Monday, January 7, 2008
Oh puh-leeze
There are several reports today of Mrs. C's eyes filling with tears when a woman in a diner asked her how she does it. Why on earth would that question pierce her armor? Do people so yearn to believe she's a real living person with spontaneous and un-canned reactions that they can make themselves believe these tears are real? When has she ever let her guard down enough to show a tear-filled eye? Not when her husband had piccadillos in front of the whole entire world. Not when her husband was impeached. Not when she was accused of murdering a former colleague. Not when she was almost convicted of fraud. Not even when her chocolate chip cookies lost a national taste test to Barbara Bush's, for goodness sake. Nope, she's had her poses layered on top of poses layered on poses for so long that there is no way anything could pierce through. Certainly there's no way a question about her endurance would be the one.
I'm not saying, by the way, that she doesn't have vulnerable feelings. Indeed, she may. But she clearly decided ages ago that publicly showing any vulnerability was counter to her goals.
This time, as always, she is acting. She's a terrific actress. Gives Elizabeth Taylor a serious run for a crown. HRC knows how to produce just a tiny bit of emotion in her face, to have tears well up just a little - think how ugly we look if we really cry, by the way. In exactly the same way that she gave that ridiculous answer to the moderator in the debate on Saturday (some people think you're not very nice . . . that makes me very sad), it's totally clear that she doesn't let herself show the emotions the rest of us feel. She's managed to train herself to show only what jibes with her idea of how she thinks she should look and sound. Keep in mind that she did not ever ever ever have a public woman-like response to her husband's behavior or her own legal difficulties, not even a flash of anger or a flash showing how betrayed she felt. This woman is not going to melt down, at long last, after all that, when someone simply asks how she keeps her hair in place day after day. Get real, people. She has chosen never to let any dangerous tripping-up emotions wrinkle her solid mask shell, but we must keep our grip on what really is real.
I'm not saying, by the way, that she doesn't have vulnerable feelings. Indeed, she may. But she clearly decided ages ago that publicly showing any vulnerability was counter to her goals.
This time, as always, she is acting. She's a terrific actress. Gives Elizabeth Taylor a serious run for a crown. HRC knows how to produce just a tiny bit of emotion in her face, to have tears well up just a little - think how ugly we look if we really cry, by the way. In exactly the same way that she gave that ridiculous answer to the moderator in the debate on Saturday (some people think you're not very nice . . . that makes me very sad), it's totally clear that she doesn't let herself show the emotions the rest of us feel. She's managed to train herself to show only what jibes with her idea of how she thinks she should look and sound. Keep in mind that she did not ever ever ever have a public woman-like response to her husband's behavior or her own legal difficulties, not even a flash of anger or a flash showing how betrayed she felt. This woman is not going to melt down, at long last, after all that, when someone simply asks how she keeps her hair in place day after day. Get real, people. She has chosen never to let any dangerous tripping-up emotions wrinkle her solid mask shell, but we must keep our grip on what really is real.
Labels: 2008 election, headlines, reflections
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