The metaphor of Hillary Clinton waiting in the wings has run through
these pages before in both words and images. Hillary Clinton can look
tantalizingly attractive as she waits to take the podium, and, for her
supporters, the natural thought progression migrates to the steps of the
Capitol on a January morning in 2016 in the rough-and-tumble,
lickety-split manner of
The Pokey Little Puppy's litter mates.
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U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waits to walk onto stage to speak at
the third annual U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED)
at the Department of the Interior in Washington May 9, 2011.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque |
How
fitting that the week and month that begin with April Fool's Day
should herald Mme. Secretary's first three public speaking engagements
as she emerges from her cocoon as a full-blown private citizen for the
first time in decades while, in the outside world, Hillary-Fever hits
epidemic proportions making fools of some. In cable media, every
self-respecting host devotes at least one segment to the Hillary Effect
while the print media, bloggers, and Facebook groups offer, according to
their place on the political spectrum, varied speculation on what
Hillary Clinton could possibly be up to as she so coquettishly keeps us
waiting for her answer to the Big Question.
Memory can be short.
Those who stood shoulder to shoulder with Hillary through the brutal
2008 primary campaign tend to be more circumspect about what a campaign
would entail, how it might roll out, and the degree to which Hillary's
current sky high poll numbers might hold in a campaign setting.
Ironically, among some of the louder and more self-assured voices are
those who assaulted her most viciously in 2008. On his Sunday show
yesterday, Chris Matthews stated with all the certainty in the world
that "Hillary Clinton has given every indication that she is running..."
which, of course she has not and has taken pains to avoid. At
counterpoint to this is
Jim Rutenberg in yesterday's New York Times
who actually took the trouble to speak with Hillary's spokesman
Philippe Reines and exuded no such certainty. It is not a stretch to
imagine Matthews and his ilk to be dangling her out there as a pretty,
candy-filled piñata waiting to be bashed once again when the new flavor
of the month arises. Who that might be I leave to speculation, but
judging from responses to my tweets and Facebook posts a particular name
proliferates. True Hillary loyalists must regard current endorsements
and their sources with a glance in the rear view mirror and a healthy
dose of skepticism.
The only credible news is that Hillary
Clinton will speak twice this week. Tomorrow in Washington D.C. at
Kennedy Center for the annual
Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards and again on Friday at Lincoln Center in New York at the annual
Women in the World Summit. Her first official paid speaking event is scheduled for April 24 in Dallas. Despite
a rally scheduled for tomorrow evening outside Kennedy Center and promoted by the
Ready for Hillary SuperPAC,
it is most unlikely that what we will hear her say will have anything
to do with running for president. It is far more likely, as reflected
in
Kathleen Parker's excellent piece in Newsweek
for Women in the World, that we shall hear her directly address the
question of how her initiatives for women, established under the the
auspices of the State Department, will continue now that she no longer
occupies her State Department post.
Can the Hillary Effect sustain itself without the Hillary? ( Thomas Whiteside/Jed Root )
The Hillary Effect
by Kathleen Parker
The Hillary Effect has spread across the globe. But how well will it last without Hillary at the helm?
Aside
from a summary of how her agenda remains underpinned at the State
Department, it seems realistic to expect an announcement of some private
initiative on her part to continue addressing women's issues on a
global basis. At both of these events she will have no dearth of strong
women leaders from all over the world surrounding her who surely would
join any campaign she embarks upon to advance the causes - the many
causes of women - from education, to security in sending one's children
to school, to human trafficking, to marrying whom one chooses, to
running businesses and running for political office.
While
the next presidential election remains years away, daily, in many
cultures, child brides are promised like chattel. Assuredly, Mme.
Secretary timed her marriage equality video for release prior to last
week's SCOTUS arguments, but the message resounds more broadly than the
LGBT community, and women, who drive economies, who are the growers,
makers, students, educators, and shoppers have their greatest impact
when they are free rather than subjugated by fathers and by husbands
they have not chosen. That aspect of marriage equality, the full
equality of citizens, and its implications for women and girls is
likely to arise among the many issues confronting women in the world
today.
No, it is not likely that Hillary
Clinton will have an announcement about a presidential campaign when she
emerges from behind her curtain this week, but there is certain to be a
campaign nonetheless. There will be a platform, and as is always the
case with Hillary Clinton, there will also be a blueprint for building
the social structure she conceives.
