Hillary Clinton Re-Imagined

[DeepModem Mom]

WP political blog, "The Fix," by Chris Cillizza
Hillary Clinton Re-Imagined

Hillary Rodham Clinton's confirmation hearing today in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee marks a turn in the legacy of a family that has dominated Democratic politics for the last two and a half decades.

With Clinton's likely confirmation as President-elect Barack Obama's secretary of state, she and her husband -- the former president of the United States -- will step out (permanently?) from the world of partisan politics and into the world of international statecraft. And, with that change will come the potential for a re-imagining (some might say a re-writing) of the legacy of the Clintons in the minds of voters -- from partisan political warriors to committed bipartisan stateswoman (and man).

Perhaps more than any other political family in modern memory, Bill and Hillary Clinton are acutely aware of protecting and bolstering their legacies. It's why Bill Clinton took such umbrage during the primary campaign when Barack Obama insinuated that politics as practiced by Clinton and George W. Bush was what he was running against. And, it's why Hillary Clinton ultimately chose to leave the Senate after just eight years to take on the role of chief diplomat for Obama.

But, since the conclusion of the election, the Clintons (especially Hillary) have moved to erase any lingering memories of her as a partisan pitbull from voters' minds -- replacing those thoughts with the image of her as the consummate diplomat, ready and willing to serve for the good of the country....

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The transformation of Clinton is already well underway if you believe public opinion polls....

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Clinton's numbers are almost certain to continue upwards for two reasons. First, she is now entirely outside of the context of political campaigns....Second, the role of secretary of state is seen as the most non-partisan of all the cabinet posts -- the public face that America puts out to the world....

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2009/01/hillary_clinton_re-imagined.html?hpid=topnews

[Captain Hilts]

1. Cilllizza slingin' more shit. nt

[antigop]

2. Well, some of us won't be fooled by the DLC no matter how hard they try. n/t