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| 'I get it': Hillary Clinton seeks to finally explain her authentic self | 'I get it': Hillary Clinton seeks to finally explain her authentic self |
| (25 days later) | |
| “I get it that some people just don’t know what to make of me.” | “I get it that some people just don’t know what to make of me.” |
| It was with this humble admission that Hillary Clinton sought to reintroduce herself to a nation that has journeyed with her for over two decades. | It was with this humble admission that Hillary Clinton sought to reintroduce herself to a nation that has journeyed with her for over two decades. |
| As one of the most well-known public figures to ever accept a party’s presidential nomination, Clinton arrived at the finale of the Democratic national convention on Thursday faced with a daunting task. | As one of the most well-known public figures to ever accept a party’s presidential nomination, Clinton arrived at the finale of the Democratic national convention on Thursday faced with a daunting task. |
| Millions bore witness this week as a cadre of the party’s brightest stars delivered soaring testimonials to Clinton’s qualifications and character. Among them were her husband Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, two of the most skilled orators American politics has ever known and, as the men Clinton seeks to succeed, predecessors with whom her own rhetorical gifts are often compared. | Millions bore witness this week as a cadre of the party’s brightest stars delivered soaring testimonials to Clinton’s qualifications and character. Among them were her husband Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, two of the most skilled orators American politics has ever known and, as the men Clinton seeks to succeed, predecessors with whom her own rhetorical gifts are often compared. |
| Now it was her turn. | Now it was her turn. |
| But taking the stage in Philadelphia, as the first female presidential nominee of a major party in US history, Clinton sought to emulate no one. Addressing the tens of thousands of jubilant supporters inside the arena and the millions of Americans watching at home, she had but one overarching goal: to persuade the skeptics who she really was, how she got there and why they should join her. | But taking the stage in Philadelphia, as the first female presidential nominee of a major party in US history, Clinton sought to emulate no one. Addressing the tens of thousands of jubilant supporters inside the arena and the millions of Americans watching at home, she had but one overarching goal: to persuade the skeptics who she really was, how she got there and why they should join her. |
| “My job titles only tell you what I’ve done. They don’t tell you why,” Clinton said. | “My job titles only tell you what I’ve done. They don’t tell you why,” Clinton said. |
| “The truth is,” she then acknowledged, “through all these years of public service, the ‘service’ part has always come easier to me than the ‘public’ part.” | “The truth is,” she then acknowledged, “through all these years of public service, the ‘service’ part has always come easier to me than the ‘public’ part.” |
| It was a break from the defensive tone with which Clinton has often responded when pilloried as unable to connect with voters or as unlikable in the eyes of the public; that she is the victim of a rightwing conspiracy or being treated unfairly. The relentless attacks she has faced in her expansive career, culminating in this election with the phrase “lock her up” becoming a slogan among Republican Donald Trump’s supporters and even some Democrats backing Bernie Sanders, have firmly shaped her public persona. | It was a break from the defensive tone with which Clinton has often responded when pilloried as unable to connect with voters or as unlikable in the eyes of the public; that she is the victim of a rightwing conspiracy or being treated unfairly. The relentless attacks she has faced in her expansive career, culminating in this election with the phrase “lock her up” becoming a slogan among Republican Donald Trump’s supporters and even some Democrats backing Bernie Sanders, have firmly shaped her public persona. |
| But Clinton’s acceptance speech was about much more than her – measured and methodically crafted, it was a direct rebuke of Trump’s embrace of authoritarian governance. And so, rather than shunning her critics, she ventured instead into the role of unifier to articulate the threat Trump posed to the very public service to which she owed her presence onstage. | But Clinton’s acceptance speech was about much more than her – measured and methodically crafted, it was a direct rebuke of Trump’s embrace of authoritarian governance. And so, rather than shunning her critics, she ventured instead into the role of unifier to articulate the threat Trump posed to the very public service to which she owed her presence onstage. |
| “Our country’s motto is e pluribus unum: out of many, we are one,” Clinton said. | “Our country’s motto is e pluribus unum: out of many, we are one,” Clinton said. |
| It seemed at the start of the election year that the moment Democrats witnessed on Thursday night in Philadelphia might elude her. | It seemed at the start of the election year that the moment Democrats witnessed on Thursday night in Philadelphia might elude her. |
| On a chilly January weekend, she stood inside a gymnasium in Iowa with one month remaining until the first contest of the Democratic presidential primary. | On a chilly January weekend, she stood inside a gymnasium in Iowa with one month remaining until the first contest of the Democratic presidential primary. |
| Roughly 700 voters had braved the freezing temperatures to see Clinton speak, then a feat for her campaign and paling in comparison with the thousands flocking to see Vermont senator Sanders across the country. | Roughly 700 voters had braved the freezing temperatures to see Clinton speak, then a feat for her campaign and paling in comparison with the thousands flocking to see Vermont senator Sanders across the country. |
