Clinton Fights "Poor Hillary" Chorus

Washington Post: Dem Candidate Is Belittled As She Refuses To Bend, Or Bow Out

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Libby Copeland.

---

At some point along the way, Hillary Clinton became "poor Hillary" and it stuck.

She went up against a charmer who once made an audience cheer just by blowing his nose (poor Hillary), and she lost states and delegates and she bet on a filly that died (poor Hillary), and nobody cares that she won West Virginia because it's over, except she can't see it because she's . . .

"Poor Hillary," write the op-ed writers and the bloggers and the newspaper letter-writers. "Poor Hillary's done," writes a gleeful reader in Portsmouth, Va., on Mother's Day. "The Billstone Around Poor Hillary's Neck," reads a New York Daily News headline yesterday. The talk show host Bill Maher has used the phrase, and the occasional CNN anchor, and, of course, the conservative yakkers who like the pure, distilled schadenfreude of those two words.

"Poor Hillary," Sean Hannity said at one point during this never-ending primary. "Running out of money, couldn't pay her staff."

"Bless her heart," said his conservative guest.

There is something about that woman -- that woman! -- that refuses to bend, and something about a large portion of this country that despises her for it. The person who once conjured a vast right-wing conspiracy now refuses to exit a race she's almost surely lost, and it Drives. People. Crazy.

"Poor Hillary" is their response, an attempt at death by condescension. "Poor Hillary" means Clinton finally is being brought low (she is forever being brought low, isn't she?), the know-everything who tries so hard but never gets enough votes to be class president. Eons ago, the smart folks at Slate likened Clinton to Tracy Flick, the hyperactively ambitious teenager played by Reese Witherspoon in the movie "Election." And it's true; somewhere in our collective gray matter, Clinton is still wearing those schoolgirl headbands from when Bill first ran for president.

The phrase goes back to those days, actually. Its first-ever publication was in 1992 when the Atlanta Journal-Constitution did a story on "the newest allegations of infidelity that are plaguing Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton."

"He's got a pretty, smart wife and a nice little girl," said Andrea Evans, 19, a National Car Rental employee in Little Rock. "Poor, poor Hillary -- that's his wife. What's he need to be looking around for? He needs to be looking to solve this country's problems."

"Poor Hillary" speaks volumes about an old truth: Clinton's wounds have always defined her. The haters are always on the lookout for her comeuppance, and the lovers love her more for what she has endured. The women who turn out to see Clinton holler for her to stick it out, tell her they like her grit.

"She felt everybody was bashing poor Hillary," says an elderly supporter at Leisure World of Maryland, recalling how a friend founded a Clinton fan club back in 1992; and that's empathy, organizing to bash back, and there's a huge gulf between that and pity. Pity never got anyone elected. (Except in New Hampshire, where Hillary cried and won the state. Or so goes the Conventional Wisdom -- undermining poor Hillary.)

Hillary hate is something profound, something that may never be fully unraveled. It is her very name, so polarizing; it is Slick Willy and Vince Foster and Whitewater and that nickname "Shrillary" and her supposed unending ambition and . . . something else, something ancient. It is Hillary Clinton stretched like taffy, the photos you see of her on right-wing Web sites with her eyes all big and crazy:

Is it about her womanhood? Or is it about this woman? Is that a false distinction? ("Poor Hillary: right gender, wrong woman," goes the headline on the Web site of a Scottish newspaper, as if you can separate the two. But it's all mixed up. And you don't find too many references to "poor Johnny" or "poor Barry," even when their campaigns hit black ice.) Republican pollster Frank Luntz once said Clinton reminds certain men of their first wives. He probably should have said "mother-in-law," our modern-day version of the witch.

Anyway, so there she is, all bruised and ugly, this alternate version of Hillary Clinton. (The shrinks would say we despise in others what we fear most in ourselves. The shrinks talk a lot.) There she is, and then you see the real Clinton on TV this week after her West Virginia win. Brian Williams tries to lead her into an autopsy of her campaign, and she keeps coming back with that smile. She looks rested. She looks like she knows exactly what she's doing.

"Made of steel," is how John Edwards describes her Wednesday, just before he endorses Barack Obama.

"We'll know a lot more on June 4th," the candidate herself says, placid as a lap cat. "I don't believe in quitting. I don't believe in being pushed out."

Or being poor-Hillary'd out.

[fuzzybear9]

Hello American Voters

Fuzzy Bear where you been ? whats the topic of the day ?
where I have been is none of your buisness, I do have a life beyond the Washington Post and CBS you know.

rather than talk about poor Hillary,

I would rather discuss the sad story of America`s missed opportunity of having another, Federal Holiday in the middle of May, one of the ABC News commentators was so upset that senator Ted Kennedy had a massive stroke and almost died ! we should be so lucky !, fortunately with all the
Pity coming from the Black Caccus for Ted, we are still without a new Federal Holiday,
our next best Hope for a New Federal Holiday is
O.J. Simpson if only he had been shot while stealing football pariffanelia while in Las Vegas we could have had a New Federal Holiday to celebrate.

so yes AMerica Pity Pity the Kennedy`s

pitty Obama, Pitty Ted, Pitty O.J.
pitty pitty pitty

sincerely a Bear with no pitty
Fuzzy

[bajaan]

LATEST POLITICAL NEWS ITEM
It was just reported that Hillary Clinton has removed herself from the presidential race after reaching an agreement with Obama. Pursuant to the agreement, Obama and Hillary will conduct a joint fund raisers in order to help retire Hillary campaign debt. Current law prohibits Obama from making direct donations from his own campaign coffers on the theory that those donors made their donations to be used to promote the election of Obama, not Ms. Clinton. When Hillary was first informed of the agreement, she peed in her latest pair of pantsuits.

