA Yes, she is a great campaigner and every speech she made brought tears to my eyes, but I am not going to rewrite history and pretend her operation wasn’t a mess. Even with all the Russia BS, she still won the popular vote by a large margin.
I’ve worked in and around politics enough to know that a candidate’s first order of business is to make his or her case to the voters. The second order of business is to get out the vote. She missed the mark on both in the states where it mattered.
She didn’t let me down. She was so damn impressive in the face of everything thrown at her, for decades and then during the campaign. And she was magisterial during the debates.
Glad that through her book she is reclaiming her time.
You know who let me down? The media, especially CNN and The New York Times. They let me down, big-time. Friends who were too complacent to do anything let me down, as did white people who fancy themselves ‘lefties’ who fell for the combination of long-term right-wing/Republican propaganda and short-term Russian propaganda and sat it out or threw away their votes, and then started blaming black voters who were shut out of voting for “not showing up.”
The few people I know who voted for Trump not only let me down, they earned my rejection of them and their disgusting values and behavior.
She was SO incredible in the debates IMO. The debates themselves were brought down to an unbelievably low level to accommodate the Orange Idiot, but still she maintained a veneer of calm and answered each question carefully and thoughtfully.
Very well said, WATP. And I agree with you both that her debate performances were incredible. Few few people could do as well as she did, against any opponent. She was/is wise, intelligent, thoughtful and, imo, warm and engaging.
My daughter isn’t overly involved with what goes on outside her world but she did want to watch the debates and she was deeply impressed with Hillary’s manner and bearing – and that was before anything in particular about policy content.
Sheer body language – Trump sniffing, snorting, stalking – horrified her.
Things like this destroyed people like Dick Nixon in TV debates. The Republican party cheated through a long-term campaign of voter suppression and the Trump campaign got a welcome (“Love it!”) assist from Russia.
She didn’t let me down. The voters in Michigan and Pennsylvania did as did the elected officials who gerrymandered Wisconsin into oblivion
I do not feel let down by Hillary.
I feel let down by my fellow citizen constituents who voted for Trump, Bernie and Jill Stein.
And also by our own government.
lightpurple: I’m stalking you! I wrote you a message on another thread, figured you might see one of them…how does Boston, and you personally, feel about the trade. I’m dazed and confused!!
nicegirl, yes! I feel let down by (former) friends on both the right and the left. The folks on the left probably would be the last to consider their actions racist or sexist, but in the end, racism and sexism are active and behavioral, and there you go. To vote for Jill Stein or to smear Clinton from the left were acts of sexism, and given Trump, acts of racism, too.
@Nancy, I’m a bit stunned. I still haven’t forgiven Ainge for my beloved Avery Bradley. To us, it is more than just Isaiah for Kyrie. We had a good team at the end of the season and now only 4 of them remain and 1 of them was a rookie who didn’t play much. I don’t know how much chemistry this team will have. I don’t know my team right now. Isaiah has so much heart, so much passion so your Cavs pick that up but his chances will be greatly diminished by LeBron. Kyrie is a great talent but not sure how he’ll cope with the very intense Boston sports media. Not sure how his whole flat earth thing will fit in here either. And I’m angry Ainge gave you that draft pick. That’s Pierce’s legacy, you know? But given the history of LeBron & Crowder, you might get some interesting nights – they’re likely to haul off & punch one another
Lightpurple: Yeah, I’m stunned as well. I never expected him to go to an Eastern Div. team. Actually, I never expected him to go. Who leaves a team that’s been to the finals three years in a row. I’ve been reading how Boston’s whole team is basically revamped. E Gads! I like Isiah, and hope he fits in. What you said about Crowder is true. I remember him getting knocked down on his butt for over-excitement!! Don’t worry about Kyrie’s flat Earth, etc……he plays to win and he was my favorite. Wade supposedly coming to Cavs at some point and LeBron leaving supposedly next year. I do remember when it was fun to watch and cheer and not be broken hearted over their personal agendas. Good luck to the Celtics, it is fun to watch Kyrie when he goes on a dribble fest or scores more than 50 points in a game!! *at least it’s a diversion from trump who is giving me ulcers*
Her electorial loss is questionable (yes, it is). She was the most qualified person to ever run and she had interference from the House, Senate, and Russia and still took the popular vote by 3 million. What the hell did you expect.
She let me down by the way she ran her campaign. Was she the “most qualified person” bla bla bla? Yes, but so was John Kerry and Al Gore, and they lost as well. As for winning the popular vote, most of that came from the blowout wins in Massachusetts, the New York tri-state area and the West Coast. Why did she lose Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania? Voter fraud and third party candidates could only do so much.
