If You're Too Young To Remember Muskie By: Mark W Adams

Then you might not get the Kieth Olbermann reference that no Democrat should ever cry in New Hampshire.

Go wiki the Canuck Letter kids, then we'll talk.

And for all of my fellow blogtopians who feel sympathy for a sleep deprived Hillary Clinton making a gaff but can't cut an even more sleep deprived John Edwards any slack. You. Can. Kiss. My. Ass.

“I think what we need in a commander-in-chief is strength and resolve, and presidential campaigns are tough business, but being president of the United States is also tough business,” Edwards told reporters Laconia, New Hampshire.
[H.T. Moderate Left]

First of all, what he said wasn't so damn bad, and it was absolutely true. Secondly, I can't believe Ya'll got played by Halprin's ABC News. Drudge is ruling your world too. They're the one's that editorialized as if they could read Edwards' mind that he was unsympathetic and "pounced." Some blogosphere. I expect better from you folks.

But, seeing as so many of you want an excuse to bid John Edwards and all the ideals you agree with that he represents adieu, so be it. Run away ya babies.

Anyway, my first thought on Hillary Clinton crying today, tough old bird that she is, was that she was really emoting, really feeling how important all of this was. There's a lot of lizard brained stuff out there that could get to anyone, that's why so many good people don't go into politics.

And then, the father of three girls kicked in, the one immune to these girlish tears. That and the guy who thought John Boehner made an ass of himself crying, again and again. My girls know that Daddy doesn't give into that crap, and Boehner isn't in my district but wouldn't get my vote for a variety of reasons if he moved up north -- and we'd make fun of his antics unmercifully.

Hillary wants the pony. Never, ever considered the possibility that she might not get it and she worked damn hard for it. She's been at if for years, and hard work is supposed to pay off. She's done everything right. She can see it in her sights, but sees that it likes that nice Obama kid better than her and is trotting off with him.

So, last resort, she cries to get her way? For me, that was this year's Dean Scream.

And yes, the whole scream thing was overblown, unfair and BS. And so is this, and it's not right to try and get in Hillary's head. But like the "Scream," The Sob is everywhere. By 4:00 pm(est) I heard about it on NPR, Rush, Hannity, Schultz and two local talkers on the Radio. I couldn't take more than 10 seconds of Rush, but Hannity was laughing his ass off at her and I lasted about half a minute before moving on.

I got home and Tweety had it, Tucker and Olbermann followed up, it's on CNN and even PBS -- and you just know this is going to be the first thing every New Hampshire voter hears or sees tomorrow morning before they vote is, "The Sob."

It's not that she whimpered a little bit with frustrated anger or whatever. It's that it really came out of nowhere and was unbecoming of the president we thought she would be. Amanda decided to withdraw her support for John Edwards over this. Well Amanda my dear, you've needed to get over yourself for a long, long time. Your fly-off-the-handle attitude is why you will never be hired for a political campaign again. And Jane, quit looking for villains and playing the victim, I have too much respect for you to watch you sink to that level.

And before you get on your high horse and dismiss this stay-at-home dad who put his own career on hold for his family, just be careful how you separate gender stereotypes from the requirements of campaigning for president and/or running the world. If any man had behaved as Hillary did, there'd be nothing left but the jokes. Hillary gets the benefit of the doubt, a debate about the propriety of her actions and whether it was indeed sincere instead of dismissed out of hand.

This isn't about a promotion you can't get due to discrimination or being wronged by a boss with sick ideas of gender rolls. This not some glass ceiling. This is a test of character every presidential candidate must endure, and when I see Clinton as the Leader of the Free World, I want to see Golda Meier, Margaret Thatcher, Benezier Bhutto. You never saw them cry.

You never saw them crack a joke either, which I really like about Hillary, She's fun. Clever, witty. But you never want to see any president break down in front of the public because they're in a tough fight, or the passion of the cause overwhelms them, or for any reason really. You just don't want to see that. I want a leader who exudes confidence, and not the fake bravado we see from Commander Codpiece. I want her to "feel me pain" but not necessarily cry for me. Lift me up.

Is the scrutiny of Hillary's every move ridiculously second guessed? Oh yes, ad nausium. But we are a catty culture. It's absolutely unfair. To paraphrase some asshole who's thankfully retired from public service, you go to the polls with the society you have, not the society you promise to create.

Now let me digress to the act itself. The take on Hillary has always been that she's careful and calculating. The idea that she's being more open, more vulnerable is in itself seen by many as a calculation, Indeed, her crying is cynically perceived as an act by her detractors.

Now I'm no psychic, I can't tell you if she just turned on the tears or felt deeply what she was trying to communicate. And neither can you.

But I do know that ultimately, every individual is the only person who can control their emotions, can decide to laugh or cry. No one can make you cry. Nobody made Hillary cry. She's not a nine year old girl after all. Whether she is in control of herself as a mature adult to make a conscious decision that crying would be appropriate at that time, in that setting is probably more reassuring than if she were unable to control her emotions -- especially if she were the President of the United States.

So, since I do respect Hillary and think that she's far from a shrinking violet, I must hope that my image of her is legitimate and conclude therefor that she decided to cry. I think that was a bad decision and the consequences which are all to easy to apprehend should rightly fall on her head. That she and her surrogates might exploit the natural reaction from the press and rivals over her act is the height of cynicism -- and falling for it is just stupid.