Hillary Clinton and her confident path in big politics
EVERY FOUR YEARS IN THE USA DISAPPOINT ONE OF THE MOST ATTRACTIVE SHOWS IN THE LIGHT - presidential elections. 2016 gave us a political circus, for which it is interesting to watch, but the farther, the worse. The Republican Party is getting closer to the nomination of the aggressive populist Trump, who has only two opponents left, one of whom is no less a chauvinist and religious fanatic Ted Cruz, and the other is an abortion fighter John Kasic. Republicans will try to stop Donald directly at the party congress, but this will no longer be directly related to the elections.
Disputes within the Republican Party led to the fact that the victory of the Democratic candidate, the self-proclaimed socialist and “favorite of the Internet” Bernie Sanders, or one of the most influential women in world politics, the former First Lady and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, seems the most realistic. To date, the main favorite of the race is she.
Hillary now has 1,758 votes of 2383 delegates needed to win - against 1076 at Bernie, and ahead of the vote in the states of New York and California. The most authoritative predictor of US election results, analyst Neith Silver (his model correctly predicted results in all constituencies in the 2012 elections) gives Hillary more than 90% chance of winning in these major states. Clinton stays ahead, even if you do not count the votes of the “superdelegates” - the party establishment, which theoretically could turn over at the last moment, so her chances look very high.
The personality of Hillary Clinton is always discussed much more hotly than her political views, which are quite traditional for democrats: the way Clinton to the presidential chair is primarily interesting not ideologically, but humanly. The press and voters constantly ask the same questions: is she a feminist or not? How much prudent cynicism in her ideology, and how much sincere faith? Is she something without a husband? Why, in the end, is she worthy of becoming the first female president of the United States and how did she manage to come to this?
Woman at the helm
We live in the post-tetcher world, where women in politics have not yet achieved complete equality, but they no longer look amazing: Angela Merkel is at the head of Germany, Dilma Rousseff is Brazil. Today women are in power, for example, in Lithuania, Argentina, Chile, Liberia and the Central African Republic; The list is not endless, but not short anymore. And yet, becoming the first woman as president of the United States is a completely different task. US policy is a conservative thing, and Trump's successes show that the propensity of ordinary Americans to racism and misdiagnosis should not be underestimated.
Although Clinton is not the first successful woman in American politics, she became the first to realistically claim the White House. If you try to articulate as briefly as possible why it was she who succeeded, then, judging by the numerous articles and Karl Bernstein’s comprehensive biography "A Woman in Charge", her secret is in her great self-confidence.
Where many women, under the pressure of society and circumstances, began to doubt themselves and give up the slack, Hillary only became tempered. She could admit (less often) or try to forget (more often) her mistakes, could change her surroundings, otherwise approach the problem, but she never allowed her friends or colleagues to notice, in any case, that all the forces that she is on the right track.
"Feminatsi" or traitor ideals of feminism?
In this sense, Clinton “covers the whole spectrum”: earlier she was accused of radical feminism, but today they are blamed for the fact that young women vote much more readily for her rival, the elderly white man Bernie Sanders.
The reason for this lies in the fact that for a long time Hillary has been in politics and underwent a complex transformation: she grew up in a conservative family in a suburb of Chicago. Her father - a former army fizruk and Republican Hugh Rodham - was a despot, humiliated his mother and children and was, no matter how you look, an unpleasant man. He often scoffed at his wife, but never allowed his daughter to be limited in any way due to the fact that she was a girl. He gave a good education to both her and her brothers, and later they all said that their difficult childhood tempered them rather than broke them (although only Hillary’s fate was so successful - the brothers often turned out to be a burden to her reputation).
In Hillary College, predictably for the revolutionary sixties, it struck the movement for African-American rights, feminism, and became Democrats. At the same time, she managed to earn the reputation of a skillful organizer and master of compromises: at the prestigious Wellesley Women's College, she achieved an increase in the number of African Americans among female students and professors, but at the same time she managed to avoid unrest and sent the energy of the protesting youth to seminars and petitions rather than marches and clashes with by the police.
During her years in Arkansas, where she was Governor Bill Clinton, she actually abandoned the ceremonial role of the first lady of the state and practiced law, and when during the first election Bill was asked if there was a conflict of interest in this (her clients were large companies and businessmen), she snapped back: "I could sit at home and make cookies." The headquarters of the campaign was then overwhelmed by housewives angry with such arrogance, and Hillary was labeled as an opponent of traditional family values.
At the same time, her whole radicalism seems rather sluggish today. It is far from rhetoric from 21st century feminists: although Clinton is in favor of women's economic equality, paid maternity leave and the right to abortion (there is still no mandatory paid decree in the United States, and in many states it is de facto outlawed) these positions are less violently and clearly than the self-proclaimed socialist Sanders. The main thing is that many people think that she will be ready to postpone the adoption of difficult measures, such as new taxes, in order to pay state expenses for the protection of women, and will go half-measures for the sake of compromise on other issues.
