Patterico's Pontifications

2/23/2008

Hillary’s Calculated Speech Misundercalculates

Filed under: 2008 Election,General — Patterico @ 10:15 pm



I told my friends that Hillary’s closing remarks at the debate, widely interpreted as a mini-valedictory address, were calculated. It was nothing more than a premeditated attempt to recreate her New Hampshire miracle without the tears — a bid to create another dramatic turnaround by revealing her alleged human side. The theme of her debate remarks sprang directly from the “How do you do it” New Hampshire question: everyone wants to know how I do it, but believe it or not, there are people out there who have it harder than I do!

Guess what? She’s using it in ads now:

Clinton also released four new television ads today. One of them features her closing remarks in a Texas debate last Thursday.

So yeah, this was calculated. But she also miscalculated (misundercalculated?) in not realizing that it would look like her farewell to the race.

4 Responses to “Hillary’s Calculated Speech Misundercalculates”

  1. Misundercalculates

    Great new word.

    Hazy (c36902)

  2. MISUNDERCALCUATES…may not be a “word” but it is so descriptive.

    Sue (781bb3)

  3. But…but…
    How can the smartest woman in the world make a misundercalculation?

    Oh, my head hurts!

    Another Drew (8018ee)

  4. I agree Hillary’s concluding speech was calculated to appeal to sympathy and perhaps even designed to show she can be Obama-lite. I thought she wanted to present herself as non-confrontational and appeal to people who wonder why we can’t just all get along. It’s similar to debates and talk shows where the participants trade barbs and then make nice at the end.

    However, what surprised me about Hillary’s behavior in the debate was her refusal to respond forcefully to the questions about Obama as Commander-in-Chief. It has been suggested (primarily by Democrats) that she was reluctant to give Republicans a soundbite to use in the general election, but I thought it was a sign she accepts the possibility of defeat. They could both be true.

    In hindsight, there may be other reasons that factor into Hillary’s behavior at the Texas debate. I read the next day that both candidates had been ill. I don’t know if that’s true but the flu is all over Texas right now, so it’s certainly possible. Being sick could make even a good speaker go off his/her game and appear lethargic or lackluster.

    In addition, Clinton’s candidacy was always premised on the idea that she is the front-runner but now she’s in second place. Both she and her campaign seem to have problems making adjustments, and I don’t think they know what they want to do. Is it better for her to act strong or weak? It seemed like she tried to do a little of both in the debate. Not surprisingly, it fell flat.

    DRJ (3eda28)


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