| As the nominating contests began, she would go on to effectively tie with Sanders in Iowa and lose the state of New Hampshire – casting doubt over the trajectory of her campaign and whether Clinton was, after all, destined to break “the highest, hardest glass ceiling” in which she had put 18m cracks eight years earlier. | As the nominating contests began, she would go on to effectively tie with Sanders in Iowa and lose the state of New Hampshire – casting doubt over the trajectory of her campaign and whether Clinton was, after all, destined to break “the highest, hardest glass ceiling” in which she had put 18m cracks eight years earlier. |
| But she pressed on, adopting the issues Sanders championed under the moniker of progressive pragmatism. She fought to keep in her fold the reliable coalitions of African American and Latino voters in the early states of South Carolina and Nevada, while scrapping for votes even in the rural states she was always likely to lose, such as West Virginia and Kentucky. | But she pressed on, adopting the issues Sanders championed under the moniker of progressive pragmatism. She fought to keep in her fold the reliable coalitions of African American and Latino voters in the early states of South Carolina and Nevada, while scrapping for votes even in the rural states she was always likely to lose, such as West Virginia and Kentucky. |
| Sanders supporters remained dubious of her intentions; a faction of them were still not on board as she formally accepted the nomination on Thursday night, jeering through many points of her speech only to be drowned out by chants of “Hillary!” from the vast majority of the arena. | Sanders supporters remained dubious of her intentions; a faction of them were still not on board as she formally accepted the nomination on Thursday night, jeering through many points of her speech only to be drowned out by chants of “Hillary!” from the vast majority of the arena. |
| But Clinton crystallized her approach on Thursday by emphasizing the progressive platform crafted alongside Sanders. | But Clinton crystallized her approach on Thursday by emphasizing the progressive platform crafted alongside Sanders. |
| “Whatever party you belong to, or if you belong to no party at all, if you share these beliefs, this is your campaign,” she told them. | “Whatever party you belong to, or if you belong to no party at all, if you share these beliefs, this is your campaign,” she told them. |
| The triangulation – a staple tactic of her husband’s in the 1990s – was not in substance but in tone, due to what she dubbed as “a moment of reckoning” that could redefine America and its principles. | The triangulation – a staple tactic of her husband’s in the 1990s – was not in substance but in tone, due to what she dubbed as “a moment of reckoning” that could redefine America and its principles. |
| “Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart. Bonds of trust and respect are fraying,” she said. | “Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart. Bonds of trust and respect are fraying,” she said. |
| “And just as with our founders, there are no guarantees. It truly is up to us.” | “And just as with our founders, there are no guarantees. It truly is up to us.” |
| America, in other words, could not afford to roll the dice on a potential Donald Trump presidency. And as on the stump, it was when laying into her opponent that Clinton truly hit her stride. | America, in other words, could not afford to roll the dice on a potential Donald Trump presidency. And as on the stump, it was when laying into her opponent that Clinton truly hit her stride. |
| It was at a national security speech in San Diego in June that the former secretary of state received her highest accolades to date, unpacking the inherent contradictions of Trump’s foreign policy in the rare role of an attack dog albeit with flashes of humor. | It was at a national security speech in San Diego in June that the former secretary of state received her highest accolades to date, unpacking the inherent contradictions of Trump’s foreign policy in the rare role of an attack dog albeit with flashes of humor. |
| Clinton continued the assault on Thursday, but not simply for the purpose of riling up her party against a figure they have come to loathe. It was once again a plea for unity, an attempt to reach for votes even in the most unexpected corners – including the moderate Republicans and independents who couldn’t stomach voting for Trump. | Clinton continued the assault on Thursday, but not simply for the purpose of riling up her party against a figure they have come to loathe. It was once again a plea for unity, an attempt to reach for votes even in the most unexpected corners – including the moderate Republicans and independents who couldn’t stomach voting for Trump. |
| To them, she offered a simple olive branch: “Join us.” | To them, she offered a simple olive branch: “Join us.” |
| “I will be a president for Democrats, Republicans and independents. For the struggling, the striving and the successful,” she said. | “I will be a president for Democrats, Republicans and independents. For the struggling, the striving and the successful,” she said. |
| “For those who vote for me and those who don’t, for all Americans.” | “For those who vote for me and those who don’t, for all Americans.” |
| Whether it will prove a winning message in the countdown to November remains to be seen. But Clinton is at least aware of one thing: there will always be those voters who just don’t know what to do with her. | Whether it will prove a winning message in the countdown to November remains to be seen. But Clinton is at least aware of one thing: there will always be those voters who just don’t know what to do with her. |