Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Hillary As Seen from Israel

Yedioth Ahronoth (Latest News) is Israel's most widely read newspaper. Their parent company also runs an excellent English-language online service, YNetNews.com. Recently, it carried an English translation of an opinion piece by their Washington correspondent, Orly Azoulay – somewhat presciently, two days before Hillary's delayed, inadequate, ungracious, self-aggrandizing excuse for a concession speech. You can read the piece here: "Defeated and pathetic."

Here's a sample:
Hillary Clinton erased her immense achievements during the primaries with her own hands. The moment her uncontrollable lust for power became an obsession, her judgment evaporated. She clung to false hopes of victory, thus providing ammunition for all those who said to begin with that women must not play this game.

The numbers were clear for several months: Even her most loyal supporters told her, cautiously, that she cannot win, and that Obama reached the point of no return when he opened a gap she had no chance of closing. Yet Hillary refused to listen to these voices and reached the end of the road not only defeated, but also pathetic.

Now she is seeking respect for her determination and perseverance and for bringing millions of voters to the polls. She would have gotten much of it had her ego been more modest and had she possessed an internal mechanism that warned her that it is impossible to base leadership on a strange mix of being a crybaby with a body language that constantly conveys the following message: I deserve it, now it’s my turn to rule.

Hillary started her campaign in a grandiose manner: She was the leading candidate, she enjoyed a 30% lead, and she didn’t even count Obama. Back then already she conducted herself not as a presidential candidate, but rather, as one who already won the title. She insisted calling her airplane “Hillary Force 1,” when Obama was still running around in commercial flights.

However, this arrogance came back like a boomerang and exploded in her face. She was increasingly portrayed as someone who fantasizes, rather than someone who knows what she’s talking about.

There's more, which you can read for yourself.

In my opinion, had the author waited two days, until after Hillary's speech, to write this piece, she would not have changed a word.

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