For the duration of the summer Ohio blogs, readers and elected officials have sent me to NH to cover the first presidential primary. To learn more about it, check out http://www.newhampshireproject.com
I just got back from Hillary Clinton's speech on the middle class in Manchester, NH. I love Hillary Clinton, hell how could I not? I love her husband too. And this love isn't just because Hillary is right on most issues. No, my fondness for Hillz stems from something much more basic, a simple understanding of where she's at. Aside from all the straight up bs on fox news or your next closest right wing rag, Hillary Clinton's a warm woman. I see it when she speaks - when she lands a metaphor, or an ancetode about our responsibility to help those in need, she gets a little smile. She's a real person too...when she's at the podium even Hillary has brief moments where there's a hint of fluster or nervousness. I like that, it show's she's real.
But getting back to it; one of the biggest reasons I like Hillary is because she ain't scrrrrd of the GOP. Unlike other candidates, she doesn't shy from the term "Republican" on the stump. She lays out exactly what that party - not President George W. Bush - but rather the GOP has done to our country these last six years. When she gets on a roll I see it in her smile or her eyes, that desire to just grab a sock full of quarters and shit beat Boehner, or McConnell, or whoever else is selling out the middle class. I wish that all the people out there struggling to make a middle class life, or pay for their kids to stay healthy, or support democratic ideals knew that Hillary Clinton is one of, if not the, toughest fighter out there for us.
That said, her speech today was awful. It hurts to write that, especially when I'm trying to find good things to say about all Democratic candidates. I've seen Hillary twice now and my complaint both times has been the same. She meanders...and meanders...and meanders some more. Over the bridge and through the woods and downtown and across the pond past the turnpike...you get my point. And I don't think this is a reflection on Hillary, I think it's an indication that she seriously needs to infuse some more talent in her speech writing department. If anyone out there knows the name of who's doing her writing, that dude (or dudette) needs to go. The fact that I even have a staffing complaint flabbergasts me because of all the campaigns, Hillary's is probably stacked with the most wicked talent (I was just talking to my buddy about how when the Clinton crew shows up you know they're present - a busload of suits just pours into whatever small confines you're in. Nothin' but bidness).
Today's speech was titled "Clinton OUtlines Progressive Vision to Aid Middle Class, Address Rising Income Inequality"...wheweee, that's a mouthful. How about "Clinton Plans To Rebuild Middle Class" (I think people would still get the point). On par with the title of the speech was the meet of it - a 9 point plan to breath life back into middle class America:
1. Level the playing field and reducing special breaks for big corporations.
2. Eliminate the incentives for American companies to ship jobs and profits overseas.
3. Reform the governance of corporations and the financial sector.
4. Restore fiscal responsibility to government.
5. Give every young person an opportunity to attend college, and ensure that education starts early in life and continues into adulthood.
6. Increase support for community colleges and alternative schools.
7. Help working people earn enough to support their families and help them save for the future.
8. Ensure that every American has quality, affordable health care.
9. Make investments necessary for creating new jobs.
That's the plan, but what's more is that each point had somewhere around 5 subpoints in her speech. I got dizzy.
Don't get me wrong, I agree with all of this, I love the thrust of the plan. Iut it was too much to process at once. Now maybe the mainstream media in their infinite wisdom (taking advice from Hallett at the Dispatch, I'm sure) can distill all this down to something much more manageable and accurately present Hillary's message to the American people. Lol. No, the Clinton campaign just handed the media a big malleable mess and said "have at it." Depending on which reporters don't have heartburn from their all-night Burger King pig-out, or who isn't trying to make it home for reruns of American Idol, maybe one of them can focus long enough to crunch the plan down. But I doubt it - I don't trust these people to do an ounce more of work than they have to: