Monday, June 16, 2014

Authenticity

I doubt that anyone has ever honestly used the word "authentic" to describe Hillary Clinton. And so as far as I'm concerned, if she decides to run in 2016 and gets the Democratic nomination, it will be back to politics as usual.

In contrast, we are living in an era where the President of the United States is described this way:
He doesn't do schtick well, right? It goes back to that authenticity thing. He knows who he is, he believes who he is and he's not going to put on some facade just because he's supposed to glad-handle someone.
When a person is authentic you can trust them, whether you agree or disagree on any particular issue. Its a sad but true fact of politics that having someone in the White House that you trust is probably a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. That's why I've wanted to savor every moment of these eight years. I'm not very confident it will ever happen again.

8 comments:

  1. Thank you for this. I concur absolutely. One of the most important aspects of watching this president has been realizing we are NOT being bamboozled. What you see is what you get, and the policies are coherent, have integrity, and reflect not political convenience but a thoughtful philosophy of democracy. I am in awe - best president of my long lifetime, and yes, I fear this ability to rely on the authenticity of a president will not come my way again.

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  2. I don't know. I'm pretty impressed with Gov Patrick. He gives me the same impression the President does. He does have to win but if he does, I can accept eight more years.

    Vic78

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  3. People who know Hillary well all say she's down to earth, loose and generous. But like Al Gore, who people said that very thing about, she stiffens up in public and acts differently when she runs for President. And not her authentic self.

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    1. Would you truly want a potential world leader who 'stiffens up in public....and is not her authentic self' in all situations? Especially when we do not need to settle for this? If Hillary hasn't learned to be her authentic self after all the years she's been at it, she probably won't ever. IMO there are quite a few young Democratic leaders who should be given the chance ahead of Hillary; she has had more than enough chances in the public arena.

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  4. I so agree with your assessment of Hillary, SP! I do not believe Hillary, or her handlers/supporters, can say anything that would convince me choosing her in 2016 would not take the country 'back'. Not as far back as the GOPs would, I don't think, but definitely back to the old way of looking at and fighting issues.

    Personally I think it insulting for the pundits etc who are fawning over her (or over the old GOP names they throw out) to imply that a country with hundreds of millions of people cannot find any 21st century leaders/thinkers willing AND ABLE to continue the forward thrust for which PBO has been laying the groundwork. IMO going back to Hillary suggest a lack of political imagination or insight and is not in the best interest of the US, or the world.

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    1. PERSONAL UPDATE ;-): Plus I wish a lot of these older, more experienced representatives, senators, politicians would step aside and take up mentorship roles. I really don't see why they have to hang on till their last breaths, so to speak. They should be wise enough to know when to step aside and allow others with fresher ideas and approaches to become more involved. So many of them (ex: GOPs) seem to have no awareness that the old-fashioned way of governing needs to be shelved.

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  5. I think this is why the GOP (mainly) have such a hard time dealing with him. They just cannot fathom that he is not a game-paying manipulator like they are. He's telling them the truth, saying exactly what he's going to do, and they keep looking for the 'gotcha', or thinking he's so naive they can put one over on him. It gets them every time.

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