Let’s face it, Trump sold the white working class with a simple message. Hillary wasn’t a nimble enough politician to pull off bs like Trump did. Maybe Bill could’ve done it, but Hillary didn’t. See My Website was not a slogan that resonated with some voters.
I am glad she said that because it shows the stark contrast between her character and the monster in the White House. It gave me a lump in my throat to hear her voice.
There were problems in the campaign, and they admit it. There were missed opportunities and bad advice. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was wrong for the job. However, the mountain she had to climb was daunting, and she wasn’t treated fairly by the media at all. They slammed Bill but not Melania. Come on. There was plenty to dig into but no even though Michelle Obama had been fair game.
Even with all of that, she won the popular vote.
Once she was the candidate I did what I could but it was too late by then. I blame the media more than anything for reporting on every negative thing they could about her and the Democrats. On and on. But skipped over his GIGANTIC glaring flaws and history. They showed all of his campaign ideas and never hers.
Sigh
It feels so long ago… when he was simply a creepy-ass presidential candidate, stalking Hillary Clinton, rather thank stalking all of our souls. He’s predatory, and I’m sure all women can imagine what that moment felt like. I hope she’s living her best life. I will always admire her strength.
I can hardly bear to look at those pictures.
I felt so bad for her. Frankly if she would have decked him I would have shouted support from the rooftops, he was creepy as heck.
I watched with my daughter, just into her 20s, and she was so horrified by his behavior.
She didn’t grow up with as much of that public predatory behavior as did women my age and older. I think most of us wanted to climb through the TV screen and push him off the stage.
The only upside was Alec Baldwin’s mockery of this made Tangerine extremely mad. He still talks about it.
Still.
Sadly, if she had called him out at the time, she would have been absolutely trashed for it. Haters everywhere would have painted her as a histrionic, overreacting woman and that’s why women are unfit to lead.
The playing field is not even. White cis het males get the benefit of every doubt and then some. The rest of us, not so much. It makes me so angry. Trump isn’t even good enough to be mediocre and look at where he is. I hate it.
absolutely.
Damn it, you are prob. right about all that
Absolutely.
Yeah, option B was the better option. No matter how it was received, it would have been a moment, and she desperately needed some moments to try and claw back some of the public’s attention.
I still think the main reason she lost is because early on, the campaign stopped being her campaign, and became the ‘not Republican’ campaign and then the ‘not Trump’ campaign. She’s one of the most well-known politicians in the world, but she became an afterthought. Even at the freaking Democratic Convention she was an afterthought after Biden and Michelle Obama and even dull as dishwater Tim Kaine. Trump dominated the media, building up his base, and Clinton hung back a bit, relying on simply being the other, better option. Which is historically a terrible strategy. It doesn’t inspire an apathetic voter base to vote. It just confirms their decision to not vote for anyone.
People blame the third party voters even though those results were pretty standard for an election. The real problem is Democrats didn’t bother coming out in force. If even a quarter of the people who came out for Obama but not Clinton had voted, she’d have won easily.
The “not Trump” marketing campaign was lazy and ineffective, and disregarded the genuine concerns ‘flyover America’ had about her policy positions. It was a terrible mistake. Every ad should have been “I hear your concerns about x and here, specifically, is what I’m going to do about it.” That would have made her the “anti-Trump” in a far more effective way. I echoed your point about Kaine below, another very poor choice. Because in the end it came down to low turnout.
I agree.
I dunno. What if the German democracy of the 1930s put all its resources into “Not Hitler?” Sometimes you have to do that. Trump really was a major threat and she was right to call it to our attention. Every damn thing she said about him is true.
Yep! “Go to My Website” is not a slogan.
@WATP But it didn’t work. It wasn’t effective. Surrogates should have done that, and she should have focused over and over on the concerns of the middle class and economic concerns. She didn’t define herself enough and skipping the rust belt was a terrible idea. They were loyal Democrats but they still needed attention.
Hillary rightly complained that the DNC didn’t have the data she needed for an effective ground game to actually turn out the vote she needed. But they didn’t have it for Obama either. He built his own data machine. I remember reading an interview with McCain’s campaign manager after the 2008 election where he said Obama was turning out votes in precincts they didn’t know even existed.
The people who “didn’t come out” were in part people who DID come out but voted for Stein/Johnson, as well as hundreds of thousands of African-Americans and other voters who were disenfranchised by inadequate voting locations and hours, voter ID laws, gerrymandering, voter intimidation, insufficient voter registration, and more.
