Trust Your Own Heart, Write Your Own Story and Fight On

All candidates are humans with flaws. It is better to look at their strengths and measure them against their weaknesses. Hillary was an outstanding Senator. She was extremely hard working, very intelligent, and prepared. She worked well with her colleagues, was an exceptionally good listener, and knew how to compromise. Senator John Warner, Republican of Virginia said that Hillary had a level of knowledge and preparation in his Amed Services Committee that was unrivaled and was the only Senator who never leaked any information to the press. As Secretary of State she was equally outstanding such that Putin was adamantly opposed to her because he knew how tough and intelligent and respected she was by our allies and the diplomatic community. He knew she was a serious and deeply respected leader. As a person, she is extremely decent and in her views a progressive. After law school, she pioneered laws for disabled children and worked to integrate schools in the south. She is the greatest advocate for gender equality. I agree with President Obama that she was most qualified to be President. I admire her exemplary conduct and behavior as a candidate and a public servant. No person ever has been subjected to such bizarre right wing smears and to run against a shameless demagogue like Trump with his nicknames for her. She was always dignified and unflappable. What a tough woman. I am a great admirer of her. I know she really won the election and would have been a great President.

I wish constantly Hillary was president instead of Crusty the Clown. However, I cringed whenever I saw Palmieri & Joel Benenson during Hillary's campaign, thinking "why are these people making such horrible choices?" Remember when Clinton had no honest answer about the email server ("like with a cloth?"). Remember her arrogant answer for taking $21 million for Wall Street speeches just before she announced? ("that's what they offered..") Remember Clinton calling Trump supporters - who she should have been courting - "deplorables"? Remember Hillary NEVER pitched herself directly to millions of Bernie Sanders supporters - whose support she desperately needed - because she was too arrogant? Hillary desperately needed Sanders supporters - & then lost just enough to lose the election. Remember when she took August off to go to fundraisers with rich folks like David Geffen & George Clooney? Remember she never set foot in Wisconsin in the fall - a state she had to win - & subsequently lost? Don't fawn over Jennifer Palmieri. I'm sure she's a decent person. But Hillary faced numerous lethal obstacles: gender, Trump's viciousness, Russian interference, sleazy Bill Clinton, taking $$$ from Wall Street, her basic greed & disingenuousness, - & horrendously stupid campaign staffers Mook, Benenson, Palmieri. HRC was one of the most arrogant & misguided candidates in history. HRC & Palmieri both blaming her loss on gender proves how clueless they were - & remain to this day.

I truly wish Palmieri, Hillary, Huma, Ben Rhodes and the rest of the Clintonista's would just go away. It's incredible that none of them will just "not let go" andcontinue to bemoan, whine and recant the politician's failure of the century.

When will the propaganda machine about Clinton stop? In 10 years? 100? 1,000? When will enough be enough?

Someone posted: I was astonished to hear other women blame her for President Clinton's personal transgressions. Hillary was Bill's co-conspirator. She attacked Bill's victim's when they told the truth.

Jennifer Palmieri is apprarently as delusional as Hillary Clinton to think gender is the reason Clinton loss. *Clinton as SoS does no use an official goverment email account but instead pays to install and maintain a private server in the basement of her house because that is more "convenient" When discovered Clinton repeatedly and repeatedly and repeatly lies about it. *Hillary spent decades aiding and abetting her serial sexual predator husband *Hillary is too stuck-up to campaign in Mich, Penn, and Wisc. *Hillary is all for gun control but surrounds herself with an armed security detail. *Hillary says Trump stalked her at the debate and was "literally breathing down my neck" The video shows Trump and Clinton were never close enough for that to be true. Just ike the Bosnia sniper fire video shows the truth vs. Clinton's lies. (For someone who lies as much as she does one would think she would be better at it.) *Look at Hillary's book "What Happened" The title is fewer words and space on the dust jacket than the author's name. Hillary's ego is bigger than the grand canyon! Even bigger than Trump's ego. Not what we need in president. There above is a small sample of Hillary's attibutes. Many more too many to list in the space allowed.

In 73 years I've only had two heroes: Hillary & John Lewis. The Listening Force is with Hillary. I've watched hours of meetings on youtube where she listens to Mothers of the Movement or just folks and at the end sums up a smart, practical way forward. She has inspired me every day for decades. Hillary mends, defends, tends. She shines. She is study upon the ground. She keep her eyes on the Beloved Village, builds the infrastructure of kind. She walks the talk. No matter the storm, she perseveres.

