"Now, that doesn't mean that questions of Taiwan, Tibet, human rights, the whole range of challenges that we often engage on with the Chinese, are not part of the agenda. But we pretty much know what they are going to say. We have to continue to press them but our pressing on those issues can't interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis, and the security crises. ~ Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (February 20, 2009)
The news appeared in cyberspace on Friday, February 20, 2009. As Yogi Berra once elucidated, it was as déjà vu, all over again. International and domestic activists have come to realize, once again, America is a democracy dependent on dollars. Amnesty International advocates shook their heads, wondered, and worried of what might be. Students for a Free Tibet collectively shrugged their shoulders and expressed a shared distress. Citizens at home, in America, barely blinked. An avid Obama supporter, was resigned to realities that, only weeks ago, she might not have thought she would willingly accept. Moneybag democracy lives. Hillary Clinton serves the President, the precedent past, present, and perhaps, future.
Democracy is in play. Politicians take their positions. The people ponder as powerbrokers decide. The stage is set. Tickets are for sale, but only for a select few. Thus is the scenario. Consider the scene. New Yorkers contemplate who might fill a probable vacant Senate seat. Should their representative, Hillary Rodham Clinton, be approved to serve, as Secretary of State, Governor David A. Patterson will appoint another to fill her chair. Therein lies the problem for many of the people in the Empire State. The Constitution allows a State's Chief Executive the authority to assign a seat to whom he, or she, thinks best. People, prominent and prestigious, such as Caroline Kennedy and Andrew M. Cuomo, vie for position, and constituents have no real say. She is the daughter of much beloved and laudable President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. He is the son of the former nationally renowned Governor of the State, Mario Cuomo.
Hope for Hillary springs eternal. This deed is done. Numerous accounts say the documents are signed. The die was cast, perchance before the public knew what they might say or do. Change has come; yet, it has been thwarted with but a single statement. Hillary Clinton will be Secretary of State, according to news sources. Today, as more than a decade ago, First Lady Clinton is welcomed into the White House.
How do you stop a train that long ago left the station? How might you un-ring a bell that rang weeks months, or even years, before you knew the chord was struck? How can a countryman, or woman rewrite history? How might a Clinton, or two reclaim entrance into the White House? Perhaps, she [or he] has already done what, since Barack Obama secured the Democratic nomination, no one expected. The Clintons have found a way through the front door of the White House prior to 2012. Days ago, President-elect Obama met with Hillary Clinton to discuss her role, and her husband's, in the Oval Office and in international affairs. Senator Clinton emerged as the candidate for Secretary of State.
Sarah Palin must be the final insult to poor Hillary. To be so close to breaking the ultimate glass ceiling, and to feel you were mistreated by the media, and then to see some gun-tottin', Bible-thumpin' hottie hockey mom, with even less experience than that punk you were supposed to have crushed, strut in using a ready-made "the media is sexist" defense. Every time Palin evokes her name on the campaign trail, Hillary must die a thousand deaths.
When I first sketched this toon, I had Hillary saying something like "What have I begot?" But as I was looking at it on the art board, the final caption wrote itself. It's the unspoken word that's been in the background this entire whole campaign (and notice that it's still unspoken). It seemed pretty obvious that's "What Hillary Must Be Thinking." (Archive 0831)
That's all for this week. Back in seven.
Cheers,
Andrew toon@offthewahl.com
Post Script . . . Please peruse the news share just a journey away. Click the "There's More" phrase at the bottom of this treatise and travel further into times and toons.
Above the crowd chants, Americans can hear the roar of resentment. The Republicans have weighed in. Sarah Palin is the saintly small town American. She has traditional conservative values. And the venom needed to spread the McCain message with a vengeance. The Grand Old Party says, Sarah Palin is just what they needed to excite the base. The senior Senator, John McCain, the Republican Presidential pick was too dry, too dull, or too dogmatic. He did not seem to possess the magnificence of a maverick as he once did.
