Le Devior, Canada

The Battle of Hillary Clinton

By Lise Payette

Translated By Sandra Stark

January 11, 2008

Canada - Le Devior - Original Article (French)

She must see him even in her soup. Who would have predicted that Barack Obama, the young Senator from Illinois, would make this such a difficult moment for Hillary Clinton, who has everything needed to succeed: experience, desire for change, the respect of a large part of the American public, an acute political sense, and a name that she managed to rescue from dishonor through her dignified behavior during the time when the Clinton marriage was fighting for its life? This woman, whose every wrinkle has recently been underlined, is not out of the woods yet.

It’s not Bill that is keeping Hillary up at night right now. On the contrary. Despite his faults, Bill Clinton has remained extremely popular, and he will support Hillary to the end. He owes her that. What is keeping Hillary up is Barack Obama, who carries the strong image of renewal in the face of a woman whose experience, instead of being an asset, is becoming a photo with wrinkles and extra weight to carry around. Obama, this likeable, cool Senator, has ruined the deal. Many Americans became infatuated with him at first glance, despite the fact that he is black, which has always been seen as a practically insurmountable handicap by our dear friends in the South.  All it took was for him to show up, to speak of hope and change, for the wheels to start turning like they haven’t turned since John F. Kennedy.

We are witnessing a true phenomenon. The Obama phenomenon. Those who heard him speak to the democrats in Boston already knew that they would be hearing about him for a long time. Without seeming to try, he had all of the delegates in his pocket within several minutes. Clever in his speech, seductive with his proposals, he cut through the scornful and artificial tones of more seasoned politicians. And, moreover, he seemed to truly believe in the peaceful and generous America he described. It had been so long since someone impressed us with his deep sincerity.

The American Vote

Hillary Clinton has not won. Far from it. The double standard will continue to plague her. This woman, who succeeded in protecting herself with a solid shell of armor in the face of all sorts of tests, is going to discover that armor is heavy and that she cannot pretend to be a political man without paying a price. She will have to be a political woman, and that, that will be new.

It occurs to me that with the role Americans play in the entire world, we [Editor’s Note: Everyone in the world] should all have the right to vote in the United States. The American President has such an impact on the lives of everyone on the planet that it would only be fair for all of us to be able to express our choice.

I listened attentively to the speeches Hillary Clinton made in New Hampshire after the victory which all of the polls and all of the journalists predicted to be impossible, saying to myself that it was time for this woman to show herself as she really is, strong and sensitive at the same time, a woman of intellect and of heart at the same time. It is more than time for her to show herself as the real Hillary Clinton. She only has ten months to stop playing a political man to become a political woman, with all the risks that that might entail.

If she fails, where she is now, it will disappoint many women. They will tell themselves that it is not worth it and that there will always be a man to overtake them at the last minute and to take their place no matter what they do. This is only half true.

It must be understood that it is not an ordinary man who is upsetting Hillary Clinton’s plans. Barack Obama is a charismatic phenomenon. And against this powerful attraction, competing campaigns can be distorted. What is charisma? No one has been able to explain it and no one who lacks it has been able to acquire it.

What one can say clearly without risk of being wrong is that American politics is much more interesting right now than Canadian or Quebecois politics. In 2008 the action is in the South even if we hold federal elections in the next few months. The biggest show in the world will be American.

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