On a gloomy Sunday in the northeast, and gloomy in America at the
heartbreaking, untimely loss of a promising young American leader, I took my own sweet
time going through the newsfeeds. I really just wanted
the post about Beau Biden to
sit there for awhile. I added John Kerry's touching statement and a
link at the bottom of the page so readers can sign the
White House condolence book and send thoughts to the grieving family. That was all I
did today. It was a day of shocked mourning for the big-tent
Democratic family that probably has not been this united since December
2000.
Republicans, too, felt and shared the grief of this tragedy. From Jeb Bush to Donald Trump, the sentiments poured in.
Sarah Palin, whose son, like Beau, served in Iraq, quoted scripture. I
am sure Joe's former Senate colleagues from the other side of the aisle
also offered thoughts and prayers, even if I did not see them.
I
did see Maureen Dowd's latest RPG against Hillary and the Clintons.
Writers can have a "got you when" moment. Umberto Eco got me when he explained in the foreword of
The Name of the Rose that,
although this foreword is long and tedious, you will have trouble
following the story if you fail to read it. I then pursued him through
about 100 encyclopedic pages of doctrine and heresy that years later I still consider
the most valuable information in the book.
Writers can also have a
"lost you when" moment. MoDo lost me when she compared Hillary to the
Jennifer Jason Leigh character in
Single White Female.
I will not link to her op-ed. If you really want to know who the Bridget Fonda character is in Maureen's scenario, you will have to go
find it yourself.
Amid all the gloom, both meteorological and
existential, of this difficult Sunday, at the close of the day, I found a
little gem glimmering at the end of the dark tunnel. It was this
reasoned and encouraging piece by Susan Estrich. She makes a great
point. I do not share many op-eds here unless Hillary has written them,
but this one is worth a read.
By Susan Estrich | Published on 05.31.2015
It’s
“June gloom” in Southern California, that period well known to locals
when the sunshine you expect doesn’t show until the end of the day, if
at all. This year, the gloom couldn’t wait until June, and so it came in
May.
That may also be true for the country
SNIP
The Democrats have a one-word answer to the national sense that our cup today is, sadly, half-empty: Hillary.
People
smile when they say it. The idea of a woman who has paid her dues and
then some and is so clearly qualified for the job finally getting that
job is definitely a half-full cup.
Read more >>>>
I think Estrich has hit something here. The
idea of Hillary has positive power. When I attended my
county grassroots organizing event
I heard 150 people joyfully and confidently share the words they
associate with her. In the small group I learned that they really do
not know very much about her - and these are the
activists.
Even the facilitator did not grasp that in this listening phase of the
campaign there would not be any broad, sweeping messages. But there was
an optimism in the air about Hillary - about the
idea of Hillary.
Hillary's Strategic Communications Adviser and Senior Spokesperson,
Karen Finney,
has said “People think they know her, but she’s the most unknown
well-known person in the world.” Most American voters will probably
never come to know Hillary the way Karen does. Getting them to
know her that way - or feel that they do - is Karen's challenging job. Maybe, though, the optimism around her - the
idea of her - is really what the country needs - at least for now. Look at this. It is worth 1000+ words and descriptors.
Many
of us know that Hillary is patient, warm. concerned, understanding,
dedicated, value-driven, empathetic, generous, sweet, and kind. (I
could go on.) All of us here also know that she is brilliant,
experienced, tested, adroit, prepared, and ready. No 150 or 1,500
words can sum up Hillary Clinton or portray her. Maybe, though, if the
idea of Hillary makes people smile - maybe that, right now, is the
important thing.
Susan Estrich is right. Things are gloomy.
Hillary is the bright spot in a dreary season. She has been listening.
Another thing we know about Hillary is that the listening continues,
even when the listening tour ends.
Hillary Clinton 
Bill Clinton