[rowdytexan2]

John_Lai flamed
BO''''''''s trick of ''''''''inevitable'''''''' do not work.
-----------
That''''s FUNNY. Hillary is the one who launched a smear campaign, including hiring Rev. Wright. Hillary is the one who claimed to be "inevitable." And OBAMA IS THE ONE WHO''''S AHEAD in the votes.

But you want to just switch the names and pretend the opposite is true.

THAT''''S HILLARY''''S PLAYBOOK.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by txgrouch2004 at 10:03 PM : May 18, 2008

I love you people and your SMEAR *****! Obama''s campaign starting smearing Joe Biden in January of 2007 as a racist.

For 12 months I watch HIllary Clinton only talk about Obama''s lack of qualifications for the job...when she knew about REv. Wright ALL those months, and never said a word. Nor did she say a word, until Fox News published old gas bag Wright''s videotapes that are sold to the public spewing his hate message. And then she simply answered questions when she was very pointedly asked about by the gutless wonders we call the media.

Your attempts to paint her campaign as smearing when Obama has presented THE WORST assanine campaign I have ever seen, is ridiculous!

It''s too bad HIllary had to come out and play politics Obama''s way after he called her and her campaign racist! Personally I''d have decked race baiting his azz.

[txgrouch2004]

John_Lai flamed
BO''''s trick of ''''inevitable'''' do not work.
-----------
That''s FUNNY. Hillary is the one who launched a smear campaign, including hiring Rev. Wright. Hillary is the one who claimed to be "inevitable." And OBAMA IS THE ONE WHO''S AHEAD in the votes.

But you want to just switch the names and pretend the opposite is true.

THAT''S HILLARY''S PLAYBOOK.

[Lai K W]

BO fanatics have been using Bush''s playbook.

Smearing has been carried out by TV pundits that voters take pleasure in contradicting them with big turnouts and landslide losses for BO.

Go Hillary and we are enjoying those landslide losses to BO camp. You have received more votes than BO and is going to be the nominee. BO''s trick of ''inevitable'' do not work.

[jokevote]

Poor Hillary. That''s all you hear and apparently that''s enough to give her pity votes.

[txgrouch2004]

jokevote wrote
And YET she keeps taking money from Hard working BLUE COLLAR workers.
--------------
And WHY? Because she has $11 MILLION of her own money in her failed campaign.

At a conservative interest rate of 5%, that money could be paying her and extra $550,000 A YEAR of income.

That''s TEN TIMES the median income of her supporters. And yet, it represents ONE TENTH of the Clinton fortune.

THE MONEY SHE POSSESSES IS UNIMAGINABLE to ordinary folks like us.

YET SHE FEELS FREE TO TAKE IT FROM STRUGGLING BLUE COLLAR WORKERS who haven''t saved a dime for their retirement, and who will be cheated out of whatever pension they thought they would get. They will end up living with their adult children, and their reduced Social Security benefits will help pay some of the bills.

BUT THAT MONEY IS EASY PICKIN''S FOR HILLARY to pay herself back.

[jokevote]

Yeah poor Hillary, I think if the tables were reversed that Obama would have already pulled out of the race for the good of the democratic party. No matter how much she deny''s it she is out to hurt the party and Obama. She keep talking about the woman with kids making money donations, the young boy that sold his bike to support her campaign, the people with out health care making donations to her campaign. Her accepting these donations is what is so disturbing, this from what is suppose to be a good hearted woman. Taking money from moms working 2 jobs to make ends meet. Taking money from children whose parents work hard to put food on the table. When I worked at TYC we use to comfront kids with thinking errors. She has been using thinking errors big time. Feeling special. Feeling sorry for herself, Down playing , etc. . Unless she is some how making promises she cannot keep. There is no way she can win the candidentcy. And YET she keeps taking money from Hard working BLUE COLLAR workers.

[txgrouch2004]

rufisgufis cheered
* * * * * * * * * HILLARY FOR PRESIDENT - IN 2096 * * * * * * * *
----
She''d be 149 years old.

Obama would be a spry 135.

Remember that Bugs Bunny cartoon when Bugs and Elmer meet up in the distant future with long gray beards...

Yah, that will be Hillary and Obama in 2096.

You get to pick which one is Elmer.

[rufisgufis]

Now, what''''s this about Hillary winning a Volkswagen? Someone said she won a VW. Did she send in box tops?

Posted by txgrouch2004 at 03:56 PM : May 18, 2008
________________

* * * * * * * * * HILLARY FOR PRESIDENT - IN 2096 * * * * * * * *