Clinton vs.Obama, something worth reading
Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 10:26:35 AM PDT
Since I do everything ass-backwards, I get into lengthy disquisitions about my own thinking in my comments about other peoples' diaries, but I'm devoting my first-ever diary to a link to something that's not mine at all.
http://www.newyorker.com/...
George Packer's new New Yorker piece on Hillary Clinton's philosophy and style, as opposed to Barack Obama's. The piece is more about Clinton than it is about Obama, so he doesn't get as much attention, but beyond that it looks pretty fair-minded to me. Those who like and dislike Clinton will find something to suit them, although those who detest her with a passion probably won't. After the jump, I'll say a bit more, if only to justify posting an actual diary :)
I was gratified, in a vain way, to see that Packer lays it out pretty much as I have put it in my throwaway comments (otherwise known as "comments") here at DK for the last couple of months. "To Clinton, the presidency is more about achieving goals than about transforming society," so it comes down to what you want in a president. Let me qualify that: what you want, and what you think is achievable. I'd love for the president to deliver groceries straight to my door and then stay for tea, but that's not on my list of candidate criteria.
If anything, Packer depicts a somewhat more empathetic and interpersonally gifted Hillary Clinton than I had imagined; I'm pretty hard-core in saying that I don't value those things overmuch in a president (high-average is good enough for me), but since most people hope for more, his depiction can only be good news. But if you think she's too wounded from past experiences to be a good president, you'll find some grist there as well.
One interesting thing: there was indeed a specific moment "late last year, as the Democratic race was tightening," when Clinton's advisers argued over "whether to go on the attack against Obama--an argument won by the proponents." But the single thing out of Hillary Clinton's mouth that her opponents most identify with that strategic decision--her MLK/LBJ comment--doesn't seem to come from that decision at all. It's entirely coherent with what she has always said about government and what it's for: Packer discusses her comment entirely in that context, a good two pages before mentioning the campaign's decision to go after Obama, so I'm assuming he sees them as separate things, as do I.
This article is a good opportunity to hear Clinton in her own words. I find them very impressive, but you can be your own judge. Maybe it will move some of you into her camp, but at this point I'd be happy if you would read the article and say, "she's not my candidate, but she's a Democrat and she has a philosophy of government and the presidency that's not idiotic." You have to start somewhere!
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