What is Hillary Thinking?

Hillary Clinton supporters flocked to the Democratic Rules and Credentials Committee meeting in Washington over the weekend, to protest pretty much whatever was bound to happen there. And, well, from what I can see on tv, they really acted kind of crazy.

Hillary Supporters Fly In

Why do they hate Obama so much? And why the bad manners? It looks to me like Obama has been going out of his way to be gracious all along, while Hillary and her gang just persist in being rude and obnoxious. Check out this angry gal:

She's really mad!

None of this makes sense. If Hillary is such a strong candidate, and Obama is so weak, then why can't she beat him? And why all the complaining about the rules? Hillary and Bill had all kinds of input on these rules. Obama had zero input on the rules. But he seems to have read them and figured out how to win. Isn't that a good thing? Does this remind anyone of Hillary's Iraq NIE misfeasance? Aside from being fair, I think it's a valid indicator of competence.

All of this Hillary Anger seems to be tied to a sense of feminist resentment that is peculiar to Hillary's supporters. I don't remember any such emotions playing out so vividly when Elizabeth Dole ran for President. Until now it seemed simply amusing that Hillary continues to campaign with a straight face. But something more is going on. The borderline fanaticism of Hillary and her supporters on insisting that she is "better," their fury over her losing, mixed in with negative references to racial and class differences, and the overarching belief that the nomination is somehow being taken from her because she's a woman, have all brewed into a bitter gestalt with a momentum all it's own. It's boiling over and I don't know if even Hillary can contain it and bring her supporters back to the party in time to win in November. If she even intends to.

Meanwhile, look at what has happened to John McCain in the past nine months. For all of the press apathy toward his campaign, he has maintained a steady upward momentum. If the Democrats screw this up enough, he'll be there to take it from them in November.

If Obama wants to be a uniter, then he has a good challenge right now with his own party. And it's the women he needs to placate. The older feminists seem the most upset. He's been playing it cool by not attacking Hillary or gloating over his lead in delegates, but that's not enough. He needs to start actively and publicly reaching out to other women in the party who are in elections this year. That way he is going direct, and not allowing Hillary to become a de facto intermediary between him and large blocks of women voters.

Here's a list of women in Congress he should be talking to:

House

Tammy Baldwin, (Democrat-Wisconsin)
Melissa Bean, (Democrat-Illinois)
Shelley Berkley, (Democrat-Nevada)
Madeleine Z. Bordallo, (Democrat-Guam)
Nancy Boyda, (Democrat-Kansas)
Corrine Brown, (Democrat-Florida)
Lois Capps, (Democrat-California)
Julia May Carson, (Democrat-Indiana)1
Kathy Castor, (Democrat-Florida)
Donna M. Christensen, (Democrat-Virgin Islands)
Yvette D. Clarke, (Democrat-New York)
Susan A. Davis, (Democrat-California)
Diana L. DeGette, (Democrat-Colorado)
Rosa DeLauro, (Democrat-Connecticut)
Anna Georges Eshoo, (Democrat-California)
Gabrielle Giffords, (Democrat-Arizona)
Kirsten Gillibrand, (Democrat-New York)
Jane F. Harman, (Democrat-California)
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, (Democrat-South Dakota)
Mazie Hirono, (Democrat-Hawaii)
Darlene K. Hooley, (Democrat-Oregon)
Sheila Jackson-Lee, (Democrat-Texas)
Eddie Bernice Johnson, (Democrat-Texas)
Stephanie Tubbs Jones, (Democrat-Ohio)
Marcia C. (Marcy) Kaptur, (Democrat-Ohio)
Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, (Democrat-Michigan)
Barbara Lee, (Democrat-California)
Zoe Lofgren, (Democrat-California)
Nita M. Lowey, (Democrat-New York)
Carolyn B. Maloney, (Democrat-New York)
Doris Matsui, (Democrat-California)
Carolyn McCarthy, (Democrat-New York)
Betty McCollum, (Democrat-Minnesota)
Juanita Millender-McDonald, (Democrat-California)2
Gwen Moore, (Democrat-Wisconsin)
Grace Napolitano, (Democrat-California)
Eleanor Holmes Norton, (Democrat-The District Of Columbia)
Nancy Pelosi, (Democrat-California)
Laura Richardson, (Democrat-California)
Lucille Roybal-Allard, (Democrat-California)
Linda T. Sánchez, (Democrat-California)
Loretta Sanchez, (Democrat-California)
Janice Schakowsky, (Democrat-Illinois)
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, (Democrat-Florida)
Allyson Schwartz, (Democrat-Pennsylvania)
Carol Shea-Porter, (Democrat-New Hampshire)
Louise M. Slaughter, (Democrat-New York)
Hilda L. Solis, (Democrat-California)
Jackie Speier, (Democrat-California)
Betty Sutton, (Democrat-Ohio)
Ellen O’Kane Tauscher, (Democrat-California)
Nicola S. (Niki) Tsongas, (Democrat-Massachusetts)
Nydia M. Velázquez, (Democrat-New York)
Maxine Waters, (Democrat-California)
Diane Edith Watson, (Democrat-California)
Lynn C. Woolsey, (Democrat-California)

