The look on Hillary's face when Vitter started in...

[CTyankee]

it was very revealing. She looked at him with such thinly veiled disgust and distaste. There was a moment there when I felt she was in actual pain, not from his blather but because she saw in him what she must hate about Bill and his philandering. It was just a moment but I felt so bad for her. She looked so terribly sad and I thought "what did she do to deserve the treatment she got from Bill?"

But her mask held up and her strength came through for her. Vitter is such a vile looking man, I finally had to leave the room...

[CatWoman]

1. "what did she do to deserve the treatment she got from Bill"?

isn't that between her and Bill?

[Radical Activist]

5. I've always been dismissive

about people who claim a lot of Hillary's support among women is about sympathy and women who identify with her because of their own life stories...but this OP makes me wonder if I was wrong.

[Arkansas Granny]

7. That's always been my opinion.

[Colobo]

8. Many women have gone through what Hillary went and identify with that.

[Kalyke]

45. I have, but it made me like her less because I divorced the jerk.

She didn't.

Not that her relationship with Bill is any of my business, but I can't imagine ever trusting someone who did that again.

It's not a thoughtful feeling, but a heartfelt one: I think she's a sucker.

[CTyankee]

9. Of course! I was referring to the sadness on her face.

Also compounded by the fact that Bill's affair was made so public and was such a spectacle. Her private pain would have been bad enough but it was such a public humiliation for her.

[WinkyDink]

38. It was only an interior question, and likely rhetorical.

[endarkenment]

2. Uh what?

I'm sorry, but did I miss the part where Bill Clinton paid prostitutes to dress him up in diapers?

[polichick]

4. O.M.G. - HOW in the world did you miss that scandal?? It was TOO MUCH! :)

[CTyankee]

6. I'm referring to betrayal, the emotion.

It never quite leaves you, especially if it is your first real love. And sometimes, someone or something can bring it back in the flash of a second. Sorry, it's hard to describe, but I saw the look come over her and I immediately recognized what had happened to her in that split second...

Call me intuitive...

[endarkenment]

12. Vitter didn't betray her. He is an idiotic hypocritical repuke.

I just don't see how diaper-boy's questioning her ethics has anything at all to do with the Clinton's relationship.

[CTyankee]

20. I never said he questioned her ethics. FFS, all I was trying to impart was

an almost imperceptible moment where a shadow seemed to come over her face. It was subtle, but to me it was there. I am not trying here to defend her against questioning. It really was just a very human moment in her eyes...and my reaction to it.

I'm so sorry if this bothers you...

[Ilsa]

36. You're good! I thought she looked disgusted with him as well, but I

didn't study her face the way you did. I know what you mean, though, about seeing a fleeting look of pain or whatever it was. Very good on your part, to catch that.

Very bad on her part to not be able to hide it. I hope no one uses that as a weapon against her in negotiations.

[WinkyDink]

39. Disingenuous literalness.

[ronnykmarshall]

3. I wonder if that asshole will vote against her?

[Liquorice]

10. I noticed long ago that a common behavior of many political watchers

is projection. I really think that is what is going on in this case.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_projection

[CTyankee]

22. Yes, I think this is called "let's blame 'whoever' for what whoever feels that we don't approve of."

IT is comforting, isn't it?

[firedupdem]

11. Fuck Vitter, he's an asshole. However, you lose me when you

start discussing her marriage. I don't think it's our business to know how deserving she was or wasn't of Bills philandering. He may be a cheat but that's her cheat and her business.

[wyldwolf]

13. that was a very bizarre OP

[SaveOurDemocracy]

14. Project much?

I think you have no clue what Hillary may be thinking.

[Uzybone]

15. Dr. Phil is that you?

Thats a lot of psycho analysis gleaned from watching Hillary. Maybe she looked disgusted because Vitter is a disgusting man.

[CTyankee]

19. Yes, and he's disgusting for a reason. Did you not get that?

n/t

[Uzybone]

24. He is disgusting for many reasons

hiring prostitutes is just one of them. Maybe his 0% rating from NARAL was what went through Hillarys' mind when she saw him.

[Beacool]

16. What are you talking about?

I didn't hear him ask her anything about Bill's extra marital affairs, only about the foundation and such things or did I miss something?

For the record though, anyone who has been around them can tell you that there's love in that marriage. The meme that it's just a marriage of convenience is pure B.S. He's definitely flawed and I probably would have killed him by now, but in his very imperfect way he loves her and is so proud of what she has accomplished in life.

;)

[CTyankee]

26. I have no idea about their marriage now or then or whenever. My point was not to do anything of the

sort. What's the matter? Can no one "get" nuance? There are moments when our emotions can betray us, unbidden, and we don't want them to at all. But it happens. In this case, I thought it was a transient moment, darker than wistful, just really sad. Does everything have to be an outright confrontation in order to be believed?

OK, I saw the look, I commented on my thoughts about it.

Geez, no wonder I go to Europe for some kindred thinking...

[Jennicut]

28. CTYankee, hey fellow CT-er, I agree with you

I sympathize, identify with Hillary to a certain extent. Her toughness for sure is inspiring me but she could eat Vitter for breakfast.

[CTyankee]

30. Of course she can! But that's not my point.

Feelings can well up in you years later. This can be brought on by different things. I just felt that today this vile man brought up some bad things in Hillary's life and there was just that moment where she looked almost distraught. It was that thing from the past that had hurt her so much. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm betting that I'm right. I'll never know, of course, but I think I understand her awful pain pretty well..

