More than one story to be told

Rebecca Traister of salon.com has a new book out on women of the 2008 election--specifically, Hillary, Michelle Obama, and Sarah Palin.  She was interviewed by salon about the book, Big Girls Don't Cry. 

The master narrative of the 2008 campaign has been that a young charismatic senator from Illinois--a man of destiny from the land of Lincoln--rode a wave of popular support, upset the establishment candidate of the party, and glided to victory.

That's one story, and there's some truth in it--it's just not the only story out there.  In 2008, I found myself saying (often) to my Obama-supporting friends, "For a mind-blowing change in perspective, you should look at this campaign from the Clinton point of view.  It would look completely different from the story your side promotes and which the media has bought."

Traister began to appreciate this after the Iowa caucuses, which Hillary lost.  "There was this pile-on," she says, and to me it was mind-bending."  She went on to note that it came mostly from the left because of Hillary's effrontery in being the "inevitable" candidate.  "Finally she had shown weakness, and they were just going nuts."

Eventually I became a lot more aware of the ways in which not only Hillary but also her supporters were being talked about. I became increasingly sensitive to the scorn directed at her, and it built and built as she continued to fight, and it drove me nuts. Because I thought her continuing to fight was awesome and hilarious.

I thought it was completely redefining how we view women and our expectations for them in public and political life. She would not comply. She would not give in. She would not do what the pundits wanted her to do, what her opponents wanted her to do, what reporters were insisting that she do, what everyone was telling her was the smart thing to do or, in one case, the classy thing to do. She just kept going.

The insistence that Hillary get out of the race was insulting.  Ted Kennedy was 1000 votes behind Jimmy Carter in 1980.  Did anyone tell him to get out of the race?  Or Jesse Jackson in 1984?  Or Jerry Brown in 1992?

Hillary said "the hell with them" and fought on, which was the point at which Hillary Clinton became a master politician.  She won nearly all the late primaries, some by whopping margins.  On the day she announced the end of her candidacy, she was held in higher esteem by the American public than ever before.

Now, as Secretary of State, her prestige has increased yet more.  Partly, it must be admitted, this is because, in accepting appointment as Secretary of State, the media narrative is that she has humbled herself and become a "team player."  Consequently, her press reports have been glowing for the past 18 months.

That, and, as Secretary of State, she is nearly always seen as defending the United States or promoting the interests of the United States.  These are going to be favorable images with the public.  Though she (very) occasionally remarks on a domestic issue, she is seen as largely above domestic politics, which is also favorable politically.

In April, 2008, Hillary's speechwriter, Lissa Muscatine, was in Denver for a "rally the troops" event for Hillary at which she noted that "the media narrative is starting to change," and indeed it was.  The story was changing from Obama's oratory and charisma to Hillary's grit and force.

There are many stories in the 2008 campaign, and only some of them have been told.  Traister's book appears to be a start on telling the rest of it.

Comments

[Emm]

This piece encourages me to hope that Hillary might run again in 2012. That would be great.

I thought the same thing about Hillary not dropping out of the Primary. I thought it was insulting, since, as illustrated here, no one suggested to any other male candidate in previous Primaries to drop out. Dropping out was and IS NOT the 'classy' thing to do.
Why does the Press act as thought it is the arbiter of manners and social injustices when it just tries to ram whatever PC opinion it decides is 'correct' down our throats?

[John Petty]

The irony is that I think the general impression in the public is that the press is liberal, which any liberal would tell you is bunk.