Political Language - Hillary Clinton
“There are times when we do have to make difficult compromises. Our challenge is to be clear-eyed about the world as it is while never losing sight of the world as we want it to become. That's why I don't mind that I've been called both an idealist & a realist over the years. I prefer being considered a hybrid, perhaps an idealistic realist. Because I, like our country, embody both tendencies.” –Hillary Clinton (Hard Choices)

Hillary Clinton's book Hard Choices came out in 2014, shortly after she exited her position as Secretary of State. Her intended audience would be obviously her base, but also the general public, and swing voters. Her goal in this piece of rhetoric is to try to appeal to the swing voters--the moderates. Idealism and Realism is essentially at the heart of most issues we face in politics, and she does a good job of relating to a large audience who probably feels the same way she does. She is expressing how she isn't a hard-liner like a lot of politicians. That she has qualities of both realism, and idealism--which are qualities you look for in a leader.

This isn't necessarily Agenda setting--although its likely this book is laced with agenda setting throughout. This is more of a big ideological statement. This statement is in reference to how she comes to her reasoning. This also is a very short excerpt and doesn't have much information dissemination or raw information. It's a quick insight into her ideological perspective. This quote also doesn't have much Action stimulation, or convincing people that you will act. She will likely reserve that for debates, and speeches; being that this is from her book and not from her campaign.

What this excerpt does have is a great example of reflecting on the past/predicting the future. The past being realistic, and the future being idealistic, while the present contains a mixture of both. She executes interpretation and linkage in the statement "Our challenge is to be clear-eyed about the world as it is (realistic) while never losing sight of the world as we want it to become (idealistic). She is linking what the world is to realism, and what we want it to become to idealism.  

This excerpt is a good example of where I believe she stands politically. Democrats are thought to be more idealistic, and also a bit unrealistic. Whereas Republicans are thought of to be too realistic, which can lead to a deficiency in progress/change. I think Clinton has a good mix of both. Although she is a Democrat, her stances appear very moderate. I think she understands that she is a piece in the process toward progress--that she isn't going to solve all the worlds problems.

http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Hillary_Clinton_Foreign_Policy.htm

Hillary Clinton's online presence

Hillary Clinton has a very active online presence. She has a facebook page...Although it doesn't appear to be her personal page, but instead a page someone else runs about her potential campaign. 


Her twitter page is very active and seems to be run by her personally. It has regular posts about relevant topics i.e. vaccinations. (www.twitter.com/hillaryclinton)


I've noticed several negative takes of Secretary Clinton on YouTube; Some that are sexist in nature. Again this is gonna be a battle for her, as well as a particularly unique struggle as it relates to social media. Social media allows for interaction from the public, and there are filters. So whereas a male candidate may have people disagreeing with their policy on social media, she has to worry about people being disgusting on hers. YouTube appears to be the particularly bad offender on this issue. People who disagree with Hillary seem to regularly revert to her sex. (YouTube) I typed in Hillary Clinton and sorted by view count, that's where the gross stuff is.



It may be in her best interest to have a limited social media presence, however this type of thing is going to happen either way. They say no publicity is bad publicity, and sometimes I find that hard to believe, but maybe there is some truth to it. If I know her the way I think I know her, sexism online and in the media may only fuel her even more. She may use it as a example of how far we have to go to combat sexism in America.

twitter.com/hillaryclinton
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_sort=video_view_count&search_query=hillary+clinton

SWOT Analysis for Hilary Clinton's Presidential run.

Strengths: Experience and Accomplishments. She has been first lady of Arkansas, and the United States. She has been a United States senator from New York. She has been a Democratic Primary Presidential candidate in 2008, as well as Secretary of State. She is quite possibly The Most Interesting Woman in the World. In fact the one thing that may be preventing her from running is a potential ad campaign for Dos Equis beer, alongside the most Interesting Man in the World. All kidding aside, no one can match her prowess on experience. She may be the most qualified person to be President we’ve seen in a long time.

