Sarah vs. Hillary - You're Not Going To Like This!

I have been thinking about Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton - about how they measure up as role models for my daughter - who is about to start applying for college and is thus embarking on her adult life.

Here's what I see:

1. Two intelligent women. - I have criticized Mrs. Clinton - but I never said she wasn't a smarty pants. After listening to Mrs. Palin, I would have to say she is a smarty pants too.
2. Two different sets of political convictions. Showing that intelligent people can disagree.
3. One woman who has sacrificed - at least somewhat - her own political career for the good of her family - whether she meant to or not.
4. One woman who has sacrificed - at least somewhat - her family for the good of her political career - whether she meant to or not.
5. A rather good illustration for a girl of the difficulties involved, hard choices to be made and potential outcomes - if you're lucky - of deciding whether you would like to emphasize home and family or career or a mix thereof in your life. (And I say lucky because there are no guarantees - right?)
6. Two women who care about people and the future of this country. - Argue all you want - but I can sure think of better things to do than run for political office if it were just selfish concerns that motivated those gals.
7. Two good role models - whatever my daughter decides to do with her life - there are lessons to be learned from both Mrs. Palin and Mrs. Clinton.
   

RH

PS: Hillary Clinton is meant in #3 and Sarah Palin in #4 - in case you were wondering.

Hillary

My daughter called me yesterday to see if I was going to see Hillary Clinton in Santa Barbara at her so-called "Town Hall Meeting" at UCSB (The local university). I hadn't heard Madame Hillary would be in town, but since the Barak Obama event turned out to be such a pleasant surprise, I thought why not? So I sprung my daughter from school, and off we went. I also phoned up hubby Harry at work and invited him along as well and although he is no fan of Madame H., he was game and said he would meet us there.
When we were about 10 minutes away however, Harry called to say that it was impossible to get in. Being the eternal optimist, I decided to try anyway... and I thought it a bit odd that they weren't letting people in... wouldn't Hillary want to have the chance to speak to as many as possible? I still had the flawlessly organized Barak Obama event in my mind; they let everybody in and even let me take some nice pictures. Mr. Obama had bodyguards, as one would expect, but they were fairly low-key. As he arrived, he took the time to shake hands with those waiting along the railing, stopped and exchanged a few words here and there and was on the whole friendly and accessible. Likable.
Different story all together with Madame Clinton. Apparently, people had been waiting outside the venue for 3, 4 even 5 hours to hear Hillary, and when they opened the gates, the masses pushed their way through in sort of a survival of the fittest exercise, which resulted in many of those who had been waiting there the longest not even getting in! We ran into several of my daughter's schoolmates and their parents who hadn't gotten in and they had been there since 3:00 - for an event that started at 6:45. They said people just pushed them out of the way. Yikes.
Well you can't blame that on the Clinton campaign, right? I suppose... but it did dawn on me that the chosen venue was extremely small (basketball court size) when there was a stadium and a big concert hall right near by. They must have realized that there would be a crowd...right?

Hmm. So I asked a few of the police that surrounded the "Town Hall" whether it was possible to just take some pictures. I might well have asked them to sprout wings and fly, because the answer would have been somewhat similar. So we waited, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ms. Clinton as she arrived, and to listen a bit to her "conversation => monologue" over the PA system that was to suffice for the trampled masses left out in the cold. (And it was cold...in the 40s!)

So the thing got started, and we were listening and shivering outside, peeking through the window from afar, and I hear the woman who is introducing Ms. Clinton say something like blah blah "so the people in the overflow rooms can hear." Which I found to be a rather odd thing to say given that there were no overflow rooms, unless "OUTSIDE IN THE COLD" now counts as a room. (I later verified this with one of the campus security crew).

And then it hit me. This whole thing was staged just for the media. They (Hillary and campaign people) didn't give a rat's arse about the people who showed up to hear Hillary Clinton talk. She just wanted the whole thing to look good on camera.

We listened to Ms. Clinton speak for about 20 minutes, but by this time we were freezing and I was pretty fed up with listening to her go on about how she is going to spend everybody else's money, so we left. Besides, if she can't even be honest about the venue she is speaking in, who gives a potato about what else she is saying. What a phony!

My daughter, who is young and liberal, commented that she sounds like she is talking to small children when she speaks (i.e. condescending). I really hope you folks don't elect her to be president. If you want a democrat, vote for Obama. He is far more genuine.

My 2 cents.

RH