2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Every time the party's left raises their little pointy heads and makes noises....this stuff happens. [View all]senz
(11,945 posts)I thought she was merely shy and awkward, an introvert who wasn't comfortable in a public life and who felt stung by rightwing attacks. I saw her coldness then as self-protection. She didn't come into focus for me until her 2008 assault on Obama, which is when I began seriously disliking her. Bill, too -- I'd made excuses for him, thought he "had" to give in to Republican demands on welfare reform, NAFTA, 1996 Telecom Act, etc. It wasn't until I heard he'd taken up with the Bushes that I realized he wasn't the Democrat I thought he was. Now, after so many of the pieces have fallen into place, I can't believe I ever trusted either of them. To me, they are hucksters playing the system for their personal benefit, not giving a damn about America as a place where regular people can live decent lives in an atmosphere of fairness and mutual caring, valued and protected by a wise, responsible government of their own choosing. They've never seemed humbled by the responsibility the people entrusted them with.
But I do agree Bill is the more human of the two. Last night during her strange post-caucus speech, she looked like a brittle manikin forcing out words, while Bill and Chelsea seemed very human and very sad (a friend thought Bill looked physically ill). My opinion of their family dynamics has changed quite a bit. I don't think I've ever seen Chelsea looking genuinely happy and centered. There's always something inhibited and sad about her. I don't know, the whole thing is disturbing. I wish that family had found something different to do with their lives.