I think it’s shameful that white people who didn’t do nearly enough are blaming black people who did what they could, which other white people made sure was not enough.
“Every day that I was a candidate for President, I knew that millions of people were counting on me, and I couldn’t bear the idea of letting them down, but I did. I couldn’t get the job done. And I’ll have to live with that for the rest of my life.”
I hate, hate, HATE that she is blaming herself.
HRC was not a perfect candidate (no candidate ever is or will be), but she was smart and capable and well-informed and prepared and a myriad of other things the squatter currently occupying the White House couldn’t even dream of being. All things considered and bearing in mind the flaws she might have had, she was still very much electable.
So let’s be real here and put the blame where it belongs – with the voters. This was not a Coke vs. Pepsi type of election. This was a Coke vs. tap water in Flint type of election. They were given a very simple and straightforward choice. And they chose wrong.
Hillary didn’t let anybody down. The electorate let HER down.
@pinkcocunutice
Totally agree with you. There is a lot of misogyny in this country. Add that to all the lies and misinformation Russia is still spreading=Trump. The Trump supporters deserve him but the rest of us don’t. It’s so unfair also that Hillary gets blamed for Bill’s infedilities. And Trump skates by with his three marriages and being an alleged sexual assaulter. I’m so disgusted with him and everyone who voted for him.
@Mermaid
Yup, HRC had so many things working against her: misogyny, the 30-year smear campaign the GOP waged against her, countless phony investigations and that ridiculous e-mail scandal, a foreign power interfering in the election, and she still came within 80,000 votes of winning the presidency and not once did she lose her cool. That woman is hardcore AF.
Option B would have been amazing, and would have galvanized her supporters tremendously. I know she felt enormous pressure to not be emotionally “female” in any way, to be presidential at all times, but this would have helped, not hurt her. There were many who were looking for signs of humor and humanity. She certainly made mistakes in the campaign–not enough time shaking hands and listening to the very real concerns of Middle America, ineffective marketing of her policy solutions, choice of the totally unexciting Kaine for VP rather than a youthful diversity ticket etc. But hard to say whether she could have overcome all the deep-seated misogyny regardless. That still has gotten far too little attention in my view.
“choice of the totally unexciting Kaine for VP rather than a youthful diversity ticket ”
Nothing against Tim Kaine, he seems like a perfectly nice man and a good politician, but I agree with you that he was a snoozefest of a choice.
However, I don’t think that even a youthful diversity ticket would have been needed (although it would have been great). There was recently an article on WaPo about how HRC had almost chosen Sherrod Brown to be her running mate and how the election might have turned out differently if she had. It was between him and Kaine, she initially decided on Brown, then changed her mind and chose Kaine. Brown is well-liked in Ohio and seems to be able to connect really well with the white working class in the Rust Belt, so I think that there may be some merit to what was written in that article. And yes, I know that Ohio has a Republican governor who would have filled Brown’s Senate seat with a Republican, but knowing what we know now and having seen the havoc this administration has managed to wreak in only 7 months, that Senate seat would have been well worth the sacrifice IMO.
Then again, it might not have mattered. There was certainly enough misogyny in this election for it not to matter.
I think that the lesson from the disaster that was McCain/Palin has not been lost on anyone to this day.
Tom Vilsack was also in the mix, and would have had similar appeal as Brown without risking the Senate seat. I agree either would have been a stronger choice than Kaine, but a diversity ticket would have mobilized key constituencies that were unexcited about HRC. The margin was narrow enough that one key decision could have been enough to offset the tremendous amount stacked against her. I get so emotional about how close she came.
Sherrod Brown would have been the far better pick in part because he is much more well known to the base. He could have hit the campaign trail running. Kaine needed to be introduced to much of the base and they didn’t muster much enthusiasm for him.
@Megan You and I think alike. Sherrod was a much better choice. SB and his wife are fantastic people and campaigners. His wife would have appealed to women who may have been eh about HRC. He wins in Ohio and we needed Ohio. He would have appealed to Biden voters and Bernie voters. Tim Kaine alienated both groups.
Yes, it would have been great if she had told him to back the eff up, but he was trying really hard to get a rise out of her and it must have driven him nuts that he failed. So I kind of delight in that.
Megan, true, her ability to remain calm and unflappable in the face of his intimidation tactics was so impressive and such a testament to the kind of president she would have been. (*sob*)
That debate was the moment I started taking the allegations of Trump being a sexual predator far more seriously. If he was that aggressive on national television, he’s likely far worse to women in private. It was not the behavior of a stable individual.
