Financial Times Deutschland, Germany

Hillary's Quest: Between

Tears and the Throne …

"Her recent appearance on the verge of tears is suspected by some as being a PR stunt staged to show her softer side … the scene undoubtedly seemed authentic. But those who listened carefully had to reckon with this: There was something narcissistic at the heart of the idea that Clinton was breaking down at the thought that America might be recklessly throwing away the chance to be governed by her."

EDITORIAL

Translated By James Jacobson

January 10, 2008

Germany - Financial Times Deutschland - Original Article (German)

It is a great dramatic struggle between a charismatic outsider and a seemingly overwhelming favorite that now unfolds in the American Democratic primaries.

After underdog Barack Obama surprisingly triumphed in Iowa, the badly-wounded Hillary Clinton was able to counter-attack in New Hampshire. Things are tied again … the tension remains.

But Clinton isn't the only favorite. Her impending collapse was nothing compared with the demographic shortfall in the Republican camp, where former top candidate Rudolph Giuliani is now in freefall in the polls, a victim of his own strategy to make a late entry into the race.

Hillary Clinton represents an entire era. She stands for an ideological approach and a political style that conquered the United States at the beginning of the 1990's and is naturally connected with the name Bill Clinton.

Many voters recall with pleasure the economically good and in foreign-policy terms, the comparatively worry-free years of his presidency. The primaries therefore contain an element of a dynastic battle - it’s about the future of "House Clinton," whose final act on the world stage is considered by most conservatives as definitive, and to which many Democrats - especially older ones - remain loyal. This important complication will accompany Hillary Clinton should she eventually prevail - and if the dramatic struggle between the White Lady and the young Black man evaporates into oblivion.

Hillary Clinton is and will remain part of the great Clinton saga, which will either end ingloriously at the end of this campaign, or begin a completely new chapter. This brings her both benefits and unique handicaps in equal measure.

Their reputation, their conceptions, their apparatus, and their finances - everything was so perfect for the election campaign that all the world spoke only of the "Clinton machine." Even her recent appearance on the verge of tears WATCH is suspected by some as being a PR stunt, perhaps staged to show the softer side of the tough fighter.

At the same time, the scene undoubtedly seemed authentic. But those who listened carefully had to reckon with this: There is something narcissistic at the heart of the idea that Clinton was breaking down at the thought that America might be recklessly throwing away the chance to be governed by her. Chronic egocentrism, narcissism, self-pity - these are exactly the qualities that to this day make Bill Clinton so hated by his enemies.

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