Althouse: "She seems less a presidential candidate than a historical figure, magically animated from a wax museum to claim what is rightfully hers."

May 22, 2015

"She seems less a presidential candidate than a historical figure, magically animated from a wax museum to claim what is rightfully hers."

"And the press corps, both blessed and cursed with live streaming, tweeting and Snapchatting technologies, is armed with questions devised to win the moment. The result is a carnival atmosphere. It is not clear what Mrs. Clinton gains politically from playing the freak."

Waxwork! Playing the freak! And that's in The New York Times — "Hillary Clinton, Acutely Aware of Pitfalls, Avoids Press on Campaign Trail."

35 comments:

Michael K said...: "nodding 43 times a minute "

I wonder when the first question about Parkinson's Disease will come up. Not in the Times, of course.; 5/22/15, 8:46 AM
Hagar said...: Quite possibly in the Times.
The gentry left is beginning to reconsider its ties to Clinton, Inc.; 5/22/15, 8:51 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: Instead of a wax statue, I'd have gone with a golem, but maybe that's too Jewish.; 5/22/15, 8:53 AM
Tank said...: I saw her on TV for about 30 seconds "answering" a question this week. My impression was that she is not a real human being.

She has that phony open mouthed smiling thing going on. Creepy. Really creepy.

Why isn't she in jail?; 5/22/15, 8:57 AM
madAsHell said...: Clap, clap.
Point, point.
Wink, wink.

....after that, what difference does it make??; 5/22/15, 8:58 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Avoids a press who is generally eager to help her. Surrounds herself with choreographed events filled with like-minded pre- screened "every-day" people.; 5/22/15, 8:59 AM
madAsHell said...: Why isn't she in jail?

Why isn't she UNDER the jail??; 5/22/15, 8:59 AM
Sebastian said...: "It is not clear what Mrs. Clinton gains politically from playing the freak."

1. A compliant press.

2. Pretty pictures for LIVs.

3. An air of moderation for "moderate" voters, even while moving left to avoid enemies on the left.

4. The Presidency.; 5/22/15, 9:01 AM
MadisonMan said...: Aahhh, the Press is Pouting. Hillary!!!! doesn't want to talk to them.

Here's an idea Press Person: Go out and find a story instead of sitting around waiting for one.; 5/22/15, 9:05 AM
Jaq said...: That bobble-head thing of hers is hard to look at.; 5/22/15, 9:09 AM
Jaq said...: As I have said before. Mike Dukakis limited his audiences to pre-screened and invited crowds. Worked out great!; 5/22/15, 9:10 AM
Jaq said...: If it is Parkinson's, I feel bad for mocking her, but she should not be in the WH.; 5/22/15, 9:13 AM
traditionalguy said...: There is a Massachusets Senator who has no wax on her and is a real Democrat. I suspect the NYT has Fauxchontas Disease that causes an intense itch until it is scratched; 5/22/15, 9:14 AM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: Hillary doesn't need the press to win. She just needs to keep the primary field clear of any competition. I would say her campaign is going exactly as planned.

Seriously, do you think the Clintons are just winging it?; 5/22/15, 9:20 AM
DrMaturin said...: Not in the Times, of course.

I'm predicting the Times editorial page will call for her to drop out of the race before summer is over. I think their steady drip,drip,drip of negative reporting is a sign of this. They want her out and Warren in, and sooner rather than later so she can actually build a campaign.; 5/22/15, 9:21 AM
I'm Full of Soup said...: To add to Mad Man's point, I think the WH Press Corps has become a big waste of time. They sit around all day waiting to shout a question to the WH spokesweasel who rarely actually answers the question.; 5/22/15, 9:31 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: How much money are they paying people to stay out of her way?; 5/22/15, 9:33 AM
Anonymous said...: "...to claim what is rightfully hers."

"...to claim what she deems rightfully hers."; 5/22/15, 9:37 AM
Tank said...: From LI

According to the disclosure, Hillary Clinton delivered 51 speeches in 2014 and the first three months of 2015, earning more than $11 million. Her fees varied, but she earned as much as $315,000 for speaking to eBay in San Jose on March 11; she also collected $325,000 for speaking to the technology company Cisco in Las Vegas in August.

What are eBay and Cisco paying for? What do they expect to get for $640K? Why isn't Hillary in jail?; 5/22/15, 9:53 AM
LawGuy5000 said...: Do you ever get tired of acting surprised when the New York Times does not sound stereotypically liberal?; 5/22/15, 9:55 AM
CWJ said...: madAsHell wrote -

"Why isn't she UNDER the jail??"

