HRC the Conquering Heroine
Obviously there's been no shortage of emotion in the air in the course of the last few weeks, including a few more males telling proud tales of their tears than I can stomach. Okay, I only remember three. Pathetic beginner-wusses. I've been crying like a properly emotional male over the sappiest of events and even movies (I do draw the line at "It's a Wonderful Life," having forsworn that a good while back) for as long as I can remember. I don't brandish a bandana only because I share a perspiration issue with RMN.
We've learned of some great cabinet appointments, and some not so great. Likewise, there have been numerous speeches and statements open to considerable interpretation, some seemingly far more favorable than others.
But, in the spirit of well more than "half full," this post is focused on our terrific 67th Secretary of State and what positive vibes she seems to be eliciting. I suspect more than a few of you have encountered coverage of the tremendous tumult that greeted her official first appearance at State last Thursday. This post describes the greeting as being of "rock star" caliber, and it's hard to dispute that. These staffers appear genuinely thrilled to have someone of her credentials and experience heading their organization, presumably when coupled with the qualitities of our new president akin to a major lyrical rewrite. "Meet the new boss, already so different from the old boss." The video as I recall is something like 24 minutes in length (I have watched about half), and hence I did not include here, but is truly worth your while if you have speedy connection like the one we are finally testing this weekend:
But even if the appearance at State is old news to you, I suspect you might have missed an earlier equally inspiring event. Rebecca Traister reported on this Emily's List luncheon at Salon just prior to the Inauguration:
Jan. 19, 2009 WASHINGTON -- When feminists gathered on Sunday afternoon for the gala luncheon celebrating Emily's List and the inauguration of our new president, it could have been a little awkward. Emily's List, after all, is the 24-year-old organization dedicated to increasing the presence and power of women in politics. And the new president is not the woman many of these supporters had worked and sweated and cheered and campaigned and donated through the nose for over the past two years. He is not the woman they had hoped to be feting this January.
Yet thanks to Ellen Malcolm (perhaps the political world's most cheerful ball-buster), a roster of 2008's biggest lady winners and a rousing speech by Hillary Clinton herself, the luncheon turned out to be a feel-good celebration. And even without much mention of the failed presidential march of the still-senator from New York, the event was yet another in a string of recent moments in which we got to see the new Hillary Rodham Clinton: Toughened, burnished and somehow fortified by her loss, she is taking on the role not only of secretary of state, but of a reanimated, reborn, rollicking feminist superhero.
The luncheon was hosted by Malcolm, a deeply appealing political macher who somehow managed -- through gusto, denial, wheedling or simple gut-busting -- to convince even her most disgruntled post-Hillary compatriots to get out to the polls. And vote they did. As Malcolm slyly reminded her audience, 8 million more women marked the ballot for Barack Obama than did men.
And while those ladies were at the polls, they also voted for some of the newly elected female officials, who helped make the 2008 elections one of the best years for female candidates (executive branch excluded) in 16 years. Twelve new pro-choice Democratic women joined the House of Representatives this month, while Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampshire and Kay Hagan in North Carolina both won Republican seats in the Senate, both becoming the first Democratic women to represent their states.
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In a terrific speech, brand new North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue told a story of goggle-eyed media interest in her, "the first pro-choice female governor in the South since Ann Richards," and in a state where the first bill proposing to give women the right to vote, in 1897, "was consigned to the committee on insane asylums." At inaugural festivities, Perdue reported, a member of the press "had the audacity to ask me about the redecorating plans." The crowd whooped. Perdue went on to describe a plaque, hanging outside the Governor's Mansion, that "welcomes visitors to the home that was recently renovated for the governors and first ladies of North Carolina." Perdue paused for effect. "I intend to redecorate that plaque."
But you could tell: Everyone was really waiting for Hillary. Really. She had flown in late from New York, and was now stuck in traffic, trying to get to the Hilton while Perdue, North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan and New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen vamped for time by telling stories of how they used to make their state troopers carry their pocketbooks (Shaheen) and their discoveries that only men are allowed to swim in the Senate gym's pool (Hagan).
And still, Clinton wasn't there. So Ellen Malcolm returned, commencing a remarkable off-the-cuff monologue that touched on redistricting, Emily's List's plans for 2010, the importance of stopping filibusters, and the upcoming fights for Rahm Emanuel and Hilda Solis' seats -- finally threatening to start telling summer camp stories.
"So, listen, have I mentioned women voters yet?" Malcolm was joking when an aide yelled to Malcolm that Clinton "was walking." The image was suddenly very evocative of the inauguration 16 years ago, when the Clintons had gotten out of their car and walked part of the route to the White House. Could Hillary really be hoofing it up Connecticut Avenue to get to her crowd of women?
It was too cinematic to be true -- she was just walking into the ballroom. But when she did, the room practically levitated.