Clinton wasn't exactly an inspiring candidate. I voted for her reluctantly, and only because Trump is repugnant. I wanted to be excited about voting for a woman for president, not resigned. When asked why she took $675K from Goldman Sachs, she replied, "That's what they offered." Not a trace of irony there --- she didn't even seem to understand that the question was about ethics, not salary negotiation skills. And then there was her financing of the DNC. And the vote on Iraq. And that foundation. And so on. Was there mysogyny? Sure. It was probably even a deciding factor for some of the so-called deplorables. There was also a lot of manipulation going on in the media. But none of that changes the fact that she was a deeply flawed candidate who never should have been given so many advantages to the nomination.

It fascinates me that some are certain Biden would be president if he were president. Except for misogyny he would have many of the sane handicaps Clinton had. And in the me too era he would have been seriously damaged by the recap of the Thomas/hill hearings

There were only bad choices last election. Like many things in life there are usually multiple, not necessarily equal, forces behind an outcome. As a lesson to be learned, in a tough close race, is a candidate needs the strength to believe that (enough of) those who don't agree, may do so out of a different sense of priority, not that they are deplorable, uneducated, low-earners, etc. Leadership is finding the will to listen and seek common ground. Candidate Clinton during and post the campaign did not demonstrate this leadership. Yes, there were many other issues, but hopefully future ground breakers will be able to really act as the leader they so aspire to be.

Hillary has just made crystal clear what she thinks about white women---their votes are unduly influenced by their husbands, sons and bosses (and she claimed that there is anecdotal evidence of this and at least ONE research study---woo hoo !). And all along the real reason for her loss was the Russian influence on those voters in LaCrosse, and Eau Claire, and Alpena, and Grand Rapids, and.....

Ah....all the Hillary-haters are out! Give it a rest! The 2016 election was a farce, when the evidence of Donald's collusion is proven! Facts: Mrs. Clinton was one of the very few very qualified candidates we've had; the presidency is not a beauty nor a popularity contest, which many Americans have forgotten in this day of "reality TV." She did win the popular vote with three million more votes than Donald got. It's tragic that eligible voters, the vast majority, sat 2016 out! They are the ones responsible for the Liar-in-Chief! White, college educated women voted for Donald, nuts but true. In the end, I'd rather have a dowdy-grandmother-former-secretary-of-state-who-forgave-her-husband than a liar, con-man, narcissistic, misogynist who seems to look like a traitor more and more each day!

My mind still reels when I try to think back on that campaign, that election. The Russians interfered in our election, in a way so profound, so adverse to our system of government, and we are so without recourse, that our government seems frozen in its tracks as the Russian Agent in the Oval Office continues day after day to make a mockery of all things democratic and American. Eleven million more American voters, voted against Trumpler, than the number of those voters who had voted for him. Hillary didn't lose so much as got displaced in some sort of revival of the Cold War on terms possible only after the obsessive nonsense of the 17 years wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which cost the nation 20 trillion dollars so that we could subsidize oil and heroin cartels after the under investigated crimes of 9/11. Are there life lessons from the post-9/11 period that allowed the catastrophe of 2016 and placement of a loser Russian Agent in the Oval Office. I suppose so. But they would be so idiosyncratic under the circumstances, that they would be applicable to exacting nothing other than the case from which they came.

Does she address the corruption of the DNC & the nominating process?

An amazing and warm book from a smart and thoughtful woman. She has lived through so much in the political and White House realms that this book will resonate with women (and men) who want to try public service. I commend her for her positive attitude and for writing such a helpful and hopeful book.

Another attempt to cash in - on what? Telling young girls 'how to succeed in politics'? Simple - don't provide advise like yours to the candidate and don't be a disingenuous, wanna be like Hillary.

Spare us please, from Amy Chozick and her new book "Chasing Hillary..." blah blah. Surely, Chozick has made a career out of wrecking Hillary's, and her daily snark on the front pages of this newspaper portrayed a bias not before realized in this publication. Her trash talk, coupled with that of all of the Bernie Bros, informed by Cambridge Analytica, who published in this paper's blogs surely took their toll on the most qualified candidate to ever, ever to run for President of the United States. And even after that, Ms. Chozick feels the compulsion to blame Hillary for the fact that the "Glass Ceiling" remains in tact. Not too opportunistic, are you, Ms. Chozick? Thanks a lot for opening the door, and fortifying that glass to allow for the abomination who now sits in our White House.

