Hillary INC.

David says my last blob didn’t make any sense and I should rewrite it. So I went back and read it and I have to say that I heartily disagree. It made perfect sense. Maybe not to anyone but me but isn’t that the reason we blob. Actually I especially liked the part about the penguins and the fact that Paul Begala has found a way to make money without having to do any work. It should be the way we all live.

The news over the weekend about Osama Ben Barack traveling to New Hampshire was most interesting. Do we think Patti Solice can find a way to create the same excitement for Hillary? I doubt it. It really doesn’t matter if you like Obama or any of the other potential Democratic candidates, what matters is that people are clearly looking for a spontaneous and attractive alternative to Hillary. It feels early and not as organized, but not unlike the campaign against Jimmy Carter in 1980—the Anybody But Carter movement.

So is there anything Hillary can do to get beyond this feeling that she can’t win and the Democrats need to find someone who can? First of all she has to talk to people beyond those in Hillaryland—I think they are now calling it Hillary Inc. Even that says something about who she is as a politician and potential candidate. And her people need to stop saying that she can win the Presidency because she has won over the Republicans in upstate NY. Next she has to stop trying to be the ‘other’ Clinton, the one who can make a heartfelt speech and win you over by looking deep into your eyes. (I stood in many lines when I was working in the administration just to experience that ‘look’). Then she needs to decide what role Bill Clinton will play in her life. Is it greatest supporter or worst nightmare? You can’t be the President if it is in someone else’s shadow. The Coretta Scott King funeral was a perfect example of this. Hillary had no business on the podium and certainly no business speaking. And why she would want to follow Bill (where people can actually measure the difference) still remains a mystery. Lastly, she needs to have people in her office stop saying “We have to check with the lawyers” whenever you make a request. I am not a stranger to these people and yet I never get the feeling that they have the ability or desire to make friends beyond a small circle of people who are calculated to be advantageous.

I never thought I would feel this way but when I watch Barack and Hillary I think I would much rather work on an Obama campaign that become part of Hillary Inc. Where he is youthful, energetic, adorable, spontaneous, and warm, she appears old, too studied, and part of the status quo—which Americans decided in the last election they did not want.

Enough politics. Mom is in a rehab facility called Merry Heart. OK the name is stupid but the place this fabulous. She had a bout of TIA’s (small strokes) about two weeks ago. We mistakenly took her to the hospital where they overmedicated her, never got her out of bed and at night tied her up so she wouldn’t try to escape. It was horrible and she had to relearn to walk and function on her own. Yesterday she made two Christmas ornaments, and the day before she won at Bingo. She is the life of the party. As she says, most of the people can’t hear, see, walk, or talk, so by comparison she’s in really good shape. What I realized was that she might want to be in an assisted living situation with people and activities but she doesn’t want it to be in a place like the Jewish Metro West because it’s too much competition. She wants to be in a place where she’s the star. Now I know where Jordan’s Diva behavior has its genetic roots. Mom likes being in Boonton in familiar surroundings where everyone knows her and, in fact, likes her. She doesn’t want to leave, but it’s for rehab so she can’t stay there because at some point she’ll be rehabilitated. So what’s the next step? I guess we’ll just take it one day at a time and find a way to keep her happy and on the top of the heap. Nothing wrong with that. We’re just sayin... Iris