Hillary Clinton - What difference does it make?
Hillary Clinton - What difference does it make? Gee, Hillary. It makes A LOT of difference to the families of the four Americans that you let die.
By: GlennS1956
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A collection of letters and notes has shed light on the thoughts of Hillary Clinton after her husband Bill's affair with Monica Lewinsky. Photo: AP
Washington: A previously unpublished cache of papers has revealed that Hillary Clinton viewed Monica Lewinsky, the intern with whom her husband had an affair while president, as a "narcissistic loony toon".
The papers are part of the notes and archives of the political science professor Diane Blair, a close friend of Mrs Clinton's, that have been held by the University of Arkansas since Professor Blair's death in 2000.
Though open to the public since 2010 they have become the focus of media attention since being accessed and reported upon by the conservative websiteThe Washington Free Beacon, which published stories about them on Sunday night in the United States.
Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky in 1998. Hillary Clinton called her a "narcissistic loony toon". Photo: Reuters
According to its analysis the documents - which includecorrespondence, diaries, interviews, strategy memos and contemporaneous accounts of conversations with the Clintons from the mid-1970s - paint "a portrait of a ruthless First Lady" who was a "loyal friend, devoted mother, and a cut-throat strategist who relished revenge against her adversaries".
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Mrs Clinton is favoured to become the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee and Republican foes have already begun their political opposition to such a run.
The Washington Free Beaconquotes a research paper from the archive written by senior Clinton aides in 1992 as warning that "what voters find slick in Bill Clinton, they find ruthless in Hillary".
The archive also shows that Mrs Clinton supported a government-funded health care system, a position that apparently contradicts her public position since.
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Hillary Clinton called Monica Lewinsky a 'narcissistic loony toon'
That's advice the former first lady and secretary of State offered this week to women aspiring to high-profile positions, borrowing from Eleanor Roosevelt. It's a hide that didn't come naturally to Hillary Clinton.
Hillary Clinton said Thursday that women who want to get ahead in politics or other high-profile jobs should grow skin like a rhinoceros.
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This is a bit of wisdom the former secretary of State may have learned the hard way. Well get to that in a moment.
But first, the background: Mrs. Clinton was speaking at an event for the No Ceilings project, a joint initiative of the Clinton Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that aims to empower women in the 21stcentury.
No Ceilings is launching a review of global data to see how far women have progressed in education, income, political participation, and other measures since the mid-1990s, Clinton said. It picked that parameter because Clinton had addressed a big UN World Conference on Women in 1995, when she was first lady.
Flanked by her daughter, Chelsea, and Melinda Gates onstage at New York University, Clinton gave no hint of her future political plans. But she did give interesting counsel to other women who might want to follow in her footsteps.
One of the best pieces of advice that I have ever heard from anyone is from Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1920s, who said that women in politics or in public roles should grow skin like a rhinoceros, Clinton said. I think there is some truth to that.
Thats true, of course. But its not just true for women. Men in politics have to be able to withstand the slings and arrows of rhetorical abuse, as well. Remember how Texas Gov. Ann Richards mocked George H.W. Bush in 1988? He was born with a silver foot in his mouth, she told the Democratic National Convention that year, to riotous applause.
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Hillary Clinton tells women to 'grow skin like a rhinoceros.' Good advice? (+video)
Feb 13, 2014 1:36pm
(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The former Secretary of State and once and possibly future presidential candidate steered clear of politics, making no mention of any 2016 plans, when she delivered that advice to an enthusiastic and largely female audience at New York University.
Flanked by her daughter, Chelsea, and philanthropist Melinda Gates, Clinton focused on womens economic empowerment as she spoke in support of the No Ceilings project a joint venture of the Clinton Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that seeks to empower women and girls by aggregating the best data on their contributions to society and security.
One of the best pieces of advice that I have ever heard from anyone is from Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1920s who said that women in politics or in public roles should grow skin like a rhinoceros, Clinton said. I think there is some truth to that.
The trio took questions on issues ranging from the decline in the number of women and girls in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) to women in leadership positions, to what men can do to help women gain fuller anticipation in the workforce.
Clinton said women and girls need more encouragement than their male peers.
I have employed by this time a lot of very talented young men and young women and offering a promotion or expanded responsibilities almost always provokes a response something like, I dont know if I could do that or Are you sure I could do that? Clinton said.
She added, Ive never heard that from a young man ever.
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Hillary Clinton Wants Young Women To 'Grow Skin Like A Rhinoceros'
Yes, she behaved badly. But under the circumstances, how many people would've managed better? And how is it relevant to the job she may seek?
Reuters
When I wrote about attacks on Bill Clinton earlier this week, I focused on how they might help Republicans confronting the charge that they're waging a "war on women." A retrospective on Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones, and Gennifer Flowers won't help the GOP when it comes to the politics of abortion or contraception. It will remind voters that Rush Limbaugh's party isn't the only one that is happy to strategically embrace men who've behaved badly toward women.
In passing, I added that the GOP would nevertheless be foolish to attack Hillary Clinton over her husband's sexual indiscretions, though doing so will be a temptation. Subsequent coverage has persuaded me that the temptation will prove even greater than I thought, and that what seems to me the strongest case against attacking Hillary Clinton on these grounds isn't as widely held as I'd imagined.
Any attack on Hillary Clinton would have to clear a high hurdle: The public wisely presumes that it's unfair to attack a woman for her husband's misbehavior. Clinton's most persuasive critics argue that they're not attacking her for her husband's transgressions, but for compounding them by attacking his victims. These critiques have come from the feminist left as often as the Clinton-hating right. For example, Dave Weigelnotesthat MSNBC host and academic Melissa Harris-Perry is among the feminists who have expressed biting criticism of Hillary Clinton's behavior. The years-old analysis says Clinton "made an appalling choice as a feministnot that she stayed with her husband, but that she did not speak out in defense of a barely-older-than-teenage girl who was harassed by her husband ... And then she used that experience to create sympathy for herself."
The New Republic's Isaac Chotiner points to evidence that Hillary Clinton expressed contempt for "whiney women" who accused GOP Senator Bob Packwood of sexual harassment, and concludes that she benefits from a double-standard:
Try the following thought experiment: Chris Christie, or Sarah Palin, or Andrew Cuomo is asked by a friend about sexual harassment allegations against a powerful Senator. Christie, or Palin, or Cuomo responds that he or she is tired of all these whiny women. Now imagine the friend's records are released. What would be the reaction in the media and among feminist organizations? It is inconceivable that there would not be an uproar, a forced apology, and some articles about how this will hurt the prospective candidate ...
As he notes, other mainstream-media journalists have highlighted this side of Clinton in the past.Melinda Hennebergerput it this wayin a 2008 Slate article:
After the GenniferFlowers story came out during her husband's '92 presidential run, herresponse, according to Carl Bernstein, was to throw herself intoefforts to discredit Flowers and to try to persuade horrified campaignaides to bring out rumors that Poppy Bush had not always been faithfulto Barbara.
Henneberger also co-wrote a piece with Dahlia Lithwick that is even harder on Clinton:
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Why Hillary Clinton Won't Pay for Disparaging Her Husband's Accusers