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Right and Left on Hillary Clinton’s Reckoning With the 2016 Race Right and Left React to Hillary Clinton’s Reckoning With the 2016 Race
(about 2 hours later)
The political news cycle is fast, and keeping up can be overwhelming. Trying to find differing perspectives worth your time is even harder. That’s why we have scoured the internet for political writing from the right and left that you might not have seen.The political news cycle is fast, and keeping up can be overwhelming. Trying to find differing perspectives worth your time is even harder. That’s why we have scoured the internet for political writing from the right and left that you might not have seen.
Has this series exposed you to new ideas? Tell us how. Email us at ourpicks@nytimes.com.Has this series exposed you to new ideas? Tell us how. Email us at ourpicks@nytimes.com.
For an archive of all the Partisan Writing Roundups, check out Our Picks.For an archive of all the Partisan Writing Roundups, check out Our Picks.
Joseph Bottum in The Washington Free Beacon:Joseph Bottum in The Washington Free Beacon:
Mrs. Clinton’s book, Mr. Bottum writes in his review, is a reflection of her biggest weakness as a candidate: self-consciousness coupled with a lack of self-reflection. “However uncomfortable she is in her own skin,” he writes, “she’s locked inside that skin, and all her attempts at self-reflection, self-criticism and self-awareness prove little more than clichéd repetitions of the kinds of things people are supposed to say when engaging in those activities.” What’s worse, in his estimation, is that “most of the book is just plain dull.” Read more »Mrs. Clinton’s book, Mr. Bottum writes in his review, is a reflection of her biggest weakness as a candidate: self-consciousness coupled with a lack of self-reflection. “However uncomfortable she is in her own skin,” he writes, “she’s locked inside that skin, and all her attempts at self-reflection, self-criticism and self-awareness prove little more than clichéd repetitions of the kinds of things people are supposed to say when engaging in those activities.” What’s worse, in his estimation, is that “most of the book is just plain dull.” Read more »
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Kyle Smith in National Review:Kyle Smith in National Review:
“Guardedness is not what one wants in a memoir,” writes Mr. Smith, but that’s exactly what we get in “What Happened.” One has to dig deep “to find a few gems, those rare, unintentionally revealing glimpses of why Clinton failed.” Ultimately, he argues, Mrs. Clinton fails to write anything new about her loss, and peels back the layers of the “phony, power-addled political hack” only to find the “real, power-addled political hack underneath.” Read more »“Guardedness is not what one wants in a memoir,” writes Mr. Smith, but that’s exactly what we get in “What Happened.” One has to dig deep “to find a few gems, those rare, unintentionally revealing glimpses of why Clinton failed.” Ultimately, he argues, Mrs. Clinton fails to write anything new about her loss, and peels back the layers of the “phony, power-addled political hack” only to find the “real, power-addled political hack underneath.” Read more »
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David Harsanyi in The Federalist:David Harsanyi in The Federalist:
Mr. Harsanyi understands why Mrs. Clinton might want to explain how she lost Mr. Trump: “Presumably, this fact is embarrassing to you — and others — and I completely get it.” However, according to him, the reasons for her loss — what happened — don’t merit a whole book. He argues that “no amount of whataboutism” can make up for Mrs. Clinton’s “long history of corruption, mendacity and malleable political principles.” Read more »Mr. Harsanyi understands why Mrs. Clinton might want to explain how she lost Mr. Trump: “Presumably, this fact is embarrassing to you — and others — and I completely get it.” However, according to him, the reasons for her loss — what happened — don’t merit a whole book. He argues that “no amount of whataboutism” can make up for Mrs. Clinton’s “long history of corruption, mendacity and malleable political principles.” Read more »
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Rebecca Traister in The Cut:Rebecca Traister in The Cut:
Ms. Traister, who sat down with Mrs. Clinton for one of the first post-election profiles of the Democratic candidate, celebrates the anger expressed in the book. There’s nothing Americans find “more repellent in women than anger,” and Mrs. Clinton spends much of her book chronicling “how hard she’s worked to suppress her passions.” According to Ms. Traister, the book could and should “serve as a useful model” to other female politicians to channel and express their righteous fury. Read more »Ms. Traister, who sat down with Mrs. Clinton for one of the first post-election profiles of the Democratic candidate, celebrates the anger expressed in the book. There’s nothing Americans find “more repellent in women than anger,” and Mrs. Clinton spends much of her book chronicling “how hard she’s worked to suppress her passions.” According to Ms. Traister, the book could and should “serve as a useful model” to other female politicians to channel and express their righteous fury. Read more »
