Monday, May 31, 2010

Video: Bill & Hillary Clinton in the Memorial Day Parade in Chappaqua, NY

Hillary Clinton and The Men

One of the things we have seen over Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State is her effect on the men around her. We have become accustomed to seeing her in group shots as the one bright little spot in a sea of dark suits. Usually she is front and center as well as the center of attention. On a one-on-one basis, she is able to charm men of all ages. I know that if we asked her if she considers this part of "smart power" she would laugh and probably say "WHAT?" (It is my personal ambition to make her laugh at some point.) But I do think she knows the effect she has. ONE of the guys below has the rights. The rest have probably wished they did. All of these pictures are from 2009. There will be a 2010 collection as well. There are simply too many pictures like this for one upload.

So on a holiday afternoon, here is a Hillary-fix. I present your Secretary of State doing her part to achieve world peace.








































Sunday, May 30, 2010

The Special Relationship: My Review

It might grow on me with time, and I shudder whenever the Clintons are the subject of portrayals, but in a nutshell I think this movie was more a Blair movie than a Clinton movie. I may change my mind after watching it again, but in the end I thought the Blairs were more colorfully written, more filled-out characters than the Clintons. I find it hard to believe that Hillary was written rather blandly since no matter what your attitude might be about her, bland is not an adjective you would choose to describe her.


Perhaps this focus on the Blairs is to be expected since the writer, Peter Morgan, has written about them before, and used the same actors, Michael Sheen and Helen McCrory, but the facts of the lives somehow do not calculate that Cherie Blair comes off a more interesting character than our former First Lady who went on to serve in the Senate and is now the most entertaining Secretary of State ever- packing public appearances into her travels, flirting her way around the world in pantsuits of every color.



I have every sympathy for Hope Davis who did her best with a character that was written rather low-key. Perhaps the most dramatic of her scenes was cut. She was glad that it was, and so am I since I have no desire to see a portrayal that is imagined, fictional, on the topic of one of the most hurtful experiences in Hillary Clinton's life. It is not Davis's fault that Morgan completely missed one of the most endearing qualities about Hillary Clinton, her sense of humor. None of that is in there. He keeps her deadly serious, maybe a little sarcastic and sharp, must mostly a victim painted narrowly and in beige. Hillary has a lot more steel in her than what Morgan put in this script, and a lot more fun. The way she enjoys being SOS I find it hard to believe that she would not be out for fun visiting London.




As for the former POTUS, I found that character rather humorless and rough around the edges. I thought Dennis Quaid was miscast. It is interesting to me that he decided to take the part because of the writing, according to Lynn Elber's article. Perhaps the most wrongheaded turn one can take is to try to write about true events between real people when you were not in the room, or worse, when you do not really know the people. Morgan may be familiar with the Blairs, but I think he missed on the Clintons.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Photo Gallery: Hillary Clinton Hand Under Chin

When she is in a pensive state or listening, something she does singularly well, Hillary Clinton occasionally rests her chin on her hand. It is exceptionally fetching, as I am sure you will agree.