Women are in leadership roles in every avenue of life. Today, two have risen far above the fray. They have accomplished more than many a man. Senator Hillary Clinton and Governor Sarah Palin each saw the top of glass ceiling and put cracks in the upper limits. For these exceptional persons, the sky was not high enough. They sought to be more, to be all that they could be. Perchance, the pair succeeded. Yet, as these skillful and courageous females spoke of what they had achieved, or could, were there no constraints, frequently, the reaction from others was sadly, as could have been expected. For centuries, conventional wisdom may have weighed women down. At least words of woe have dampened the spirit of daughters of Eve who hoped to soar.
Tonight Hillary Clinton, I thank you. Your speech was sensational. The words were welcome. A call for unity could not be more needed. I believe only you could make this plea in a meaningful manner. As grateful as I am, and indeed, I am truly pleased that you spoke as you did. I wonder if this pronouncement, as presented, will solve what some see as the dilemma of the disaffected. Will your words alleviate the concern too often expressed about the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama?
What is black and white and read all over? Associated Press reports written by the "respectable" albeit some would say disreputable Ron Fournier. Few Journalists foment interest in this Presidential election in the way this whimsical writer does. His prose is not dry. Detachment does not define the Washington Bureau Chief. Conventional standards, set by the information industry, might label this laudable lackey as less than logical. For logic is rarely found in flaming rhetoric. Fournier describes his approach as "accountability journalism" and "liberating . . . the truth," as well it should be.
I saw them. I heard them. The undecided voters were no longer in the shadows. The seven, eleven, or fourteen percent, the unpersuadables who either decline to state a preference, or have not yet determined whether they could or would support the presumptive nominees, Barack Obama or John McCain, were there. They stood at the door of the Arena. It was a Thursday afternoon, in Boca Raton, Florida. Hundreds, myself among them, stood in wait as the storms overhead threatened. Rain clouds did not deter us. What some thought oppressive heat did not dissuade the many who wished to hear the former First Lady. As we stood outside and discussed when the doors might open, many shared their deeply held conviction. Obama could not possibly beat Senator McCain without Clinton, and her supporters. If Hillary was at the top of the Democratic ticket, several speculated, we could crush John McCain.
Throughout the ages, life has been but an allegory for the Shakespearean drama Macbeth. When people observe the strength of a wedded woman, they wonder. Might she be the spouse behind the man? Couples whose passion for power burns brightly may be reminiscent of those who perform in the tragedy played out on many a theatre stage. A pair, married partners, in the present, may be as characters in a revival of the this best-known of William Shakespeare's tragic productions. The tale, written in centuries long past, often evokes reverie of today's truths. Only the characters differ.
If this dramatic piece, were to be performed today, possibly, Hillary and Bill Clinton would be cast as the main characters. The two are slightly more modern, and a bit less morose than the actors in years gone by.
As Americans await the action in Denver, as the people look forward to the Democratic Convention, citizens are reminded of what was once thought inevitable. Hillary Clinton will be on center stage. The "juggernaut's" name will be placed into nomination. Barack Obama continues to run.
I ran into one of my co-workers in the break room at The Wenatchee World today, shortly after my latest cartoon came off the press.
"I don't understand your cartoon today," he said.
I asked him what he didn't understand. He wanted to know if I was trying to say Hillary is cold and emotionless - almost robotic - in her pursuit of the presidency, or was it that the Clinton campaign was an unstoppable juggernaut racing toward the nomination.
"Yes," I said.
"The Clinton Machine" has been a marvel to behold this primary season. And my co-worker understood this cartoon just fine.
It is ironic that with the ascension of the Barack Obama candidacy many people believe that it is ringing the death knell for the civil rights movement as we have known it. After 50 years of struggle, are we reaching the end of the movement that has defined the state of black America for decades? Has America or more importantly the black community outgrown the type of politics and confrontational style of the previous generation? Is black America better served by the rhetoric of reconciliation and personal responsibility being touted by Senator Obama. The answer largely depends on who you ask.
