^ Yeah, I get that both of their analogies were part of the broader ongoing rhetorical battle between the two of them, but the way she handled her response in that round was unbelievably thoughtless. She could've said "Let me explain what I meant by 'false hope'," she could've turned the analogy into an inclusive one by explaining how the expansiveness of hope and the tedium of political process are interdependent, she could've said any number of things really, but inserting herself directly into the terms of that analogy as is was just stupid. Granted, the reporter put her in a tight spot to begin with by selectively quoting that part of Obama's speech to her and demanding a response, but then that's usually how such gaffes come about and a candidate's got to have a savvy grasp of the multiple levels speech works on so as to be ready for that sort of thing.
a venom that is pretty much unrelated to the facts
Looks like perhaps we now have a couple examples of that going in here?
Well, in general I agree with Mr. Moore: there's really very little in common between the two, beyond the often-eyebrow-raisingly personal and shrill nature of the negative responses to them; Hillary's a much more guarded and reserved persona than Thatcher. (Which actually, if one wanted to talk female politicians whom one
really could sensibly compare to LBJ, Thatcher's not a bad choice--two famously iron-willed people who were certainly capable of turning on the charm on occasion, but more often chose to relentlessly pummel their adversaries into submission through sheer overwhelming force of personality instead.) The point about tenacity has something to it too--I do tend to see Hillary as someone who's unafraid to make tough choices that will inevitably piss some people off. (Ironically, Bill Clinton had the reputation of being, despite his gift for 'connecting' with people and his quick-on-the-draw speaking smarts--both weak points for Hillary--someone who also 'needed to be liked' too much, to a degree that often undercut what one might otherwise expect to be his strong powers of persuasion.) I do think Moore may have overlooked some other possible dimensions of certain factors he was considering--the tendency of younger women to find it easy to feel contempt for older ones, for example; and it's not clear to me how fully he grasps that the 'can't have it both ways' problem straitjackets women as well--but on the whole, I think his comparisons made sense. Of course, hopefully it goes without saying that anyone who regards Thatcher as the only acceptable template for what type of persona a female head of state should have (not saying he does) is full of it.
