Saturday, February 16, 2008

Wanting it both ways

The Clintons have always struggled in their pained pursuit of privacy while seeking the full riches of public life.
Sadly this same confusion has infected Senator Clinton's use of her daughter as a political surrogate.

The Clintons' rightly protected their young daughter's privacy during that family's tumultous and embarassing 8 years in the Whitehouse.

During the early stages of this present campaign Chelsea stood silently by her mother's side, all the while refusing to speak to reporters. This second level of silence, while possibly to be seen as a odd, can still be defended.

Now however Chelsea has changed to giving speeches on policy, and to holding meetings with the Democratic party's super delegates. YET she remains committed to "no speaking to reporters." In this we see an extension to this poor heir of the Clinton's most self-destructive habit. They want the riches of public life, but want secrecy and inappropriate levels of privacy.

It has become clear that even democrats are wary and weary of former president Bill, and this has hurt the Senator's campaign. Is Chelsea requiring us to gear up for a fresh new lifetime of not wanting Clinton double-dealing around?

Here's the article on Chelsea's latest political evolution:

clipped from news.yahoo.com
AP

Chelsea Clinton steps on political stage

Chelsea Clinton has emerged as a top surrogate for her mother as the former first lady has fallen behind Sen. Barack Obama in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The Clintons instituted a firm circle of silence around their daughter when Bill Clinton won his first White House term in 1992. And she began this campaign as uneasy stage-dressing beside her mother — even ordered to hold supporters' jackets on one New Hampshire stage. In Iowa and New Hampshire, she never spoke.

By now, she's a full-fledged player in the campaign, something she had vowed to avoid.

While pressing her mother's case, she still has refused to talk on-the-record to reporters. She politely smiles when reporters ask questions.


Her new role hasn't come without criticism. Chelsea Clinton has been calling and meeting with superdelegates, but MSNBC anchor David Shuster noted that she refuses to answer questions about what she's doing.

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Dear Frank,

it is always my real pleasure to read your comments (as well as reactions of those who are responding – like e.g. Karin to this issue).
As I could hardly offer anything superior to what you are producing I usually keep rather silent... But this way you would not learn about my feelings...:-).
So here are few comments put together in haste (sorry – not easy to find enough time these days...).
Human race made it to the top of the food chain.
To get there it required capabilities to gradually acquire special skills helping our ancestors to overpower our fellow living creatures who were better equipped to dominate... One of the consequences is the fact that we had to develop among other things what I call the gene of bellicosity. Without it there would be no chance to make it to the top.
It is not our fault. It can be considered as a general law. Now we have to deal with this legacy...
I am afraid that unless we shall be able to accept this fact and to deal with it accordingly there is a very little hope for any major progress towards the long term survival of our civilization (i.e. in a biological form).
I had the privilege of having lived major part of my life under socialism. With all its deficiencies - compared to what I can witness presently under the market economy – there was a general feeling that there could be a hope for mankind – and to work for it was regarded as a natural common goal...
During last nineteen years enormous erosion in feelings and attitudes of people (in particular a young generation) took place... Pandora box was widely opened...
Facing these unfortunate facts I even changed my view on a potential role of religion. Somebody has to fulfill the role of teachers and leaders when state (i.e. its educational system) fails to do so...
Personally, I prefer as more effective the role of the general educational system which would reach all the young people. But at least what I can see in my country is a real disaster right now...
In this context the attitude of some of the Danish journalists is just one example of a mature conduct deficiency. What more to say...
Unfortunately, there is no way how to start our modern civilization from scratch – meaning having new generation of people brought up and educated the best possible way like a true mankind of brothers and sisters living for the sake of the others. Spared from marching trough an everyday flood of bad examples...
Presently it seems that unless people are facing a common threat they are unable to get united.
I am afraid that no better unifying force will be found in a short term. And the only threat which is relevant these days seems to be learning about the coming danger for our civilization as a whole in the near future. But our present “leaders” are unable (unwilling) to recognize this fact. And if so, they prefer trying to keep it away from the sight of general population and rather take secret steps which could help them to reach somewhat better position when it will come to the crunch...
But their short sighted attitude is very dangerous and indeed risky for our civilization...
Unless we shall be ready to face the awaiting reality in the near future and understand its consequences there is a very little hope...
But once again, it seems that this course of events with all its bleak prospects is only very natural and difficult to avoid... Despite the fact that more and more people are becoming fully aware of it and are prepared to do something against it... In a certain sense it makes them to be looked upon as some kind of modern Don Quichotes – to be laughed at by the rest...

But however foolish these attempts could look to the others, stopping them would mean giving up in our efforts to save our civilization. Keeping doing so is under current circumstances very difficult indeed... But it is our duty - which keeps us also together... And our numbers are growing...:-).