Agreed! What’s even worse is the many unstable people that think everything he says and does is okay!
He was so creepy it was unreal. Creepy awful disgusting creep.
Taylor Swift’s mom: did I make a mistake raising my daughter to be polite?
Hilary Clinton: did I make a mistake by keeping my cool and being polite?
Here we have two women questioning their behaviour because a male chose to invade their personal and private space.
I never thought, fighting in the late 70’s and early 80’s “Women unite, take back the night” that we would still be at such a basic stage of progress – or that there would be so little. Add Josh Wheldon into the mix…….yikes
What a great parallel between the Taylor Swift case & HRC.
Bossy, Slutty, Angry all tropes used to govern & control women’s power & behavior much more than men’s.
I’m trying to get through “Shattered,” the pundit’s guide for everything that went wrong with her campaign. It’s distressing to say the least. They do blame Hillary for a lot, so I doubt I will ever read the entire book.
However, it’s an interesting take on how today’s campaign apparatus is so dense with competing factions and entirely dependent on raising billions of dollars. Damn you Citizens United.
Not to mention the numerous mistakes that were made by the campaign, including not seeing the populist surge until it was too late. They were able to fight it off with Sanders, but they didn’t with Trump. And Trump played the populist card like a fiddle.
LMAO @ “populist surge”.
Does Populist = White Resentment?
Biggest takeaways from Trump voters on Trump? Not the economy. The Wall. A shutdown of immigration and muslims. And Crooked Hillary.
Dats it. 96% of Black women voted against Trump. So did 87% of Black men. Along with 75% of Latino men and women. Are we not “populist”?
1) For all the talk of Trump’s “populist” appeal, it was Clinton’s economic message that voters preferred in nearly every swing state (yes, even including the decisive Rust Belt) and across the country: http://wapo.st/2uO1dlD
2) Clinton won the working class as a whole (I know people don’t like to count Black people and PoC as working class, but I’m going to), taking both the under-$30,000 and $30,000 to $49,999 brackets: http://cnn.it/2eJi0gC
3) Members of the White Working Class “who said their finances are only in fair or poor shape were nearly TWICE as likely to support Clinton compared to those who feel more economically secure”: http://theatln.tc/2qXvIRm
4) Racism and sexism predicted Trump support much more than economic dissatisfaction: http://bit.ly/2gVfQO8
Her campaign made mistakes. Just like every other campaign. But I will never understand the need to undersell sexism, Russian intervention via cyberattacks, the stoking of white resentment and soft-focus of white supremacy and the roles they played in this election. Easier just to say the woman sucked.
But, what do I know. I’m part of the demographic that voted for Trump less than 2% of the time 🤷🏿♀️
There’s got to be thousands of “I told you so’s” Clinton is biting her tongue about when it comes to Trump. People misled by the far right fake media and Fox weren’t listening when she told the obvious truth about Trump or gave details about how she would make a healthier and more inclusive country. They preferred an unfit race-baiting egomaniac bully who plays the victim and sites grievances constantly.
Heard it on CNN this morning – felt like crying. Bring back all those memories – I remember how stressful it was for me to watch the debates I had to shut the tv off and come here to get updated. In ways I wished she went with option B I would have loved it but you know she would gave been criticized- no matter what she does she gets bashed.
Every time I turn tv on I see trump my heart breaks I wish Hillary was President. You can tell I haven’t fully let go
My family stayed up to watch all 3 debates, and we turned it into a learning experience, especially for our son. The “what NOT to do” side of life.
It was all we had, watching what a horrid person he is.
ETA: I haven’t gotten over it yet, and doubt I will. I can’t let go the wrong person won, and here we are 🙁
I pre ordered by book from a independent book store here in St Louis, so I am stoked to read this. On the same day as the release, the store is holding a social with local politicians and activists to discuss a multitude of topics that I think Hillary would be proud of.
More whining from the Hillary camp. To be expected. Maybe if the DNC hadn’t rigged the primary process and treated this like her coronation instead of an election, we wouldn’t have Trump in office.
Sure, because all those Nazis we see marching through our streets would have voted for the old Jewish guy. The primaries weren’t rigged & if all you Bernie Bros would read through the ENTIRE chain of emails you cling to so desperately as proof, you would know that. Bernie didn’t get the votes.
EXACTLY. JFC some of these Bernie supporters are as delusional as Trumpets. Different f*cking side of the same coin.
She could ‘steal’ nearly 4 million more votes in the primaries but not the ones that mattered in the general? Yeah, right.
Not whining. You must be confusing drump’s campaign and continued infantile outbursts and bizarre behaviour with Hillary’s trying to make sense of it all.