-clip-
Though few luncheon speakers had made mention of Clinton's presidential hopes during the lunch, it was clear that when the Emily's List crowd stood to applaud her, they were not simply applauding a future secretary of state, but a woman who made history, who banged against walls that would give the best of us headaches, who did the grueling, probably painful work of being the first female presidential candidate so that others who come after will not have to repeat it. After all of the sniping and anger and hurt that was unleashed during Clinton's campaign against Barack Obama, it felt somehow right to see a ballroom full of people stand up to honor her.
And Clinton knew it. Unlike candidates who crumble after bitter losses, Clinton's sense of herself and her politics and her priorities seems only to have grown stronger since her June concession. She nimbly shifted gears and became an Obama warrior, even when many of her supporters threatened not to follow her down the path. Now, as evidenced by her great testimony during her confirmation hearings last week, she is entering yet another phase of her political life -- rediscovering an older iteration of herself, one we haven't seen in full bloom since the late '90s: the Hillary Rodham Clinton dedicated to fighting for women around the world.
-clip-
This was the woman who had long refused to take her husband's married name, who had made ungainly but honest comments about not staying home and baking cookies -- but now, all (or most) of the disjointed ugly-duckling of the past was gone. This is a woman who knew she had just made history, that she had a crowd eating out of her hands, a woman who has finally come into herself in a blaze of popular, political feminist glory. And sure, it was a perfect crowd, but a lot of this was stuff she'd said to the whole country just last week.
Speaking of the criticism she received from Taliban leaders for speaking out on behalf of women in Afghanistan in the '90s, Clinton said pointedly, "I wear that, along with much of the rest of the criticism I've received, as a badge of honor." And so, with a happy crowd of cheering people, Clinton said, "I am absolutely thrilled to stand with you in the fights we have waged together. We've won some and we've lost some."
And some of the losses are looking more like wins every day.
We've learned of some great cabinet appointments, and some not so great. Likewise, there have been numerous speeches and statements open to considerable interpretation, some seemingly far more favorable than others.
But, in the spirit of well more than "half full," this post is focused on our terrific 67th Secretary of State and what positive vibes she seems to be eliciting. I suspect more than a few of you have encountered coverage of the tremendous tumult that greeted her official first appearance at State last Thursday. This post describes the greeting as being of "rock star" caliber, and it's hard to dispute that. These staffers appear genuinely thrilled to have someone of her credentials and experience heading their organization, presumably when coupled with the qualitities of our new president akin to a major lyrical rewrite. "Meet the new boss, already so different from the old boss." The video as I recall is something like 24 minutes in length (I have watched about half), and hence I did not include here, but is truly worth your while if you have speedy connection like the one we are finally testing this weekend:
Yesterday was Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's first day at the State Department. CNN reported the event as follows: "Reporter's notebook: Clinton gets rock-star welcome". I'd encourage readers to watch this video below, if you haven't already seen it. Remember as you watch this that the majority of the people in the video are State Department employees - about 1,000 or so according to some media accounts.
Of course, a lot of employees usually show up when their big boss shows up for the first time. So, I wondered if this kind of reception to her was normal. Well, it wasn't that normal when Condi Rice entered the State Department's headquarters in 2005 - you can see by comparing this photo taken (via) on Rice's first day as Secretary of State to a photo taken yesterday from a somewhat similar angle. Notice the thinner crowd upstairs in the former case, for example. As the CNN article observed (emphasis mine):
The State Department is no stranger to rock-star secretaries, and Clinton's welcome was reminiscent of Colin Powell's eight years ago. And like Powell, Clinton really rallied the troops.The thunderous applause grew louder when she told the group she would be seeking their advice and welcomed a "good debate." Clinton was swarmed by employees trying to shake her hand and take her picture as she made her way through the State Department's C-Street lobby.
One longtime ambassador told us he hadn't seen anything like it in his decades-long career. If that wasn't enough, President Obama dropped by with Vice President Joe Biden, standing alongside Clinton as she announced the appointment of special envoys -- former Sen. George Mitchell for the Middle East and former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke for Afghanistan and Pakistan (rock stars themselves in the diplomatic community).
Frankly, I have no idea what to make of it, but it was fascinating to see. All I can say is, I'm looking forward to Secretary Clinton's tenure at State.
But even if the appearance at State is old news to you, I suspect you might have missed an earlier equally inspiring event. Rebecca Traister reported on this Emily's List luncheon at Salon just prior to the Inauguration:
Jan. 19, 2009 WASHINGTON -- When feminists gathered on Sunday afternoon for the gala luncheon celebrating Emily's List and the inauguration of our new president, it could have been a little awkward. Emily's List, after all, is the 24-year-old organization dedicated to increasing the presence and power of women in politics. And the new president is not the woman many of these supporters had worked and sweated and cheered and campaigned and donated through the nose for over the past two years. He is not the woman they had hoped to be feting this January.
