I would like to share an interesting comment made to me by a women who I was speaking with regarding the election. We were talking about how great it would be to have a woman in office, and therefore, I assumed that she was voting for Hillary. However, she then said that she would never vote for a woman who would stay with her husband after committing adultery and publicly humiliating her. She said that a woman smart enough to lead a country should be smart enough to know the difference between right and wrong. I found this statement rather intriguing for it leads me to believe that Mr. Clinton’s former actions, and Hillary’s decision could be a deciding factor for her democratic candidacy. Some people will automatically judge her personal decisions she has made in her marriage, and will overlook her strengths as a leader of this nation. So what do you think? Will the Monica Lewinsky scandal continue to haunt the Clinton family to this very day? Will it sway voters to disregard Hillary as a candidate? I personally think it might. After all, if Hillary does indeed become President, she will be making history, and will be seen as an influential role model. What are your thoughts?
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8 comments:
I think you raise a good point, and I think it's valuable to share the opinion of a "random citizen" like you did. Hillary is known as a "polarizing figure," and the main issue turning many off to her campaign seems to be how she seemingly "tolerated" Bill's infidelity. Using such reasoning to evaluate a presidential candidate's credentials seems ridiculous, but for a significant number of people in America, this just seems to be an issue they can't look past. It may be one of many "personality" issues people have against Clinton, but I agree that there are many more people out there that, like this woman, cannot look past these family matters. Hillary, in fact, even gets hurt from this issue when pundits, like Chris Matthews (who later apologized), credit all of her success to the sexual promiscuity of her husband and the spotlight she was subsequently afforded. I certainly hope this is not true, but Monica Lewinsky's legacy certainly seems to live on in this campaign, in my opinion.
In light of the Hillary good cop/Bill bad cop discussion we had last week in class, I wonder whether there was an opposite dynamic ten years ago. Perhaps Americans, and in particular women, set their expectations then, by painting the charismatic Bill as the good cop and Hillary, for tolerating infidelity (and all the political implications that come with it), as the bad cop.
In my opinion, The Monica Lewinsky Scandal will have a limited affect on Hillary's candidacy. The voter you quoted had an interesting viewpoint, but I don't think the majority of the public will take this into account. Personally, I see Hillary's choice to stay by her husband as a sign of strength. She knew what was right and wrong, but she was willing to forgive the infidelities of her husband. She did not let public opinion sway her from choosing with her heart, and I think voters see this strength and commitment. I agree that personal/family life play an integral role in the voting process. For example, Giuliani has been criticized by many for his indiscretions and his failure to maintain the nuclear family. Clinton stood by her husband because she recognized that he made a mistake. Today, the two look stronger then ever, and the former president has become an integral part of Senator Clinton's campaign.
I think it is an interesting question to ask. I remember a while ago (maybe last year at some point) some questions about how the fact she stayed with Bill would hurt her with women. However, I haven't heard the Lewinsky question being discussed as much recently. I don't think the Lewinsky scandal can help her. It will be interesting to see, if she gets the nomination, how the Republican nominee handles that issue.
I haven't really been taking the scandal into account, but this is very interesting. I think this can either make her seem weak or strong. Some might see her as weak for staying with her husband after the scandal, and others might see her as strong since she was able to get through it. I personally feel like it makes her appear more weak than strong--almost as if she sends the message it is okay for a husband to commit adultry.
I agree that it will be interesting to see how the Republicans will handle the Lewinsky Scandal if Hillary receives the nomination. Personally, I do not think that they would jeopardize the "Religious Right" vote by calling Hillary weak for staying with her husband, especially since the institution of marriage is held in such high esteem. Nonetheless, Bill's infidelity could still manage to somewhat damage Hillary's campaign since it has been relying on the Hillary/Bill team from day one. The Republicans should not be so quick to point fingers, however, as Huckabee has pointed out in the past, since both McCain and Giuliani have been divorced and many of the recent marital indiscretions have come from the GOP. Overall, I sincerely doubt that Monica Lewinsky will have any significant impact on the Clinton campaign.
I think it'll have a tiny effect. I think it hurts her feminist credentials remaining with Bill and never fully addressing his infidelity to the American public. If she's chosen as the Democratic nominee, I would expect the Republicans using this as a means of portraying the Clintons as a couple without traditional family values. This could hurt her not help her.
The person you talked to raises an interesting point. I never considered the Monica Lewinsky Scandal as something that could affect Hillary's candidacy. In politics, it seems that there is a lot of emphasis placed on family life. There are two ways to spin this event. On one hand, people can look at it as a negative and portray Hillary as a weak woman who returned to her husband after he was betrayed her. On the other hand, people can site that while her husband was immoral, she fought to maintain the nuclear family ideal and did not jump to divorce. Therefore, I think that Hillary will be able to place a positive spin on whatever attacks she gets on the scandal.
The people I think who will be the most critical of Hillary are feminists. However, that is a small population. While the scandal may have some affect on Hillary's campaign, it will not be great enough to ruin her candidacy.
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