People have the natural tendency to assume that successful politicians they dislike are secretly devious criminal masterminds. Remember that old Ronald Regan skit on Saturday Night Live? Check it out here.
Well, liberal columnist Kevin Drum has an interesting insight into the modern version of that meme. Is Hillary Clinton some kind of evil genius, slyly dodging all bullets and evading justice? Well, no ...
"I view her as nearly the exact opposite of her reputation in popular culture. She's not cunning or devious. In fact, she's the farthest thing from that. She's dutiful and always has been. She wants to do good. She's demanding of herself. She's not naturally extroverted, but forces herself to do what needs to be done. She's not naturally brilliant, but she's a studier and a hard worker. And I imagine that the relentless attacks she's put up with have indeed wounded her pretty deeply. Unlike her husband, she's not the kind of person who can brush them off as just part of the game."
That's Drum's take, and I buy it. The whole thing is well worth a read. So look at Hillary: Hard working, studious, forging onward despite the prejudice against her. And I cannot help but be reminded of those inescapable quizzes on Facebook that always pop up. "What Harry Potter character are you most like?" for example.
Well, the answer is pretty clear. Hillary Clinton is Hermione. She is super smart, works harder than anybody, and studies for tests -- like her recent 11-hour appearance before the Benghazi Committee in Congress. That was a test and a half!
Are some of her opponents biased against mudbloods? I mean women? Like Hermione, Hillary just ignores the haters and keeps on doing her best.
 |
| "You are smart, hard-working, loyal, studious, and very very competent. You are Hermione." |
And what about that old warrior, ineffably wise, often confusing, possibly confused, surprisingly powerful, consciously obscure, unconsciously off-putting ... Bernie Sanders? Dumbledore, natch.
[Photo credits: The photo of Hillary Clinton is from Getty Images, per the watermark. The image of Emma Watson as Hermione Granger is from all over the Web. I found it through Google here.]