Senate
Barbara Boxer, (Democrat-California)
Maria E. Cantwell, (Democrat-Washington)
Hillary Rodham Clinton, (Democrat-New York)
Dianne Feinstein, (Democrat-California)
Amy Klobuchar, (Democrat-Minnesota)
Mary Landrieu, (Democrat-Louisiana)
Blanche Lambert Lincoln, (Democrat-Arkansas)
Claire McCaskill, (Democrat-Missouri)
Barbara Ann Mikulski, (Democrat-Maryland)
Patty Murray, (Democrat-Washington)
Deborah A. Stabenow, (Democrat-Michigan)

We will have a woman President. It's just a matter of when. And of course, who.

Lookee here, examples from other countries for a little inspiration:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko

Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner

Feminism has gone global. Let's not let Hillary burn down the house by confusing her personal political ambition with the progress of women in American politics. Our country has too many important things to do.

Friday's Random Thoughts for April 18

I've realized that I'm going to have real trouble focusing on losing weight as long as I have this laziness thing going on.

I clicked on a headline that said, "First Look Inside Polygamist Compound," but there were no pictures.

Thursday on Morning Joe, Tim Russert blurts out that his son thinks Mika is a "cougar." They then discuss this briefly as a cute little conversation. Ummm. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but do they really not know what "cougar" means? If you need enlightenment, click here.

On an historical note, Germany seems to have succeeded in bringing it's eastern and western territories together nicely.

Kraut Cougar Queen Angela Merkel

Chancellor of Germany

I haven't watched the Philly Presidential debate yet. I was tired and I flipped to it just as Charlie Gibson was asking his first question. As he droned into his third inquisitive paragraph, I realized that I just wasn't going to make it. So I tivoed it for later. Apparently I didn't miss much.

Charlie Gibson. Only slightly less boring than George Stephanopoulis! What a duo. Was pairing these two "veterans" some sort of recycling statement by ABC?

Next time get Shuster and Zacharia!

Is oil expensive just because the dollar is weak? Is that what this is all about? Nobody seems to be running out of oil, so it's not a lack of supply. This weak dollar thing may have gone too far.

Remind me again the difference between fiscal policy and monetary policy? Which one does the Fed do? Does Treasury do the other one? Or is it Congress? What is our policy anyway?

While I don't know nothing about all that economy stuff, I sure do know a lot about Reverend Wright, Hillary's Grandpa, and Cindy McCain's cookies.

If China invades Taiwan, or Japan, or Hawaii, would we still keep the troops in Iraq? Wouldn't it be a hoot if they did it during the Olympics? We'd really be stymied then.

Remember the "nappy headed ho" scandal that got Don Imus shunned from the radio waves? Well, now when I'm driving around and listening to talk radio, my only choices are Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, or Neil Boortz. Nice going, sensitive liberals. You have nobody on your side on the airwaves of Atlanta. Unless you count NPR's Lois Reitzes playing classical music.

Jack Cafferty on CNN calls the Chinese "the same bunch of goons and thugs they've been for the last 50 years." The Chinese government demands an apology, so CNN apologies to anyone who thought Cafferty was referring to the Chinese people, clarifying that he meant only the Chinese government! Hah! While I don't usually like smarmy apologies, I really loved this one. As my Aunt Amy would say, "They don't like him, he don't like them." Harmony!

Hooray for the Grouchy Old Man!

If you're a woman reporter at Bloomberg, your picture should be here.

Roundball Playoffs are here at last. Go Celtics!