Harridan

"A vicious and scolding woman, especially an older one." —Online Instant dictionary 

 "A worn-out horse. A haggard, disreputable shrewish old woman." —Webster's

This is the word that comes to mind on hearing/seeing Hillary speak on the hustings. The raw, hoarse sound of her voice. The nasty finger jabbing. She, in her vast public career, obviously has had many role models and influences as to a speaking/campaigning style. With this, I contend we are seeing beyond merely smug to the "real" Hillary. She gives me the creeps.

With Bernie sinking, and HRC as the "presumptive" nominee (she has always been such from the start as though it was already fixed), I'm again reminded of McGovern in 1972. He was against the war and therefore doomed from the start. It was the last time I cared about voting, and my choice was buried in a Nixon landslide. Things got worse for McGovern when his daughter fell in a snow bank and froze to death after getting drunk at Dick and Dave's Crystal Corner bar in Madison Wisconsin. I used to drink there myself.

In 2004, I voted for Kerry only at the insistence of a friend in Madison. He was so freaked about a second W Bush term, the poor guy went door-to-door until the last minute imploring people to vote for Kerry. He gave me a computer in exchange for my promise to vote Kerry. Fat lot of good that did, but the old Mac was useful while I was shut-in recovering from cancer and severe radiation.

I would vote for Bernie. Otherwise, never mind.

Hillary and the chocolate chip cookies. I think the term "first lady" was repellent to her, and she couldn't help but say so by declaring she wasn't any Tammy Wynette with that "Stand By Your Man" crap. Wynette and her huge fan base were insulted by this, and HRC had to apologize with a recipe for chocolate chip cookies probably right off a Nestle's package. This was too phony for words, but maybe it sort of placated the housewives of the bible belt. I can't say.

Her ambitions, while not entirely clear to the public, were definitely there. A quote from the Clinton white house in the 90's: "I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president." Do we have to do this again? I'm not sure there is a lesser evil if Bernie is pushed out.