[MadAnne]

35. I agree, I saw that too. n/t

[Rosa Luxemburg]

17. she was trying to imaging Vitter in diapers and thought - ew!

[Yavin4]

18. Vitter Is Made Because Clinton Is Going After Human Trafficking

Now, he can only hire U.S. prostitutes.

[ErinBerin84]

21. I don't think it was anything close to that

I think it was more along the lines of what all of us were thinking about....the diaper..and "are you kidding me?"

[TexasObserver]

23. I wish she had said "someone has a poopy diaper!"

[AtomicKitten]

25. "C'mon Meat, throw me that weak-ass shit! "

Crash Davis: Bull Durahm

[Pierre.Smooth]

27. Vitter?

David "Diaper and Prostitutes" Vitter of Louisiana? Oh I think I remember hearing of him. But surly he was CHASED out of town because of his "miss-deeds," oh sorry. I forgot. Dem's have moral standard, Republicans do not!


*Edit for spelling

[LaydeeBug]

29. Yes, as the Clintoris began her questioning for FUCKING SOS, she looked at Vitter the Shitter and

reflected upon her marriage :eyes:

[Chorophyll]

31. Maybe she just thinks Vitter is an asshole.

Hillary doesn't strike me as the kind of woman who crumbles every time she meets a philandering man. If she did, she wouldn't be able to function in Washington.

Furthermore, most women have more on their minds than just "husband problems." This especially holds true for women who are about to become Secretary of State.

[CTyankee]

32. I agree entirely. My point was that strong people can have moments where their

vulnerability can show (to those who are perceptive on these things). It doesn't mean they cannot function wonderfully. NOt at all. It means that they are humans, with human emotions.

What in the world is so wrong with that?

[Chorophyll]

34. Because we don't do the same thing with men.

Maybe it's because I live in New York, but I rarely, if ever, think of Hillary in terms of Bill, or as being half of "The Clintons."

And I have never seen her as any kind of victim.

As a woman, I wish we could start to relate to one another through our strength, not through our perceived vulnerability.

[CTyankee]

40. Strong people can have moments of recalled emotional pain and

it doesn't mean that they are any the less strong, just human. Here are the opening lines from W.H. Auden's "Musee des Beaux Arts" on this subject:

"About suffering they were never wrong,
The Old Masters; how well, they understood
Its human position; how it takes place
While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along..."

We just cannot put a human being's complex emotions into a box labeled "strong" or "victim." I refuse to label. I try just to understand. I think it is because I am older now and have had a chance to reflect on life's sadness...

[Chorophyll]

44. I don't deny what you say.

Everyone suffers, and shows or hides their pain in their own ways. But I think in this case you might have been looking for something that you wanted to see.

[IndianaGreen]

33. Vitter is a great man!

Several prostitutes depend on his patronage in these tough times.

[marimour]

37. I doubt that was it.

I doubt she was still trembling over Bills past philandering. It was very public but it was also VERY frequent. Lewinsky was not her 1st time dealing with this sort of thing. She had plenty of practice before they hit the White House. I've been with a serial cheater and either you finally get tired of it and move the fuck on, or you accept the situation for what it is and move on emotionally. She seems like a pretty strong person. I believe that she has either moved on emotionally from the past cheating or from Bill. Either way I think she's fine.

[lunatica]

41. If you are right then I think you may be off a bit

If Hillary ever shows a sadness about her marriage it could be that it isn't Bill's philandering that causes it. It may be that people like Vitter and the vast right wing conspiracy to smear Bill and her at every turn for the last two dozen years is unrelenting and unfair. I think Hillary, whether people like her or not is an exceptionally strong woman who has the temperament and the intelligence and the grace (like it or not) to do the job she's been given to do. She will not create more strife in the world and she might actually use diplomacy in ways that we will like.

Whether anyone likes her or not she is no shrinking violet and we've seen her go through hell and back to prove it. The likes of Vitter can't hold a candle to her. He is a pig. She handles people like him very well. At least in public.

[CTyankee]

42. Yes, I think she will be a force for peace in the world and you are absolutely correct: she is

strong.

Vitter is loathesome. I think you may think I was saying that Vitter "got to her," implying that she was weak willed. However, I saw a woman react to a very ugly man in the way any decent person would and, in a quick flash, recall her own pain. It makes her all the more human and all the more able to understand and empathize with others, in my book...

[Cleita]

43. About Vitter, I don't know if Rachel Maddow viewers caught the dismissive

throw away remark from Barbara Boxer on her interview with her yesterday. They were discussing confirmation of Hillary Clinton, when Rachel asked if there would be any dissension in the Senate and Barbara said something under her breath about there always being a Vitter and then she chuckled and moved on.

[JoePhilly]

46. She should have said ... "My best to your wife."

[PresidentObama]

47. How about you stop speculating about her marriage, and stay out of it n/t

[CTyankee]

48. I'm so sorry you feel that way towards my view on this. I did notmean it in a negative way at all.

If anything, I felt she deserved our respect for her feelings about a time in her life that was difficult for her.

I hope you can understand I was responding to something that was a deeply felt emotional bond with her, not a dismissive or gossipy impulse.

It was, perhaps, my own way of interpreting the look that her face took on, oh so briefly but (I felt) so deeply, of hurt and sadness. This does happen in life as I am sure you know. If you live long enough, it happens more often than you wish...