For the novelty, we went to a Hillary Clinton for President rally last night. Bill spoke and called his wife a change agent. I generally like change agents, and I admit that he made a persuasive case for me not to feel dread at her candidacy. Moreover, the man can talk! It was the fourth rally of the day for him, but he spoke for nearly an hour then took questions for 45 minutes. He spoke about Hillary’s work outside of government, covered her biography, waxed long on policy and was generally fascinating to listen to. He didn’t convince me to caucus for her, though.
whether we stay here or not, i think my favorite memory of our experience at current employer will be having heard clinton speak. he is really amazing on stage. it would be so nice to have him back on the world stage…not that i have paid a lick of attention to world affairs since nancy p. took over.
by mary—Dec 11, 09:12 AM
I’ve read over and over that he cuts a majestic figure in person. Did you get close enough to partake of the aura?
by JH—Dec 11, 09:29 AM
It’s probably because during his presidency I was politically agnostic, but I don’t remember feeling his charisma or recognizing his skill as a communicator nearly as intensely as I have since he left office (except for his 1996 convention address—that was something).
There was a long essay in Harper’s two years ago arguing that electing BC as secretary general of the U.N. was the only hope for the world. It was a compelling case, but clearly outside the bounds of what the U.N. is or how it works….
by greg—Dec 11, 09:30 AM
2: Had we waited around, we could have—he exited the podium on our side of the stage and was promising to shake hands. (We saw two well-dressed, middle-aged women run—really, run—to meet him.) I thought about doing just that so I could tell that, when I was in 4th grade our class held a mock gubernatorial campaign. It was during his 1988 run against Frank White. I played him and had a button that read “Frank for first lady!” I won!
by greg—Dec 11, 09:35 AM
He was fascinating to listen to…He was almost an hour late to the event to begin with, and then he spoke for an hour and a half. My feet and back got so sore, we had to sit on the floor during the Q & A (along with many others).
The biggest thing that struck me about his physical presence is that he’s thin.
During his talk, a heckler jumped up and yelled “Apologize to Sister Souljah!” Then he tossed a bunch of colorful cards into the audience, which read:
“Robots are mad at Bill. MR-IFOBCA stands for Mad Robots In Favor Of Bill Clinton Apologizing.” Mr. Ifobaca says, ‘Bill Clinton should be ashamed of himself for slandering a Black woman named Sister Souljah.’” (Followed by a website, of course.)
On our way out, a young volunteer asked us to sign a card promising to caucus for Hillary. I said “No, we can’t do that.” He said, “Can you give me a reason why not?” I said “Because we’re caucusing for other candidates.” He looked truly disappointed and even disgusted…We felt kind of bad (for about 5 seconds).
by kl—Dec 11, 10:45 AM
Wow, that’s pretty pushy. “Can you give me a reason why not?”
by JH—Dec 11, 10:52 AM
I know! The other volunteers seemed to have a more realistic approach. I really think this guy didn’t consider the possibility that some (many? most?) of the people there might not have been Hill supporters.
I may not have been gentle enough with him, though…I laughed a little when he asked us to sign the card…It was a Hillary event after all.
by kl—Dec 11, 11:09 AM
So Kembrew McLeod was the robot. (He picks up some of his own coverage at the link.)
by greg—Dec 12, 09:03 AM