Weaknesses: As much as I hate to say it, she’s a woman. In the history of the United States executive branch Females are 0 for 44. That being said it doesn’t mean it can’t be done. We just elected our first black President in our history, of course race and gender are two different things (it took women several decades longer to get their rights than African Americans). I’d like to think we’ve progressed enough in this country that I could label this as an opportunity. However until a woman is able to achieve the Presidency, it still is an obstacle to overcome. She is likely to also face some challenges in overcoming the stigma that may be left from Bill Clinton’s second term—being impeached and having their marital affairs scrutinized by the entire country.

Opportunities: On the same hand being a Clinton presents a unique opportunity to separate herself from the pack not only in the Democratic primary, but also the general election. The Clinton Presidency of the 90’s is widely accepted as a success. Bill still has a lot of backing in the game today, and even with the impeachment he still had a high approval rating. The economy—which is always a focal point in elections—was thriving under the Clinton administration. Most people realize that--although it was Bill Clinton’s Presidency--she was a very competent, and proactive first lady. She was certainly not your typical first lady.

Threats: Benghazi! As Secretary of State she has been held responsible by many for the terrorist attack, and lost American lives on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya on September 11^th 2012. Couple this with the sexist mindset of a woman being incompetent in Foreign Affairs (matters of war), and you’re fighting an uphill battle against general perception. I’d love to give the American public credit and say that they won’t stereotype her as a woman who is incompetent in these matters, but let’s be real people. Politics isn’t fair, and it is downright disgusting at times. It’s this type of disgust that turns people away so often. However if she wants to be this nations’ next executive she has got to meet this type of ignorance head on. If she can somehow spin Benghazi appropriately, and prove to the public that she isn’t incompetent in Foreign Affairs, she has a chance.

Hilary Rodham Clinton: will she run?

Secretary, Senator, First Lady Hilary Rodham Clinton is likely the most experienced and qualified individual to be our next President of the United States. She has experience running for President as she was runner up to the current President of the United States, Barrack Obama, in the 2008 democratic primary.

Her husband, Bill Clinton, reigned over 2 of the more successful presidential terms (1992-2000) in recent years, and he is still a heavy influence in politics today. Her 1996 book It Takes a Village gave an insight on her belief in the power of society’s role in raising children as a whole. Of course conservatives like Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania resisted its message as a socialistic take on raising children, deemphasizing the importance of parents, although I doubt he read the book. In fact he actually countered her book by writing one of his own called, It takes a Family.

She became Senator Clinton from New York in 2000. She was the 1^st first lady elected to the Senate, and the first woman elected state wide in New York. (WH.gov) After losing the primary election to Barrack Obama, he elected her to serve as his Secretary of State, doing so from 2008-2013. She was the perfect person for the job as she is one of the most articulate, and tactful people in politics. She has a unique way of being able to present warmth, and kindness on behalf of the U.S., while simultaneously letting those around the world know that the United States will not be messed with.

Of course with her experience as Secretary of State comes with it the baggage of Benghazi (2012). Critics of Clinton say that she didn’t do enough to protect Americans lives that were lost in the September 11^th 2012 attacks on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Of course if she does run for President we can expect to hear this brought up repeatedly, as well as her explanation on the situation. Being a Secretary of State has its limits of course—she was not the Commander-in-Chief. My speculation is that President Hilary Clinton would have dealt with the situation much differently.

Another anticipated obstacle is that of the publicly known infidelity of her husband, (former President) Bill Clinton. Certainly the integrity of the Clinton’s in general took a hit when the President lied to Congress, was impeached, as well as the hit their marriage took publicly. Nobody ever said that politics is fair, and it certainly isn’t fair that she would have to pay for her husband’s sins, however that is politics. I’m sure it’s these types of issues that are why it has taken Hilary Clinton so long to decide if she will run for the Presidency or not. Certainly if she does you can expect her to be the early front runner, as well as the early recipient of attacks from the democrats before she even gets to the Republicans doorstep.  

 http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/first-ladies/hillaryclinton (WH.gov)