Yet thanks to Ellen Malcolm (perhaps the political world's most cheerful ball-buster), a roster of 2008's biggest lady winners and a rousing speech by Hillary Clinton herself, the luncheon turned out to be a feel-good celebration. And even without much mention of the failed presidential march of the still-senator from New York, the event was yet another in a string of recent moments in which we got to see the new Hillary Rodham Clinton: Toughened, burnished and somehow fortified by her loss, she is taking on the role not only of secretary of state, but of a reanimated, reborn, rollicking feminist superhero.
The luncheon was hosted by Malcolm, a deeply appealing political macher who somehow managed -- through gusto, denial, wheedling or simple gut-busting -- to convince even her most disgruntled post-Hillary compatriots to get out to the polls. And vote they did. As Malcolm slyly reminded her audience, 8 million more women marked the ballot for Barack Obama than did men.
And while those ladies were at the polls, they also voted for some of the newly elected female officials, who helped make the 2008 elections one of the best years for female candidates (executive branch excluded) in 16 years. Twelve new pro-choice Democratic women joined the House of Representatives this month, while Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampshire and Kay Hagan in North Carolina both won Republican seats in the Senate, both becoming the first Democratic women to represent their states.
-clip-
In a terrific speech, brand new North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue told a story of goggle-eyed media interest in her, "the first pro-choice female governor in the South since Ann Richards," and in a state where the first bill proposing to give women the right to vote, in 1897, "was consigned to the committee on insane asylums." At inaugural festivities, Perdue reported, a member of the press "had the audacity to ask me about the redecorating plans." The crowd whooped. Perdue went on to describe a plaque, hanging outside the Governor's Mansion, that "welcomes visitors to the home that was recently renovated for the governors and first ladies of North Carolina." Perdue paused for effect. "I intend to redecorate that plaque."
But you could tell: Everyone was really waiting for Hillary. Really. She had flown in late from New York, and was now stuck in traffic, trying to get to the Hilton while Perdue, North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan and New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen vamped for time by telling stories of how they used to make their state troopers carry their pocketbooks (Shaheen) and their discoveries that only men are allowed to swim in the Senate gym's pool (Hagan).
And still, Clinton wasn't there. So Ellen Malcolm returned, commencing a remarkable off-the-cuff monologue that touched on redistricting, Emily's List's plans for 2010, the importance of stopping filibusters, and the upcoming fights for Rahm Emanuel and Hilda Solis' seats -- finally threatening to start telling summer camp stories.
"So, listen, have I mentioned women voters yet?" Malcolm was joking when an aide yelled to Malcolm that Clinton "was walking." The image was suddenly very evocative of the inauguration 16 years ago, when the Clintons had gotten out of their car and walked part of the route to the White House. Could Hillary really be hoofing it up Connecticut Avenue to get to her crowd of women?
It was too cinematic to be true -- she was just walking into the ballroom. But when she did, the room practically levitated.
-clip-
Though few luncheon speakers had made mention of Clinton's presidential hopes during the lunch, it was clear that when the Emily's List crowd stood to applaud her, they were not simply applauding a future secretary of state, but a woman who made history, who banged against walls that would give the best of us headaches, who did the grueling, probably painful work of being the first female presidential candidate so that others who come after will not have to repeat it. After all of the sniping and anger and hurt that was unleashed during Clinton's campaign against Barack Obama, it felt somehow right to see a ballroom full of people stand up to honor her.
And Clinton knew it. Unlike candidates who crumble after bitter losses, Clinton's sense of herself and her politics and her priorities seems only to have grown stronger since her June concession. She nimbly shifted gears and became an Obama warrior, even when many of her supporters threatened not to follow her down the path. Now, as evidenced by her great testimony during her confirmation hearings last week, she is entering yet another phase of her political life -- rediscovering an older iteration of herself, one we haven't seen in full bloom since the late '90s: the Hillary Rodham Clinton dedicated to fighting for women around the world.
-clip-
This was the woman who had long refused to take her husband's married name, who had made ungainly but honest comments about not staying home and baking cookies -- but now, all (or most) of the disjointed ugly-duckling of the past was gone. This is a woman who knew she had just made history, that she had a crowd eating out of her hands, a woman who has finally come into herself in a blaze of popular, political feminist glory. And sure, it was a perfect crowd, but a lot of this was stuff she'd said to the whole country just last week.
Speaking of the criticism she received from Taliban leaders for speaking out on behalf of women in Afghanistan in the '90s, Clinton said pointedly, "I wear that, along with much of the rest of the criticism I've received, as a badge of honor." And so, with a happy crowd of cheering people, Clinton said, "I am absolutely thrilled to stand with you in the fights we have waged together. We've won some and we've lost some."
And some of the losses are looking more like wins every day.
posted by Sir Gumbo at 8:38 PM
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