Wednesday, July 06, 2016

Hillary's Trustworthiness

If you were to gather 100 of the most trustworthy human beings on the planet, from the spiritual leaders to the scientists and the fortune tellers, Hillary would be in that room. At a personal level she is quite an exceptional character. It is astounding that she is even in politics. There are quite a few slimey types in politics.

But her untrustworthy ratings are only a few points behind that of Trump. How do you explain that? Partisan politics. People who will never vote for her have woven this elaborate false mythology around her, absolutely baseless, but politically real and potent. At least she does not have eating disorders. A lot of young women succumb to similarly sexist attacks coming through the media and end up with eating disorders. Which is sad and wrong.

Political tussles are allowed but sexism is sin. Political competition is healthy, but you are supposed to fight with ideas.

I hope women will see through it and vote for her in large numbers. Hillary is not untrustworthy. She is female.

Politicians go sailing. They don't have the privilege of stating one position and sticking to it like an academic. In a democracy public opinion of course matters. Public opinion is the wind that a politician has to sail with. Sometimes you go a little to the left, sometimes a little to the right. That is the democratic way. A politician is supposed to listen to the people even as they stake out their positions. Hillary has been sailing for decades. Her positions have evolved. They are supposed to. She has been listening. To you the people. That is a good thing. Don't tell me you miss Saddam. He did not sail. He ruled.

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