Hillary Clinton is a person who engenders great emotion. People say that you either love her or you hate her. I often feel both emotions at the same time when it comes to her. I love her tenacity and grit. I hate her arrogance, stubbornness and self-importance. I love her history of fighting for women, children and education. I hate her history of cynicism, triangulation, and pandering in running for and helping her husband run for elected office. And I love her intelligence and desire to work hard in spite of it. This primary election campaign has brought out these emotions in spades.
Currently, I am reading Carl Bernstein’s biography of her, A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton. I think it offers a balanced view of one of the most important political figures of her generation. I started reading it after my disgust with her had reached a crescendo and I needed a little more objectivity.
After having voted for her in her first campaign for public office against Rick Lazio in 2000, I was amazed at how much I had begun to dislike her. I had always mistrusted Bill Clinton, but I saw them as two very different animals. But, her campaign tactics soon left me angry and betrayed that I had ever voted for her.
Having read more about her and her struggles, I am left feeling much more positive about her and her legacy, but disappointed in her evolution as a politician and a human being. In my eyes, she has been partially rehabilitated but I doubt I will ever hold her in the same esteem again.
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