Celebrating Hillary Clinton: the myth and the reality

Bill and Hillary Clinton during the 08 presidential primary

All we can say to Laura Brown at Harpers Bazaar is this: “Thank you. It’s about time a member of the media presented an authentic portrayal of Hillary Clinton.”

Brown writes:

So often vilified during her time as first lady of the United States, Clinton is now often cited as the country's most admired woman. 

This is gratifying to her staff, who collectively feel something like vindication that the American public is finally getting what they knew all along. "The caricature of her was that she was frosty, calculating, unfeeling," says Reines. "But what was so surprising to me was not how wrong it was but how quickly you see that it's wrong." "I could never understand it," says Capricia Penavic Marshall, U.S. chief of protocol. "People had preconceived notions about her. But I think she is now seen for more of the person that she is." Adds Mills, "You are grateful when people you believe in get positive recognition for who they are."

Many of us continue to be outraged by the sexism and misogyny that erupted against Clinton during the 08 presidential primary, but Clinton demonstrates her strength and wisdom in response to the ugly attacks she endured even after Obama won the general election – remember the photo that surfaced on Facebook showing Obama’s head speech writer Jon Favreau and his drunken buddies sexually molesting a cardboard cutout of the newly appointed secretary of state?

Brown reports:

She {Clinton} seems resigned to gender being an issue in politics. "Being a serious candidate for president as a woman brought out all the stuff that still exists about that," she says. "Some of it was personal, some of it was gender based, and you kind of accept it. I think that if you live long enough, you realize that so much of what happens in life is out of your control, but how you respond to it is in your control. That's what I try to remember."

You owe it to yourselves to read the entire article at Harpers Bazaar.