Palmieri writes an important book for future inspiring positive change. However, before we go there, it's worth noting that real change requires permanent inflection points to hold society in a new place. There's no question that it was not just the 'anyone but Hillary' sentiment. The idea of moral licensing best explains a clear scenario of: 'I voted for a black man, so I proved I'm capable, now I am going to vote for this inexperienced bully - because we need a shake up.' We slipped back because we had slipped forward. It went like this... Indeed so many felt they did their part by demonstrating they could support a racial minority in Obama and then justified voting for Trump, the tough guy. Yes, Russia ensured they were justified via social media and the NRA. Yes, Hillary created a marketing bonanza called 'deplorable'. But so many voters, especially white women, felt they were morally justified to vote for Trump after Obama's 8 years.

Advice for Young Women on Thriving in Politics: Study Ms. Merkel, not Ms. Clinton.

It's a disservice to blame Clinton's loss on misogyny, even among women. It's another excuse. I voted for her -- reluctantly, another choice between lesser evils. Hillary was given to actual caterwauling, the real thing, and political expedience. Enough people found her seriously unlikable, with an array of annoying personal mannerisms. She to talked down, way down, to the electorate. Her opponent was boorish and insulting, given to braggadocio, and so much else. Hard to lose to somebody like that, even in the electoral college. Soon after the election, a male friend of mine, a New York City liberal, said he was amazed at how many liberal women detested her. Decades of failure to take responsibility for any peccadillo, the contorted explanations that always and gracelessly blamed someone else, the fake laugh and tight little fake smile were alas enough. Had she not imperiously stomped on Joe Biden's incipient candidacy, he'd be our president. Don't let the door you on the way out. And don't come back. In any form.

What is hilarious about Hillary’s downfall and the aftermath is that only her critics recognize the reasons why she was unelectable regardless of the proposition that is was “her turn”.

The references to Elizabeth Edwards and Huma Abedin as well as Hillary Clinton send at least one clear message to the women who will run the world: remember that fate has not been kind to women in politics who stand by their husband after he's caught cheating.

Gender was definitely a part of what doomed Clinton. But I love that this is where Palmieri and the reporter lunge at to grasp at the multi-dimensionality of Clinton's failure. It wasn't only, or even chiefly, misogyny that sunk Clinton. Clinton was singularly unable to inspire a few million Obama voters to get to the polls, even with someone as atrocious as Trump. If Clinton had been a man and she did precisely what she did, she would've still lost, I feel, because she was terribly uninspiring, pretty much the same stale thing we've heard for 30 years, with scandal after scandal trailing behind her and that the GOP would use to their advantage. This was clearly a CHANGE election, with capital letters, and Clinton was utterly incapable of recognizing this until Sanders more or less dragged her unwillingly in that direction. She literally wanted to reimpose the warmed-over 1990s policy prescriptions of her husband to be tried again when the electorate clearly yearned for something way more progressive and radical. That doesn't inspire anything. That just inspires throwing your hands up in frustration, looking at his awful competitor, holding your nose and voting for Clinton. And I was fired up to get anyone but Trump in there. But it didn't work. And this has little to do with misogyny.

"...she’s a simple and serious person." Well, that's one big reason she was never going to be President of this country. Politics is a circus, and American tastes run toward the garish.

Mark Halperin and John Heilemann did a disservice to Hillary Clinton in their book. If you read their books, you would be hard pressed to find a sympathetic woman. No surprise at all at the accusations about Mark Halperin. He described Clinton as "hysterical" more than once. Can anyone imagine a male politician described that way?

Ms. Palmieri is correct in that women are treated differently from men when a candidate for office. As a women, I was astonished to hear other women blame her for President Clinton's personal transgressions. I heard she was not intelligent enough, did not have enough experience and was not a church going person. The ignorance and assumptions of these individuals made me come to the conclusion that people don't really know their candidates before they vote. Often, they prejudge a candidate without knowing anything about them. Sadly, this was the case with Hillary. Now, look wha we have for a president.