(This piece first appeared in the Times Advocate Newspaper 5/8/2017)
In the recent Presidential election, Hillary Clinton was upset by a man Democrats, and many establishment Republicans, labeled as a bigot, a xenophobe and a misogynist. She spent millions on television ads, and she toured the country, pointing out how Donald Trump 'abused women' and was supported by 'Nazi sympathizers.' She asked voters if they could trust such a 'woman hater' to lead the free world. Hillary pointed to her experience as First Wife, New York Congresswoman and her term as Secretary of State as her 'unprecedented' resume for assuming the presidency. Her spouse, former President Bill Clinton, said she was perhaps "the most qualified person" to ever run for the office. Recently, Hillary has complained that among other factors, misogyny played a major role in her loss. In a way, I agree with her. I believe she did suffer from misogyny and bigotry. That she was disrespected and her views dismissed by many sexist men. Moreover, her incessant whining about the role of woman in politics and business, were all driving forces in her failure to connect with many men. About that, she is right! But American men were not the misogynists. The extremely sexist men I am referring to are the world leaders that she encountered while Secretary of State, most of whom are blatantly misogynist. They would never admit it, but they had no respect for Madame Secretary. As she traveled the world, she erroneously assumed world leaders were too sophisticated to practice misogyny, that only American men were so culturally depraved. As they have done with so much of the Obama term, the fawning media has painted her foreign affairs efforts as a success. But the truth is Clinton's track record was dismal. I believe history will show, it was her total failure as Secretary of State that doomed her Presidential ambitions. And despite the 'Group Speak' of the mainstream press that Madame Secretary was sensational, the facts speak for themselves and American voters were paying attention. By the end of Obama's term, the world was on fire! Civil wars were raging in the Middle East and across the African continent and our relations with China, Russia and most of our allies were in complete disarray. She said her reset of relations with Putin helped control Iranian nuclear ambitions, then shamelessly turned around and blamed Putin for destroying her chance to be President. She bragged about the Iranian deal that she claimed "put a stop" to their march towards nuclear armament. Since then, Iran has shown no inclination to adhere to the terms of the agreement. Libya, slowly falling into chaos, now supports a rapidly growing number of ISIS fighters and is the second largest Islamic State outside of Iraq and Syria. Her characterization of the security of Israel was 180 degrees out of sync with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As Secretary of State, Hillary dealt everyday with male misogynist dictators and demagogues from every corner of the planet! She failed to connect with them on any level, and they simply worked around her. They feigned respect, while undermining every initiative she offered. They may have signed agreements or treaties, but by any standard, few if any of them have been fulfilled. Progressives mistakenly attribute prejudices and cultural bigotry to Western values. They misplace their anger and frustration by ignoring the real world, instead they whine about how things ought to be, blaming our advanced Western culture for human weaknesses that have existed since the dawn of civilization. Her feminist angst didn't sit well with leaders in Eastern Europe, in the Middle and Far East, and the African continent. For them, it is hard to empathize with a women from the richest, most advanced country in the world, who takes for granted her privilege. In the end, American voters weren't fooled by her Orwellian historical reconstructions. Putting Hillary in the office of Secretary of State was a political calculation by Obama, driven by an ideological desire to show how tolerant and progressive he was. In hindsight, the facts speak for themselves; World leaders felt disrespected by Obama's 'in your face' appointment. Progressive's preoccupation with 'symbolism over substance' rarely achieves anything tangible. As the results turn sour, leftists simply redefine success and move on to the next politically correct strawman. Currently, Hillary and her demoralized followers are whining about the 'misinformed' woman voters who abandoned her. The 'white male' misogynists, and the 'alt-right' racists who undermined her campaign.. She is pointing fingers at the Russian 'boogey man' who 'manipulated' the election. She conveniently forgets that it was her resume that couldn't convince voters that she was the best person for the job. The poor woman had no chance. |
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