Is she a keeper of principles or a quirky trimmer?
For forty years in public politics (twenty of them in Washington) Clinton broke a lot of firewood, but she achieved no less. With her long career, she is first and foremost obliged to adapt and be willing to compromise if this is important for achieving her big goals.
The theme of such compromises and double standards is one of the most important for both critics and Hillary supporters. For example, she voted for the introduction of troops into Iraq in 2003, when she was a senator from New York, and now she says that this was a mistake. She agrees that the banking system needs to be reformed, but receives huge contributions to the campaign from Wall Street. She advocates peace and condemns Bush for his foreign policy, but she convinced Obama to intervene in the conflict in Libya and overthrow Gaddafi - and so on. Hillary was even accused of the insincerity of the very sounds of her speech - her accent changes so much depending on the audience.
All this taught Hillary simple principles: "he who does not try to do anything, is not mistaken, but will definitely not achieve anything"
The first experience of adaptation, a series of which largely shaped her personality, was the college, where she, at first desperate to fit into a new environment for herself, wanted to return home, but gathered her courage and won the respect of female students and teachers. Then there was Arkansas, where in the conservative province she first became one of the first female professors, and then the only female partner in a large law firm. There she learned to speak in such a way as to better resemble her own - with a southern dialect uncharacteristic of her native Chicago. Then there was the White House, where it was even harder for her and the whole environment and environment seemed (and often were) extremely hostile and alien.
She was far from always able to achieve quick success: due to Hillary’s tough stance on a number of issues, Bill lost his first gubernatorial re-election. The conflict with the press and the desire alone to change the American insurance system (a project similar to Obama’s modern reforms failed, largely due to Hillary’s excessive stubbornness that oversaw him) almost cost her and Bill the position in the White House after the first term.
All this taught Hillary simple principles that can be formulated like this: "he who does not try to do anything is not mistaken, but will not achieve anything for sure" and "it is better to make concessions and make a part of what was planned than not to do anything at all." There is little idealism in this, but there is a certain common sense.
Offended wife or an independent figure?
Even before Hillary took the name of Clinton and became known, many seriously predicted her presidential or even just a very successful political career. Marriage with Bill Clinton was probably Hillary’s most difficult decision in life.
She refused him more than once before she agreed, and really hesitated - much longer than later making the decision to go to the polls or agreeing to become the Secretary of State. By the time she graduated, Hillary Rodham was a star: her graduation performance in Wellesley published Life magazine, at Yale she received knowledge and experience in the field of children's rights, and immediately after graduation she went to the Watergate scandal investigation commission that brought the matter to Nixon’s resignation . After that, various doors in Washington were open to her: the path to an elective office or work in public organizations. But she chose to go to one of the most backward states in the country, to Bill’s homeland, where he was going to build a political career, and thus, as it seemed to many then, she buried her own ambitions.
Although Hillary was an independent and very independent woman by the standards of a conservative southern state, she had to give up one principle quickly: she didn’t take her husband’s last name when being married, being faithful to the child’s oath to always remain Hillary Rodham. But when Bill was not reelected for a second term and one of the reasons was mistrust of voters to the governor's wife, she took the surname Clinton on her own initiative and at the same time headed the headquarters for reelection of her husband, who returned him to the governor’s office for another 12 years.
Friends and acquaintances always talked about the Clintons, that they were incredibly interesting together - from the first days of their acquaintance at Yale, they spent hours discussing issues of law, art, and history. More importantly, they quickly realized how well they complemented each other. Bill is a scholar, a man of the sharpest mind and vast knowledge, a musician, a charismatic man, an orator and a born leader, but at the same time he does not know how to concentrate, control himself, is ready to say almost anything to please others. And Hillary - diligent, able to highlight the most important and focus attention, strong in her convictions and moral attitudes, strong in character - they made up the ideal political couple and, according to their relatives, admired each other all their lives.
At the 1992 elections, the Clintons went under the slogan "Two for the price of one": many researchers call their first term a co-presidency, symbolized by the fact that Hillary was the first (and last) of the presidents' wives to occupy an office not in the eastern, "secular", wing The White House, and in the west - the "political", where the vice-presidents used to sit.
At the 1992 elections, the Clintons went under the slogan "Two for the price of one"
The joint presidency was not very successful - there were many reasons for that, but by the second term, Hillary’s role in managing the state had decreased significantly, she began to devote a lot of time to work on herself and international missions in the field of women's rights.
However, it was she who saved her husband's career when a scandal broke out because of his betrayal with Monica Lewinsky. From the point of view of public opinion, because she supported the spouse, demonstrated the ability to forgive, caused compassion (never - neither before nor after - her personal popularity was so high), but lost in the eyes of many feminists. From the point of view of the procedure, because she organized the defense of her husband, used all her political skills and was able to achieve the abolition of his impeachment in the Senate.
