I was (and would be again, if given the chance) a Bernie fan and voter. Like so many on both sides, I wanted something different, and Bernie tapped right into my values. I sort of loved him.
I didn't sort of love Hillary, but I did and I do respect her intelligence and knowledge--and I cringe at the thought of a Trump presidency. Even without all the egomaniacal insults and gaffes, I'd be terrified of a man who admires a Russian dictator and his style of leadership. Even with Hillary's publicized past mistakes, and given the fact that we only have two choices, I'd love to have a strong woman at the helm for a change.
As the never-ending campaign coverage continues, and as I now have TV in the house for the first time in years, I'm following it diligently--in part the way one looks at a train wreck: look, don't look.
There was a moment (my favorite) in the last campaign in which an interviewer asked Hillary something to this effect: "What about the fact that Obama has a much higher likability rating than you do?" to which she responded, "Well, that hurts my feelings."
Hillary is a contemporary of mine--only a couple of years older. When I watch how she handles hostility and insults, I'm amazed that she can be so thick of skin. When I watch how she gets up day after day and goes onto the campaign trail, I'm amazed at her energy. (When does she take naps and read books and get massages? I wonder).
When she's criticized for her looks and her laugh (What's wrong with those?) I can only wonder that she doesn't do what I'd do--take to her bed, call her best friends, and weep!
According to a reporter on this morning's "On The Media," Hillary would fare better in likability polls if she would show more of her personal side, as she did in the "hurts my feelings" response. If she would tell more stories about Chelsea ("No, that's off the record," she tells reporters after she's just told them a touching personal story.) If she would, well, "smile more." Those who distrust her want her to be forthright and more like one of us, a real person who coughs and gets sleepy and all.
A person more like, say, Bill--her more personable and friendly husband who, even after his scandals, would be way more likely to get "Most Popular" in the high school senior superlatives than Hillary would.
You don't have to get up at five a.m. (as I did this morning) to hear NPR's excellent program, On The Media. If you like, you can listen online: http://www.wnyc.org/story/on-the-media-2016-09-09/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=%24%7Bfeed%7D&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+%24%7Botm%7D+%28%24%7BOn+the+Media%7D%29]
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