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18 Jun 2007 02:27 pm

Remembering Hillary

We have no excuse if Hillary Clinton becomes president. We know what and who she is. In this respect, Elizabeth Kolbert's review of the new Hillary books is well worth a read. This passage highlights two central aspects of her political character that will not change if she becomes president. Nothing will ever be more important to Hillary Clinton than Hillary Clinton. And her combination of self-righteousness and paranoia is a toxic one. The healthcare fiasco revealed the worst of it, particularly her early decision to warn Senators not to oppose her will:

At a retreat for Democratic senators in the spring of 1993, Clinton was asked whether it was realistic to pursue such an ambitious health-care program, given her husband's many other legislative initiatives. She responded that the Administration was prepared to "demonize" those who opposed the task force's recommendations. "That was it for me in terms of Hillary Clinton," Senator Bill Bradley, of New Jersey, told Bernstein. "You don't tell members of the Senate you are going to demonize them. It was obviously so basic to who she is. The arrogance. The assumption that people with questions are enemies. The disdain. The hypocrisy."

Few have put it better.

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