OH god. Please study the electoral process more closely. Hope you’re happy with your president, an actual dynastic authoritarian!
You guys are worried aren’t you? Every time he shows his unhinged self you guys run all over the internet like this. Threatened? The book doesn’t make Tangerine look too good.
How do you say Go Away Shill in Russian?
She’s right. He is a creep. Might have been the one truth in that whole joke of an election.
You didn’t let me down, Hillary.
Yet again a woman has to work twice as hard to get half the respect. And her opponent was THAT THING and he still won because peen. It makes me angry and depressed in equal measure.
…I wish Hillary had divorced Bill after the Lewinsky business…
She might have won had she done that.
I will never understand how any woman could vote for this disgusting monster. One only needs to look at him to see that he’s a ridiculous, idiotic con artist. And the gall of the so-called Christians who voted for him! “Family values” hypocrites
You mean the same “family values” hypocrites who voted for the divorced Ronald Reagan and the drug and alcohol abuser George W. Bush? Yep, those guys!
I preordered her book and have tickets to see both her and Bill speak in November. I hope I am up for it emotionally. I am hoping for inspiration and encouragement, not apologies. She doesn’t owe me an “I’m sorry” – I owe her one. I am sorry for my complacency, for my hiding behind my privilege, for not shouting from the rooftops what was at risk for our country. I will never make those mistakes again, that’s for sure.
She couldn’t win in that situation. She always had to be aware of perception as a woman running for president. I thought she showed a lot of dignity with that orange idiot stalking her on stage. A man could have reacted differently and not be judged, but Trump would never have stalked a man. What a misogynistic pig he is.
Well for someone who was running a campaign about being there for people and women’s issues she could not set the right example by telling Donald trump to back off all she cared about is what people will say not her convictions.Says a lot about her she has none.Now she comes with this sob story to make herself look like the perfect victim but yet could not do the right thing on the moment.The manipulation continues please Hillary Clinton go away and take your naive supporters with you.You have no dignity or self esteem you lost have some class and disappear.
You post says a lot about you, is more like it.
She was in a debate on national TV and didn’t let the orange idiot intimidate her and continued on in a calm and measured and professional manner laying out her policies and stance on issues to the American public.
Yeah, that says a lot about her. Someone who could be our commander-in-chief and not rattled easily, unlike our orange baby tyrant in office who throws tantrums daily on twitter.
Fill us in on reality All knowing Daphne.
Naive are the people who think a Narcissistic sociopath has their best interests in mind.
Naive is someone who took one look at an orange reality star and thought they could be the leader of the free world.
Naive is anyone with a brain cell that believed he was a successful businessman or a billionaire.
Naive is anyone who overlooked proven lies and audiotape.
Would you let your underage daughter be alone in a room with him for an hour? If not then ask yourself who is naive.
I will never care for Hillary but boy did I feel sorry for her having to stand within feet of that goon. I bet he smells like garlic, Consort men’s hairspray and cheap aftershave.
I’m also going to read her book too. She may not have been my choice, but she would have been leaps and bounds better than Chump.
My heart still breaks for her, and just looking at these images makes my guts churn all over again at his revolting, ignorant behaviour during those ‘debates’. I’ve added those quotation remarks because they weren’t really debates; it was a sane, compassionate, extraordinarily intelligent and capable woman forced to act as though the psychopathic piece of shit sharing a platform with her was a plausible opponent.
What the presidential campaign really brought home to me was just how deeply and thoroughly misogyny and sexism are woven into the fabric of our society. I think of the myriad times in my life when I’ve been harassed, molested, patronised and belittled by men – not to mention, unfortunately, had to confront internalised misogyny from women – and, yeah, whether you’re an Ordinary Jill like me or a Hillary Clinton, it too often feels like you’re going to have to work ten times as hard to be taken nowhere near as seriously as a man. It’s hard, sometimes, not to feel despairing.
My only consolation is that history will judge Hillary well, whereas that suppurating boil on the backside of humanity – that toxic ooze in a suit currently stinking up the Whitehouse – will forever be one of the most hated and ridiculed creatures to stain history.
Not easy to find new ways to describe that vile specimen, but you did it! Great post.
Did she ever consider calling her husband a creep? Guess political power trumps values, pardon the pun.
Uh, pretty sure she’s called him worse than that. In private, since they’re a married couple not political adversaries after all.
She needs to go away…such a self- righteous hypocrite. Yawn.
Really look forward to reading her book! Still showing as #1 Bestseller on Amazon.com, I see.