Who dropped a jail on my sister instantly came to mind.; 5/22/15, 10:00 AM
CWJ said...: LawGuy5000,

Don't know whether you meant the "you" for Althouse or the commenters, but in this case the sense of some commenters is that the NYT would prefer someone more reliably stereotypically liberal than HRC. So at least for some your statement doesn't really hold. I think you need to offer another example to make your point.; 5/22/15, 10:11 AM
cubanbob said...: After electing Obama twice who couldn't been seen as a possible presidential candidate?; 5/22/15, 10:27 AM
Jaq said...: "...to claim what is rightfully hers."

"...to claim what she deems rightfully hers."

"All the news that's fit to print."

"All the news we deem fit to print."; 5/22/15, 10:32 AM
Anonymous said...: I saw an article saying Jake Tapper was going to speak at a Clinton Foundation event.

What struck me is that Bill and Chelsea were also featured speakers at the event. Not that Jake Tapper was going to be there.

How much does the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea foundation pay Bill, Hillary and Chelsea to speak at events that they host?

In other words, how much money do they pay themselves?; 5/22/15, 10:43 AM
Michael K said...: I was thinking last night about who to compare to Hillary as presidential candidate ?

The best analogy I can come up with is Aaron Burr. That may seem odd, especially for the ahistorical, and she has shot anybody since Vince Foster, but it does seem a reasonable comparison to me.

1. Burr became a successful lawyer and politician. He was elected twice to the New York State Assembly (1784–1785, 1798–1799),[1] was appointed New York State Attorney General (1789–1791), was chosen as a United States Senator (1791–1797) from the state of New York, and reached the apex of his career as Vice President.

2. The highlight of Burr's tenure as President of the Senate (one of his few official duties as Vice President) was the Senate's first impeachment trial, of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase.

3. After leaving Washington, Burr traveled west seeking new opportunities, both economic and political.

4. On June 28, 1778, at the Battle of Monmouth in New Jersey, Burr's regiment was devastated by British artillery, and in the day's heat, Burr suffered heat stroke. In January 1779 Burr, in command of Malcolm's Regiment, was assigned to Westchester County, a region between the British post at Kingsbridge and that of the Americans about 15 miles (24 km) to the north. In this district, part of the larger command of General Alexander McDougall, there was much turbulence and plundering by lawless bands of rebel or loyalist sympathizers, and by raiding parties of ill-disciplined soldiers from both armies.

Sort of like Hillarycare and Obamacare.

There are some interesting comparisons but the fact remains that nobody as corrupt as Burr had a chance as president until Hillary.; 5/22/15, 10:51 AM
Michael K said...: "She has not shot anybody ..."; 5/22/15, 10:52 AM
Todd said...: Michael K said...
"She has not shot anybody ..."

5/22/15, 10:52 AM

Technically it would be:

As far as we know, she has not personally shot anyone.; 5/22/15, 11:03 AM
hombre said...: Hillary Clinton will be the president most of us, including congressional Republican, deserve.; 5/22/15, 1:04 PM
Todd said...: hombre said... [hush][hide comment]
Hillary Clinton will be the president most of us, including congressional Republican, deserve.

5/22/15, 1:04 PM

That is both the saddest and most truthful thing I have read all day...; 5/22/15, 1:46 PM
Etienne said...: It's simple actually, if the press would just go to a bar, have a drink and a sandwich, it won't be long before her staff has a panic and asks them to cover her campaign again.

Well, simple to me, anyway, as I eat my roast beef, and have a lager.; 5/22/15, 2:05 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: "Playing the freak!

"non-verbals"; 5/22/15, 4:11 PM
readering said...: Hillary reminds me of one of those stand up comics who made it big and before going on a big tour hones her act by trying out all new material in tiny clubs before small audiences. I just hope she has a good set down when the big tour starts.; 5/22/15, 5:03 PM
Beldar said...: As of now, the linked NYT article appears to have scrubbed the very best part of this quote. It now reads:

"She seems less a presidential candidate than a historical figure, returning to claim what is rightfully hers."

A phone call was made. Groveling ensued. High-priced high-heeled shoe soles were licked, and voila, no more "wax museum."

Scum covering for scum. I regret giving the NYT the benefit of that mouse-click and page view, the lousy bastards.; 5/23/15, 12:17 AM
Beldar said...: And of course, the scrubbed online version contains no indication that it's been scrubbed.

The "wax museum" language was just magically ... disappeared.

Nacht und nebel. Slick Willy learned from Goebbels.; 5/23/15, 12:26 AM