Hillary should speak in her voice
BAYONNE, N.J. — Does Bill Clinton help or hurt Hillary? The answer, of course, is both. But a lengthy conversation here with five Democratic women reveals a rising sense of unease about the former president’s role, even from voters likely to back his wife in next week’s New Jersey primary.
Hillary found her voice in New Hampshire, a personal, appealing tone that helped carry her to victory. Bill found his in South Carolina, a critical, even nasty attitude that Hillary now admits “may have” contributed to her defeat. The women here agree, saying he offended their sensibilities and overshadowed what should have been Hillary’s moment in the sun, not his. And they hope he backs off.
All of these women eagerly want to see a fellow female in the White House, but they’re not sure the first one should be “the wife of a former president,” notes writer and editor Mary Hickey. “I guess I feel a little weird,” she said, “It kind of diminishes it a little bit.”
Cokie talked to these women in the ornate library of Bayonne High School (where, coincidentally, Steve graduated in 1960). Their words reminded us of eight years ago, when Al Gore wrestled with a similar problem: how to exploit Bill Clinton’s political gifts, while asserting his own identity. Gore never did get that one right, and for the past two weeks, Hillary hasn’t, either.
Bill is a brilliant strategist, the only Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second White House term, and Josette Simmons, a community worker in Newark, remembers his presidency fondly: “I think she is absolutely fortunate to have him out there, because he’s a great spokesperson and a great representative for the country.” Nuala Ryan, a parochial-school teacher, cuts in: “About 95 percent of the time, she’s really fortunate …”
While Simmons resents Bill “hogging the spotlight,” she notes that Hillary has an impressive resume of her own, including two winning Senate campaigns: “It’s not as if she was only riding on her husband’s coattails.”
To Dorothy Roszkowski, a police officer, Bill’s very public sins only strengthened his wife, because she survived adversity and proved “that she can stand her ground, with or without her husband. … I give her tremendous credit for that.”
Roszkowski stresses the “excellent economic situation” that prevailed during Clinton’s presidency and thinks the bond between husband and wife would be an asset if Hillary wins: “When I’m home and I have a problem, and I turn around and ask my husband for advice, she’s going to do the same thing. … Thank God, she’s got a husband that’s already done this.”
But that’s precisely what other women don’t like about Hillary. “I really dislike the whole husband/wife dynamic,” says Annie Rose Strasser, a college student. People will either say “she’s a great wife because she’s helping her man out or she’s going to have to rely on her husband to help her make decisions.”
“I don’t feel like it’s good to have a female candidate whose husband has been in office,” adds Strasser, “because that makes (it) seem like people will elect her for her husband. What kind of message does that send to women — gain power by what your husband has done? I don’t think that’s necessarily an empowering thing to hear.”
“I did the math,” she says, “and I will be 26 before I live through a presidency that’s not a Bush or a Clinton. And that’s terrifying.”
All of these women badly want the Democrats to win. All want, and expect, to see a female president in their lifetime. But they want that president to be her own person, not someone propelled into office by her husband’s record or rhetoric. If Hillary wants their votes, she has to keep speaking in her own voice. Not his.
Steve and Cokie Roberts can be contacted by e-mail at stevecokie@gmail.com.