HILLARY & BEYONCE: GOP IN SEARCH OF SCANDAL

HILLARY & BEYONCE: IN SEARCH OF SCANDAL

Richard Nixon once observed that you can be ‘anything’ in politics as long as you are ‘not boring.’

Love her or hate her (and I am unabashedly in the love camp) Hillary Clinton was riveting in her Congressional testimony on Libya.  GOPers have worked mightily to create a full-fledged ‘scandal’ from the tragic deaths of four Americans in Libya.

But Clinton fought back this week by a one-two punch of straightforwardly and also emotionally taking ‘responsibility’ for the deaths, while at the same time fiercely batting back the notion that somehow there was a sinister ‘cover-up’ involved in the initial conflicting accounts and statements regarding what exactly triggered the Libya attack.

GOP Senator Ron Johnson berated Clinton for not having read cables that investigation suggests may never have reached her desk.  But John Kerry later pointed out in his own hearings that Johnson himself never bothered to attend the most thorough hours-long debriefing on the attacks.

No doubt there are serious security questions still to be answered about the Libya attacks, hopefully in an ongoing investigation unclouded by charges of ‘scandal.’  Meanwhile, downhearted GOPers in search of Obama’s ‘Watergate’ may now make a wildcard reach.  Some right-wing voices online called this week  for Obama to resign over  National Anthem lip-syncing in Beyonce-Gate…

‘Oh say can we see’– any real scandals on the horizon?

A PS to this Post– Our commentator Ol’ Bill has this to add: ”Hillary & Beyonce” should be THE metaphor for four years of faked policy hysteria and lip synced scandal propaganda marking the demise of what used to be a Grand Old Party. Political Celebrities In Disgrace on steroids.” Ol’Bill

(photos: nydailynews, thinkprogress.com, redding.com, Googleimages)

 

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HAS PALIN PEAKED- and Will Gerry Live On?

Check out ArtSake:  Elizabeth Searle & Lise Haines

HAS PALIN PEAKED… by Elizabeth Searle

It’s official: Sarah Palin– once a burning fixture on this blog, winning Disgraced Celebrity of Summer, 2009– may find her star fading at last, at least politically.

The Huffington Post among others speculated that Palin has reached a ‘Tipping Point’ with her latest Presidential Poll rating at 10% and with rising star Michelle Bachmann poised to step into Palin’s ‘high heels’ as the GOP’s next far-right female rabble-rouser.

What tipped Palin?  I believe the slippage began with Palin cutting and running from her Governorship.  When she chose to go for the money and ditch Alaska, she revealed her essentially frivolous nature and lost the respect of in-between voters who might have (heaven forbid) fueled a Palin Presidential victory.

Sadly, this past week the first female Vice Presidential candidate, Geraldine Ferraro passed away.  I saw her speak at a thrilling rally in New Haven during the Mondale campaign, her voice and presence as clear and bracing as the fall New England air.

Yes, ‘Gerry’ had her mishaps and ‘scandals.’ But unlike Palin, she kept her sense of dignity, humility and humor.  In later years, she focussed on issues rather than her own image or legacy.

Many commented that the first female President, when she finally belatedly arrises, will be standing on Ferraro’s shoulders.  I have wondered if McCain would have had more of a chance had he chosen a woman of substance like Olympia Snowe as his running mate.  And I sometimes wonder if the country would be better off if bold brilliant Hillary Clinton were holding the reigns.

Perhaps Palin’s legacy will be to make voters more wary of glitzy media-star candidacies and more open to serious sensible women who would do Geraldine Ferraro proud.

(photos: thirdage.com, jillstanek.com, nursesforum.com, W.H.)

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HILLARY HITS THE MINI-BAR by Erica Ferencik

Thanks to Erica for giving us this lighthearted glimpse into an imagined HRC at a tough time in the real world.
Check out ArtSake:  Elizabeth Searle & Lise Haines

Novelist, screenwriter, and essayist Erica Ferencik is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Cracks in the Foundation. Her work has also appeared in the Boston Globe, on Salon.com, More.com, and National Public Radio. Her new humor column has been appearing monthly in the Metrowest Daily News.

HILLARY HITS THE MINI BAR (originally published in Milford Daily News)

The real HRC kicking back...

NO DATA — With a heavy sigh, Hillary pushed her hotel room door shut and tossed her laptop on the bed. The lights of Tripoli twinkled fifteen stories below as she sank with a polyester – poof! – into an overstuffed chair by the window.

It had been a long day. Too much smiling, the shawarma she ate for dinner wasn’t settling well, and…what was this? A buzzing from her bag….she pulled out her phone. A text from Hosni: “Was I really that bad?” She texts back: “You were that bad.” Sighs. Adds: “Go reinvent yrslf, evrybdy else is.”

Another beep. She glanced at the phone. “Oh come on, Hosni, PLEASE don’t friend me.” These dictators are such saps, she thought, turning off her phone.

She flipped on the fake fireplace, slipped into her oversized T-shirt that said “I Heart New York,” and cozied back in her chair with her laptop. She opened the document, “Memoir – Notes” and sat staring out the window waiting for the muse. The cursor blinked at her, also waiting. She set her reading glasses down on a – wait a minute – was this a MINI-BAR?!

Haven’t seen one of these since Seoul, she thought. And this one was packed to the gills with drinks and tasty snacks. Before you could say Al Jazeera a wee bottle of chardonnay was unscrewed and knocked back followed by a cabernet chaser.

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