The puffiest of puff pieces on Hillary Clinton
As a news wonk, I often come across articles on people and issues not everyone will see, generally because of the source. I often weave quotes from these sources in posts I am developing for my blog. This was too good not to share.
Andrew Stiles, who writes a blog for The Washington Free Beacon, yesterday made note of what he called, the puffiest Hillary Clinton puff piece of all time. It appeared in a British publication, Stylist, July 16, 2014.
The July 16, 2014 edition of the British consumer publication, Stylist, published what has been called the “puffiest of puff pieces on Hillary Clinton. (Stylist via Twitter and The Washington Free Beacon photo)
Stiles teased his article with this quote from the unbylined article, Hillary Clinton on criticism, taking breaks and why the White House needs a woman:
“Throughout my interview with Hillary, she is fiercely engaged; her eyes – sparkly, wide, alert – remain firmly focused on me. She is warm, considered, talks slowly and thoughtfully and uses – consciously or not – tactics that put me at ease. She frequently answers my queries with the response: ‘Now that’s a great question.’ She litters her answers with colloquialisms that put us on a level and, listening back, I am struck by the amount of times she says, ‘You know.’ And of course there’s that charming laugh. I can see that these natural skills make her the perfect diplomat, the ultimate leader.”
It was easy to understand why Stiles said, “Hillary might as well have written the (unbylined) piece herself, as it reads like one of her excessively padded resumes.”
The Stylist author talked about her preparation for the interview, reading Clinton’s book and listening to parts of it in audio and was impressed that Clinton “was responsible for the most difficult of decisions: those that deal with life and death.” No mention of her failure at Benghazi.
Seemingly awestruck, the author began, “As I walk into her suite on the fifth floor of Claridge’s*, she heads straight towards me, beaming, hand-outstretched in greeting, before introducing me to her team – press secretary Nick Merrill and Huma Abedin, long standing chief of staff who sit on her interviews.” (Abedin, you may recall, is married to the former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) , who resigned from office after posting nude selfies of himself.)
“I love the colour of your dress,” the author starts, “What would you call that? Lemon? Neon Lemon? It’s certainly not subtle is it? “ Drawing a chuckle from Clinton, to which the author noted that Clinton’s “laugh is a signature move: warm, relaxed and utterly disarming.”
“Even sitting in front of her, it’s hard to image what life has been like for Hillary Rodham Clinton,” she wrote as she briefly reviewed her 38 years in the public eye. Gushing, “Did she ever imagine she would be the world’s most powerful woman? The ultimate role model?” To that, Clinton responded, “I always wanted to help people, but I didn’t imagine anything beyond that.”
The author recalled reading in Clinton’s book, Hard Choices, of her desire to break the glass ceiling to become the first female president of the United States, and was reminded that was meaningless to Margaret Thatcher some 35 years ago. Thatcher once stated, ”I owe nothing to women’s lib.” Colleagues claimed feminism “left her cold.” Clinton believes that if little girls cannot see someone in that position they simply cannot see themselves with a comparable opportunity.
Unbelievably, Clinton continues to believe there are still obstacles to a woman in the public arena. How she can still believe this with so many women in politics, including governorships, as Fortune 500 CEOs, in key media positions and university presidencies, appears to me she is out of touch.
“I make my way out of Claridge’s so deep in reflection (after) scrutinizing her life and attempting to understand her, but all I can say in conclusion is that Hillary was warm, engaging, charismatic, ambitious, smart, determined and busier than any other woman I am probably ever likely to meet,” the Stylist author concluded.
Hillary’s team got the puff piece they wanted from Stylist, the only UK consumer magazine chosen to interview their client.
*Claridge’s is a five-star luxury hotel in London’s Mayfair District.
So you want to be president Part 1 (6/19/14), Part 2 (6/27/14, and Part 3 (6/29/14).