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Jeff Spross in The Week:Jeff Spross in The Week:
There was one detail in “What Happened” that Mr. Spross believes should have gotten more attention: Mrs. Clinton’s consideration of a universal basic income as a central plank of her platform. Ultimately, Mrs. Clinton explains in her book, she could not make the math work to justify a “no-strings-attached monthly check” to every American citizen. However, according to Mr. Spross, perhaps “a bold and expansive vision to rally voters” would have been more important than “getting all the policy details nailed down.” Read more »There was one detail in “What Happened” that Mr. Spross believes should have gotten more attention: Mrs. Clinton’s consideration of a universal basic income as a central plank of her platform. Ultimately, Mrs. Clinton explains in her book, she could not make the math work to justify a “no-strings-attached monthly check” to every American citizen. However, according to Mr. Spross, perhaps “a bold and expansive vision to rally voters” would have been more important than “getting all the policy details nailed down.” Read more »
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Thomas Frank in The Guardian:Thomas Frank in The Guardian:
Mr. Frank wrote “What’s the Matter With Kansas?,” a book that grapples with the rise of populist conservatism and introduced the question of why poor social conservatives vote against their financial interests. His critique of Mrs. Clinton’s book — and by extension her campaign — is that it’s a “checklist of think-tank-approved policy solutions,” without any real answer to how the Democratic Party, presumably the party of the people, “withered as inequality grows.” Read more »Mr. Frank wrote “What’s the Matter With Kansas?,” a book that grapples with the rise of populist conservatism and introduced the question of why poor social conservatives vote against their financial interests. His critique of Mrs. Clinton’s book — and by extension her campaign — is that it’s a “checklist of think-tank-approved policy solutions,” without any real answer to how the Democratic Party, presumably the party of the people, “withered as inequality grows.” Read more »
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Alicia Shepard in USA Today:Alicia Shepard in USA Today:
Ms. Shepard, who teaches media ethics at the University of Arkansas and previously served as the ombudsman for NPR, isn’t sure that all of Mrs. Clinton’s criticism of the news media is warranted. Ms. Shepard agrees with Mrs. Clinton that horse-race coverage and a paucity of attention to actual issues are real problems, and may have contributed to her loss. However, Ms. Shepard writes, “let’s face it, she lacked Trump’s on-camera charisma and flair for stirring things up.” What’s missing from the book is a reckoning with the actions that spurred Mrs. Clinton’s negative coverage in the press. Read more »Ms. Shepard, who teaches media ethics at the University of Arkansas and previously served as the ombudsman for NPR, isn’t sure that all of Mrs. Clinton’s criticism of the news media is warranted. Ms. Shepard agrees with Mrs. Clinton that horse-race coverage and a paucity of attention to actual issues are real problems, and may have contributed to her loss. However, Ms. Shepard writes, “let’s face it, she lacked Trump’s on-camera charisma and flair for stirring things up.” What’s missing from the book is a reckoning with the actions that spurred Mrs. Clinton’s negative coverage in the press. Read more »
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James Fallows in The Atlantic:James Fallows in The Atlantic:
Mr. Fallows served as President Jimmy Carter’s speechwriter, though it would be fair to say that he represents a left-of-center view. He explains why he avoids most books by politicians: They’re mostly “cautious, or pious, or boring, or some even-worse combination of all three.” “What Happened,” on the other hand, is none of these things, he writes. Read more »Mr. Fallows served as President Jimmy Carter’s speechwriter, though it would be fair to say that he represents a left-of-center view. He explains why he avoids most books by politicians: They’re mostly “cautious, or pious, or boring, or some even-worse combination of all three.” “What Happened,” on the other hand, is none of these things, he writes. Read more »
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Have thoughts about this collection? Email feedback to ourpicks@nytimes.com.Have thoughts about this collection? Email feedback to ourpicks@nytimes.com.