Regis Philbin
Feb 3rd, 2007, 06:22 PM
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16930958/
No do-overs, Hillary? You’ll need them in ‘08
Democrat pushes reset button on public record, but not Iraq vote
Updated: 6:09 a.m. MT Feb 2, 2007
For a woman who claims there are ”no do-overs in life” when pressed to explain her pro-war vote on Iraq, Sen. Hillary Clinton seems eager to press the reset button on the rest of her public life.
One of the most scrutinized women in American history, the former first lady has concluded that to be president she must persuade Americans to forget much of what they learned – or think they learned – about her in the partisan-charged 1990s, and look at her anew.
The problem is that most people think they already know her, for better or worse. She’s a walking case study of stereotypes – some fabricated by critics; others warranted and self-inflicted; and many in that shadowy gray area of politics that can only be viewed in the eyes of her beholders.
Fair or not, Clinton needs a few “do-overs.”
Do-over #1: The New York senator made a bad first impression during her husband’s first presidential campaign when she frostily defended her active public life by saying she could have “stayed home and baked cookies and had teas.” It was an uphill struggle from there, especially for a precedent-breaking first lady who fiercely guarded her privacy, didn’t like or trust the media and lacked the political instincts of her husband.
And so, she became viewed as the cold and conniving power behind the throne. When then-President Clinton’s affair with a White House intern became public, some voters – especially women – saw a chilly calculation behind the first lady’s decision to stay with him.
Hoping to soften her image, the Clinton juggernaut has unleashed a charm offensive, starting with an online announcement video shot while the senator relaxed in an overstuffed couch. Putting the spin in homespun, she gushes, “Let’s chat.”
Clinton has held syrupy sweet “Webchats” and has let her sense of humor show on the campaign trail, even at the risk of raising eyebrows. One questioner in Iowa asked the senator if her track record showed she could stand up to “evil men” around the world. “The question is …what in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men” Clinton said.
It wasn’t clear whether she was talking about Republicans or her philandering husband, but the answer sparked 30 seconds of laughter and applause.
In private, Clinton is actually funnier, warmer and more interesting than her husband. She listens and asks questions while the former president tends to pontificate. She has an infectious laugh and a quick wit; her husband is more of a joke-teller than a roll-with-the-punches jokester. She can also be brutally frank, and is not someone you would ever want to cross, as former White House advisers can attest.
No do-overs, Hillary? You’ll need them in ‘08
Democrat pushes reset button on public record, but not Iraq vote
Updated: 6:09 a.m. MT Feb 2, 2007
For a woman who claims there are ”no do-overs in life” when pressed to explain her pro-war vote on Iraq, Sen. Hillary Clinton seems eager to press the reset button on the rest of her public life.
One of the most scrutinized women in American history, the former first lady has concluded that to be president she must persuade Americans to forget much of what they learned – or think they learned – about her in the partisan-charged 1990s, and look at her anew.
The problem is that most people think they already know her, for better or worse. She’s a walking case study of stereotypes – some fabricated by critics; others warranted and self-inflicted; and many in that shadowy gray area of politics that can only be viewed in the eyes of her beholders.
Fair or not, Clinton needs a few “do-overs.”
Do-over #1: The New York senator made a bad first impression during her husband’s first presidential campaign when she frostily defended her active public life by saying she could have “stayed home and baked cookies and had teas.” It was an uphill struggle from there, especially for a precedent-breaking first lady who fiercely guarded her privacy, didn’t like or trust the media and lacked the political instincts of her husband.
And so, she became viewed as the cold and conniving power behind the throne. When then-President Clinton’s affair with a White House intern became public, some voters – especially women – saw a chilly calculation behind the first lady’s decision to stay with him.
Hoping to soften her image, the Clinton juggernaut has unleashed a charm offensive, starting with an online announcement video shot while the senator relaxed in an overstuffed couch. Putting the spin in homespun, she gushes, “Let’s chat.”
Clinton has held syrupy sweet “Webchats” and has let her sense of humor show on the campaign trail, even at the risk of raising eyebrows. One questioner in Iowa asked the senator if her track record showed she could stand up to “evil men” around the world. “The question is …what in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men” Clinton said.
It wasn’t clear whether she was talking about Republicans or her philandering husband, but the answer sparked 30 seconds of laughter and applause.
In private, Clinton is actually funnier, warmer and more interesting than her husband. She listens and asks questions while the former president tends to pontificate. She has an infectious laugh and a quick wit; her husband is more of a joke-teller than a roll-with-the-punches jokester. She can also be brutally frank, and is not someone you would ever want to cross, as former White House advisers can attest.