I have no idea why Secretary Clinton said what she said. Campaigner’s fatigue, preemptive pivot to the center, historical amnesia. No idea. That’s not the point of this post.
That a political pro could make such a terribly tone-deaf statement, one which instantly turned tens of thousands of supporters into angry opponents (check your Facebook pals if you doubt it), is more than worrisome.
How’d it happen? Who knows? And who cares?
It was a mistake unworthy of a city council candidate. Closest parallel I can think of is Ross Perot’s speech before the NAACP, in which he referred to his audience as “you people.” That moment raised so much ire, it doomed whatever chances he had to be taken seriously as a national political figure.
NOT because it was racist. Because it was stupid. And someone who could pull such a rookie move was instantly marked as politically incompetent.
Secretary Clinton is a very intelligent person. Her knowledge of national and world issues is deeply impressive. But today’s move suggests this might not be her gig.
There are plenty of posts up about the history of Reagan and AIDS, posts questioning Clinton’s sincerity, yadda yadda. This ain’t about all that. The point of this post is not to ask, “Can this person be trusted to be president,” but, “Can this person be trusted to run for president?”
For those Clinton supporters who think this was a small thing, a bump in the road, convince me. Tell me how she’s going to win back the confidence of the people she lost today. Because she lost a lot of them, every one of whom we’re going to need in November.
I’m sorry if I sound like a cynical old ward heeler who cares only about the end game, but this year the end game’s not a small thing.