Sunday, September 21, 2014

An Empty Pants Suit

Can you have buyer’s remorse before making a purchase?

I do not know whether Molly Ball, political reporter for the Atlantic, supports Hillary Clinton’s presidential candidacy or not, but she seems to be channeling those who are discovering that they have been seduced by an empty pants suit.

For Republicans, Hillary Clinton, the hero of Benghazi is a nightmare candidate. Not merely because of her manifest incompetence but because she seems inevitable.

It is commonly accepted that if she wants to run for presidency the nomination is hers for the taking.

Republicans also believe that HRC cannot be beaten. Not everyone believes it. A master of contrary opinion, famed investor Jim Rogers is convinced that Hillary Clinton will never be president.

Ball has analyzed Hillary's speeches and statements and has concluded that Hillary has nothing to say. You cannot get much more damning than that.

In Ball's words:

The presumed presidential candidate's speeches are long on pablum and short on content. This is the campaign we're in for.

Everywhere Hillary Clinton goes, a thousand cameras follow. Then she opens her mouth, and nothing happens.

Clinton made a much-ballyhooed appearance in Iowa over the weekend, giving a speech widely noted for its substancelessness. She “had no explicit message of her own,” Politico noted, while The Economist pronounced it “underwhelming.” MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough was so frustrated by Clinton’s lack of verve that he went on an extended rant about it, proclaiming, “I know her and like her, but she puts on that political hat and she’s a robot!” The coverage of Clinton’s speech seemed to contain more meditation about how anodyne she was than reporting of what she actually said.

The Iowa campaign speech that wasn’t a campaign speech (delivered at a "steak fry" that wasn’t a steak fry—the steaks are grilled) followed a year’s worth of nearly newsless Clintoniana. She wrote a book that reviewers unanimously described as stale and safe, valuable mostly for the hints it offered of her future positioning.

Ball does not say it, but the only rationale for Hillary Clinton's candidacy is Bill Clinton. Think of it... in this world of enhanced feminist consciousness, the most viable female presidential candidate is really a stand-in for her husband. Remember Lurleen Wallace?

In 2008, and often beyond, the press fawned over Barack Obama. It abrogated its responsibility, not merely to vet the candidate and to ask tough questions, but to report on him fairly and objectively.

As disgraceful performances go, press coverage of Barack Obama deserves a special chapter.

Apparently, it has decided not to repeat the same mistake. Molly Ball has now told us that Hillary Clinton is not going to get a free ride from the media.

So, I agree with Jim Rogers: Hillary Clinton is not going to be president.

2 comments:

  1. " Molly Ball has now told us that Hillary Clinton is not going to get a free ride from the media."

    Molly Ball is not "the media"; she is but one reporter. Still, I am happy to see she is preaching to the lib/prog choir at The Atlantic.

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  2. I knew Molly when I was a minor GOP player in Nevada and she was a reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Given her political proclivities, I'm surprised to see her take on the Clinton Machine as aggressively as she did.

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