I have no problem with letting Hillary Clinton speak at the Denver convention - none at all. I was one of those people in 1992 chanting "Let Jerry Speak!" But Hillary's convention preview far past bordering on tenacity, it screams vanity.
"Because I know from just what I'm hearing that there's incredible pent-up desire, and I think that people want to feel like, 'OK, it's a catharsis, we're here, we did it, and then everybody get behind Sen. Obama.' That is what most people believe is the best way to go," she said.
The former first lady did not rule out having her name placed into nomination at the convention, which will be held Aug. 25-28 in Denver. But her advisors said that was unlikely.
Clinton, who suspended her White House bid on June 7 and endorsed Obama, is expected to deliver a prime-time address to delegates on the second night of the convention.
There is not a damn thing that resembles an act of unity if Clinton allows her name to fall into nomination. It is divisive, arrogant and belligerent - that is how I have seen her entire campaign.
The consensus is this election year is like no other. It is more dynamic than those in the past. The times they are a changing. Indeed, there is much to substantiate this proclamation.
The alternate caption was "I'd like to thank Hillary Clinton ... ," but that didn't seem to capture the Obama tone during last night's historic victory. The general election should be a hoot to cover. "Onward" [Archive No. 0821], indeed!
As much as I would wish to congratulate you on your win in Puerto Rico, I cannot. I offer my condolences. I trust that you hoped for a substantial victory. I have faith that you yearned to, as they say, "seal the deal." However, you Senator Clinton did not receive the delegates necessary to cinch the nomination. Nor did you bring a divided nation together. Indeed, Senator Clinton, the results of this most recent race in Puerto Rico give credence to the argument that you, dear First Lady, are a divider, not a uniter.
Months ago, it was Springtime. The Primary Election season was about to come to a close. In March, talk turned to the month that begins summer. Senator Clinton was elated, as were we all. At the time, it seemed soon June would be busting out all over. The Senator from New York believed she had a chance to secure the Democratic nomination. The former First Lady spoke of how wondrous the sixth month of the year might be. When asked of her plans for the rest of the year, Hillary Clinton rejoiced. She recounted; June 1992 was a euphoric time for the Clinton family. Perchance, in 2008, she said, the same thirty days might again bring reason for euphoria. The Senator expressed, the unexpected might occur, just as it did in 1968, when . . . the disturbing, distressing, disquieting, the dire, calamitous catastrophe crippled American citizenry.
Americans speak of the divide within this country. Most accept the labels. We are a nation of Red states and Blue regions. People define themselves as Conservatives or Liberals. West Virginian primary election voters, who were asked, reinforced the notion in this nation we are not unified. One fifth of those polled stated, skin color influenced their decision. Former Senator John Edwards often expresses his distress for what he sees as "Two Americas." The one time Presidential candidate reminds us of why the common folks clamor. The rich get richer while the poor become more impoverished. For some of those who fight to endure, a "gas tax holiday" is thought essential. Others believe such a measure will negatively effect the infrastructure and the environment. In Grand Rapids, Michigan on May 14, 2008 a Black man and a white man stood on a stage together united and equal. Some, in this splintered nation of ours, thought this was a sign. Perhaps, Americans would finally come together as one.
Some pundits say it is over. The Democrats are ready to come together as one. The primary results came in late on Tuesday May 6, 2008. Before the tally was final, Barack Obama took the stage. He congratulated Senator Clinton; Presidential hopeful Obama was conciliatory. Hillary Clinton offered an overture. "This has been an extraordinary experience." Political experts muse, thank goodness. The Party needs to heal. The North Carolina and Indiana primaries were decisive. The campaign has been too divisive, disruptive. Distractions aplenty were destructive. If the Democratic Presidential contenders continue to battle, most believe these diversion will be no less damaging. Countless, citizens and columnist say, Hillary Clinton cannot survive.
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