It is important to understand that their relationship was characterized by one trait - passion. Hillary knew about Bill's incontinence from the very beginning. As far as we know, he cheated on her before marriage and almost never stopped his adventures, but that does not mean that she cynically ignored them. On the contrary, scandals with shouts and broken furniture were frequent, which, to the shock of members of the administration, were followed by gentle reconciliations. According to friends who answered journalists' questions, she believed that Bill loved only her and all the other women in his life occupied a completely different, much less significant place.
← It was Hillary Clinton who saved her husband’s career when a scandal broke out because of his treason
In addition, Hillary reasonably believed that not everything that is said about her husband is true. Around him — popular, attractive — there were indeed many women whose attention he gladly received. But the situations differed, and one of them almost led to divorce in 1988: then Bill admitted that he loved another woman (and not just succumbed to physical attraction). Marriage, Hillary's efforts, survived, but Bill, because of the fear of press attention to his personal life, had to refuse to participate in the presidential election (he successfully took part in them after four years).
The story of Lewinsky was a big blow for Hillary, as she first believed her husband, who denied everything, and thought that after all that had happened, she would not lie to her. But she gave her strength and power: many colleagues said that after each scandal of treason Hillary for some time received enormous power over Bill, who, as if asking for forgiveness, could not refuse her in one question.
She emerged victorious from this humiliating story: before the end of the Clinton presidency, she, the first lady, became a senator from the state of New York, and from that moment her career was really completely independent, and Bill had only to act as an advisor and assistant with he did a good job and is doing well during her presidential campaign.
Conservative without charisma or a passionate protector of the family?
Clinton is often blamed for the lack of brightness in rhetoric: compared to Obama or Bill, her performances are less impressive, but her speeches have cross-cutting themes for which she very stubbornly holds on for many years. Voters are often attracted not so much by how it holds and sounds, but by how convincingly she speaks.
Her favorite topic is family and child protection. Hillary's mother had a terribly difficult childhood, and she herself was impressed when she was young when she saw the life of poor African-American families during scout and church charity events — there was nothing of the kind in the area where the Rodham family lived. Hillary dealt with the topic of children's rights, adoption and orphans from the early years of law school, oversaw school reform in Arkansas, and never backed down from it, which demonstrates well the campaign video of her current campaign.
She is a religious person - ideas of morality, forgiveness, the principle of “hating sin, not a sinner”, she learned the desire to work on correcting the world in the philosophy of Methodism and over the years only strengthened her faith (her knowledge of the Bible impressed even conservative Republican colleagues in the Senate) .
Clinton manages to reconcile family values and religiosity with liberal views on abortion or gay marriage
All this — family values and religiosity — are very traditional and close to American voters, and Clinton manages to reconcile them with liberal views on abortion or gay marriage. On both issues, her public position changed throughout her career, but now she fully supports both.
Hillary’s real, “applied” morality is difficult to assess: there have been many allegations of corruption against him and Bill (the loudest is the “Whitewater” case of buying land in Arkansas), but they all ended in nothing, despite the many influential enemies who threw on investigations great strength. This does not mean that he and Bill never did anything wrong: among the case files that were whitewater, which was fresh for using personal mail for work purposes, many unethical details surfaced, but they all fit into the overall philosophy of the compromise for the sake of better results and mistakes made by many ambitious people.
Why can Hillary Clinton become president?
Most likely, Hillary will become president simply because she is the strongest politician in the race this year. She may not be the best speaker, her position on many issues has changed many times throughout her career, she has a considerable amount of mistakes and enemies that have accumulated over the years of work, but she has tremendous determination, inner core and self-confidence that bribe those кто с ней работает, и тех, кто за неё голосует.
Она прагматична, но рассорилась с прессой и навредила своей карьере ради того, чтобы оградить личную жизнь своей семьи (и особенно дочери), она иногда производит впечатление робота, но боль в её голосе во время кампании 2008 года была вполне человечна (за что она тогда получила кучу обвинений в слабости и неготовности к "мужской" работе), она проигрывает молодой женский электорат Сандерсу, но, возможно, лучше него готова к борьбе за реформы с республиканским сенатом и властями штатов.
Хиллари даже на бумаге не идеальный кандидат, каким многим казался Обама в 2008-м. But her victory will still be historical in many aspects and at least will prove that a woman can control the world's largest state (and therefore, anything), not only from behind or in a pair with a man, but absolutely independently. If everything works out for her, it will be fine, but even if the skeptics ’fears are justified, another woman can become a really great president after her, and she will no longer be under such pressure, and Hillary will most likely be only happy.
Photo: Simon & Schuster, Flickr, Shutterstock, Hillary Clinton / Facebook (1, 2, 3)