Hillary the Human
Susan Estrich
Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007
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Just who was Hillary Clinton talking about when she summarized a question about her ability to deal with America's enemies with: "What in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men?" She raised her eyebrows.
The crowd exploded in laughter.
It certainly wasn't about Osama. It had to be Bill. Asked later whether she was in fact referring to her husband, Hillary denied it: "Oh, come on. I don't think anybody in there thought that. I thought I was funny. You know, you guys keep telling me, 'Lighten up. Be funny.' You know, I get a little funny, and now I'm being psychoanalyzed."
Welcome to the 2008 campaign.
Hillary's joke on Bill overshadowed the questions and answers about George Bush in the coverage of the senator's first trip to Iowa in three years. With reason. The big question about Hillary, for most Democrats, is painfully personal. Of course she's smart. Of course she's tough. No one argues that. The question is: Do you "like" her?
There are still many conservatives who view Hillary Clinton as the embodiment of liberal evil because of her role in the debate over health care early in her husband's administration.
In the stick figure caricatures of the Clinton White House, she was perceived as the liberal one, the flat-out feminist, the supporter of bigger government.
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