TABLE FOR ONE : Presidential hair may be the key
Posted on Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Personally, I believe Hillary Clinton
deserves to be president. After
reading a big section of Bill Clinton’s “ My Life” over the weekend (I’m still not finished after three years. I will finish ) it’s obvious the junior senator from New York can handle just about anything anyone, including Bill, can throw at her, politically or personally.
If Margaret Thatcher was “ The Iron Lady, ” then Hillary is “ The Titanium Lady. ”
More on Hillary later. Bill’s book is sort of astounding. He recalls his life in such detail that it seems impossible. He can still name the species of every tree in each yard along the street where he walked to school in Hot Springs. That’s not normal is it ?
Such detail makes it almost impossible to read his book word for word. I no longer care about how we got NATO and the United Nations to go along with bombing Bosnia. Historians will care about all these tidbits, but I’m just an average reader more interested in the life and times of a guy from Arkansas who became leader of the free world.
Admittedly, many of the stories are riveting. How he persuaded Israeli President Yitzhak Rabin and PLO head Yasser Arafat to shake hands without the traditional kiss on the cheek by Arafat is great stuff. (Rabin would have no part in a smooch from Arafat and told President Clinton it could ruin the whole peace process. Clinton showed Rabin how to shake hands by placing the left hand on the elbow of Arafat and hold tight, thus blocking the PLO terrorist leader to plant a wet kiss. )
Clinton is a great storyteller and writer who is willing to disclose his faults. I can’t wait to get to the Monica Lewinsky stuff, but refuse to skip ahead to get to the sordid details. When I finish all 1, 024 pages I will report what I find.
Now, Hillary Clinton must be made of titanium, which is stronger than steal. What she went through as first lady is beyond the “ for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part ” in traditional marriage vows. The Whitewater investigation, in which Kenneth Starr spent around $ 70 million and found nothing, almost drove Bill and Hillary bananas. Reading the inside story on Whitewater is good stuff. The Travel Gate scandal and her attempt at health care reform were painful — and I’m not even to Monica yet.
Do you remember those days ?
I do, and it was awful — and yet she has survived all that pain and humiliation, and is thriving.
Hillary is my choice for the nomination. After the Democratic presidential debate last Sunday night I am convinced Hillary is the best candidate. She alone can understand what it means to be president of the United States. She was in the middle of her husband’s tumultuous two terms, and is well aware of what is required. She is now a Washington insider and has the contacts and relationships that are necessary to be successful. When Bill arrived in 1992, with his green staffers from Arkansas, they were treated like outsiders. The first months of his term were a disaster, mostly because they were rejected by the people who run government. Over a period of years, Bill and Hillary made those contacts and formed those relationships with the Katherine Grahams and Ben Bradleys of the world.
Barack Obama has a great future in public service, as they like to call it, but to you and me it’s crash-bang, bigtime down and dirty politics. The Illinois senator has all those qualities one must have — a glib tongue, good looks, a big smile, education and wears nice ties — but it seems to me he is short of experience.
I predicted months ago that the Democratic ticket would be Obama / Clinton, but I was only half serious. Now I think he would be a good vice president, and such experience would set him up for president eight years down the road, in 2016.
John Edwards of North Carolina is extremely articulate, but he too has little experience for the job. Also, he has a hair problem. His hair style is not only conservative Republican, it is also pure televangelist. It’s just too perfect in color, style and combing. That stiff part sweeping from right to left appears to be so set in place you could insert a cold bottle of Budweiser and pop the cap. Fisssst, “ What’s up, Mr. President ?”
I hate to use hair as one of my criterion, but these things are important. Ronald Reagan had that oily 50 s look. I suppose Nancy loved it, but I thought it was sort of greasy looking. Bill Clinton had the best presidential hair since John Kennedy: modern, thick, real, turning gray.
Senator Joe Biden also has bad hair. It’s way too sculpted and appears to be a transplant, although a good one. Biden is a good senator for the folks in Delaware, but he loves to hear himself talk, especially during important Senate committee hearings. I recall while grilling one of Bush’s Supreme Court nominees (Alito, if I remember right ) Biden began a question, rambled on incoherently for what seemed like an eternity, and then said “ Well, my time is up. ” Alito watched in silence and never said a word, but his wife was in tears behind him. I don’t think Biden is our man.
A Clinton / Richardson combo might be just the ticket. His hair is black, thick and a little shiny, but that might draw the Hispanic vote.
All in all it’s got to be Hillary. She’s paid her dues, done her time, absorbed decades of tough politics, has the relationships required — and she’s got real nice hair.
Grady Jim Robinson lives in Fayetteville. His column appears on Wednesdays.
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