From Beth's log -

>>>If Hillary wanted political power for herself, she should have gone out and tried to get it on her own, in public, for real, and not just settled for managing the winning team.<<<

I had the impression that's what she's doing right now, so I don't understand this criticism of her.

And maybe until now, she didn't want it "for herself." Maybe she isn't even after power "for herself" right now - I mean, perhaps her motives are more complicated and less self-obsessed than that? Who knows?

I wouldn't assume that the writer (or Beth, who agrees with the writer) knows what Hillary wants right now or what she wanted in the past, and why whatever she wanted led her to do the work she did for her husband (and for a lot of other people and other causes), and why whatever she wants *now* leads her to run for office *now.*

But that's just me and what I don't assume - what do you all think Hillary is doing?

-- Anonymous, February 16, 2000

Answers

Actually, Beth misquoted me on her log - my question was not what she sadi it was. It is, as you can easily see, "What do you all think Hillary is doing?"

Obviously, Beth thinks something is wrong with Hillary, and her question (not mine) is like those "when did you stop beating your wife?" questions - assumes facts not in evidence and all that. :)

-- Anonymous, February 17, 2000

I'm not all that familiar with American politics, but I've always wondered if her New York bid could be some kind of stepping stone towards the presidency. Is this possible?

-- Anonymous, February 17, 2000

What do I think Hillary is doing?

I think she's picking up where she left off in 1968 -- the last time she was elected for office.

-- Anonymous, February 17, 2000

(sigh)

I feel like I have to trot out some sort of disclaimer, so does the fact that I took the election test and my top four candidates were two democrats, a socialist and Ralph Nader mean anything when I say --

I despise Hillary as much as it's possible to despise someone who don't know.

I despise her history of putting up with the scum she was married to, because she is addicted to his power.

If she'd been a welfare mom whose husband was sleeping and carrousing all over the place and humiliating her, we'd be trying to get her therapy to remove herself from the situation and stand on her own two feet. We'd have an image of, at the very least, an emotionally sick person with an unhealthy dependency on a disfunctional man, and we'd pity her, maybe -- but the fact that she needed his money, his income, to survive? Well, we'd just do our best to educate her into understanding that she doesn't have to debase herself and set that awful example for her daughter, no less -- there are programs to help her get out of that situation. We wouldn't respect her for choosing not to fight to get out of it, either.

But for some reason, after setting an example of "put up with any and all kind of bullshit out of your spouse, as long as it gives you a piece of his power" -- we're supposed to have sympathy for her, and respect her. After setting that example of "stand by your man" for a generation of women -- women who have only recently realized that they don't HAVE to --

We're supposed to respect her?

Not in my book.

-- Anonymous, February 18, 2000

Ugh. Did I really write: I despise Hillary as much as it's possible to despise someone who don't know?

Whom I don't know .

(sigh)

-- Anonymous, February 18, 2000

I don't know what her goals were, or have been. She seems to have put her energy into helping her husband in his career for quite a few years, and now is going after a job of her own. That's a pattern a lot of women follow. It's sad but true, I think, that it wouldn't have been possible for her to do this while her husband was the governor or president, without hurting his career. Many in the electorate still see something wrong with a man whose wife isn't his helpmate.

I don't feel like I can judge their marriage. They may have an agreement about seeing other people. Sexual infidelity isn't an automatic marriage breaker for a lot of people, including me. I don't have a problem with her staying with him, or leaving him, for that matter. Everybody gets to define the kind of marriage they have.

-- Anonymous, February 18, 2000

Is it really any of our business why Hillary stays in her marriage? You know, wacky as this may seem, maybe she really loves him. Maybe she puts up with him not because she's power-hungry or because she has self-esteem issues, but because she feels so strongly about him that she's willing to ovelook his conduct in this case. It's certainly not something I would do, but I wouldn't not vote for her because of it. (I would, however, not vote for myself because of that last double-negative).

And my disclaimer is that there's no politician on earth who wouldn't get my vote if he/she were running against Rudy.

-- Anonymous, February 24, 2000