A true Machiavellian in every way, Hillary Clinton has done little to deserve the vote of the American people …
Progress in politics is crucial, and a female president should soon be on the horizon … Mrs Clinton however is not a woman who should be underestimated.
America’s presidential race as it stands is both awe-inspiring and dangerously unpredictable. There seems to be very little allegiance anywhere. The Democrats are divided between the left and the right, and the Republicans are facing the potential humiliation of Donald Trump taking their nomination.
The splits between the far poles of politics are perhaps most apparent today than in recent history; Trump is fundamentally a fascist bigot and Sanders a socialist. Hillary Clinton seems to be hitting the middle ground, being somewhere in-between; sometimes she’s one way and at other times another way. And though she has very cleverly managed to immerse herself in popular culture, receiving the backing of many of America’s media elite, the former First Lady’s public image actually allows very little insight into her often dangerous political stance.
Everyone has past demons, and everyone makes mistakes — Clinton is quite right in saying this when pressed on her past actions. When your past demon however is supporting perhaps the most unwarranted military invasion in recent history, you should be held more accountable for your actions. In 2003, with the Bush Doctrine already projecting a sombre view of international politics, the President led the US into the second Gulf War, resulting in the deaths of over 4,000 Americans. Clinton was one of the senators endorsing the move, and of course now admits it was a fundamental mistake. Her initial decision and now her admittance of wrongdoing to me is representative of both her miscalculations and her fickleness. Never one to shy away from a venture, Clinton now says we should see Iraq as a business opportunity — because nothing has gone wrong in the past when the US treated MENA states as business partners … .
‘I consider myself a modern progressive’. Said in her own words, Clinton seems quite the heroine for forward change. When pressed in 2001 on whether gay marriage should be legalised she said no, and that marriage was solely between a man and woman. This quote however, taken in 2007 before the contest she faced against nemesis/ally Barack Obama is representative of Clinton’s cunning fickleness in changing her opinion in order to gain popularity. Now an avid flyer of the rainbow flag, few know, or choose to acknowledge Clinton’s former opinions, or think to question why she shifted so radically on her morals. This issue is best summarised for me by Washington Examiner writer Philip Klein, who said: ‘To say Clinton “evolved” on gay marriage is sort of like saying Peter Parker changed slightly when he got bitten by a radioactive spider’. As Klein suggests, when popularity is crucial, opinions are fickle.
Given the title of this article — perhaps something on the airy subject of gender issues should be mentioned. Hillary Clinton, a leading figure across the world for female rights and values? Hillary Clinton, an advocate for the feminist movement? Both of these views have been expressed in countless other articles on the phenomenon of Mrs Clinton. Perhaps the most preposterous is the suggestion that ‘feminism owes a lot’ to the former First Lady. Yes she is female. Yes she is (arguably) top contender to become the first female President of the leading global hegemon. Clinton is and should be a role model in all of these senses, but you simply cannot do yourself a disservice by hopping, skipping or jumping over the fact that her past is a complete mockery of female empowerment. Now looking at questions on her ‘ ’90s private life’, Clinton seems to forget that entering the White House is like a melting pot, whereby your private and political lives become entwined beyond repair. Speaking of, the Lewinsky (et al) affair(s) and the way Clinton ‘triumphantly’ stood by her husband throughout, shows to me that this is a woman so determined to take power that she stuck by her husband to use him as political leverage — which she of course now does at every given opportunity. A shallow, emotionless depiction of the Clinton love affair it may be, but given her complete drive and ambitiousness, one that is sadly far too believable.
Hillary Clinton has many attractive qualities as a presidential candidate. She is a woman, she knows the political stage well, and she is neither far right nor far left. She should not however be underestimated like her image in popular culture has been cultivated to make us believe. She has been and has the potential to be, a very dangerous force in American politics. After assessing her politics properly, only then can you formulate a true opinion on what another Clinton administration would mean for America. Otherwise, she is not to be relied on based purely on her TV appearances and endorsements.
And please, somebody remind her next time that ‘Nancy Reagan in particular’ did absolutely nothing to assist the HIV crisis in the 1980s, as it is mistakes like this that reveal the ugly truth behind Clinton’s astute public image.
DISCLAIMER: The articles on our website are not endorsed by, or the opinions of Shout Out UK (SOUK), but exclusively the views of the author.
Joseph Howe
I first began writing for Shout Out UK in November 2015 while in my first year at university. In February 2016, while studying at the Charles University of Prague I was appointed SOUK's Politics Columnist. Since then, I have conducted interviews with MPs and civil rights activists from the U.K. and other places in Europe.
Since graduating from the University of Liverpool, I have taught current affairs in two colleges in Vienna, and am about to start a new adventure in the Houses of Parliament. Among other things, I love to travel and enjoy a very hectic social life.
