Supposedly intelligent people believe that Chelsea Clinton's pregnancy is a game-changer for her mother in 2016. Hillary can't lose now! Right?
If you want to know whether being associated with an appealing, sympathetic, very young child automatically guarantees you an election victory, you might want to ask Rick Santorum. In the campaign for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, he spent a great deal of time talking about his youngest daughter, Bella, who was three years old at the time and who has a rare genetic disorder called Trisomy 18:
Bella has emerged as the emotional centerpiece of Mr. Santorum's campaign. His references to her are easily the most riveting moments of his speeches, usually leaving audiences silent and weepy. He has even built entire speeches around Bella's story, telling certain audiences, especially those in churches, every painful detail of her birth and how the family has embraced her as a blessing.He made Bella the centerpiece of an online campaign ad:
Former Senator Rick Santorum released a web video today focusing on the heart and soul of the Santorum family -- his 3-year-old daughter Bella, a special-needs child....Bella was hospitalized with pneumonia near the end of January 2012, shortly before the Florida and Nevada primaries. All of this seemed to endear Santorum to quite a few voters; The New York Times reported that it was part of Santorum's appeal to socially conservative women:
"During the last debate I mentioned how I was looking forward to taking the red-eye home to see my three year old daughter Bella, who had surgery earlier that day," the Republican presidential candidate said. "Following that debate, Karen and I got numerous emails and calls from supporters asking how she was doing. We were so touched by the tremendous outpouring of support, the thoughts and the prayers we received for our sweet Bella."
"She is doing great and back to her joyful, smiley self. But since so many people were concerned, we wanted to share a little bit more about Bella and the great blessing she is for our entire family," he said. "We hope you'll enjoy this video."
But more than his energy proposals, or his stance on immigration or foreign policy, it is Mr. Santorum's personal biography that women say moves them the most. And he has not been shy about sharing the facts of his life, and most poignantly, the story of his youngest child, known as Bella, who was born with trisomy 18, a fatal disorder....But Rick Santorum didn't win the Republican nomination. Mitt Romney did. Santorum won a number of states, but he lost the primaries. And, really, the race wasn't all that close.
Bella, and Mr. Santorum's staunch anti-abortion stance, are among the reasons Carol Klotz, a retired antiques dealer in Metairie, La., prays for him every morning at Catholic Mass. She also started a rosary group that prays for the country and Mr. Santorum.
Sympathetic biographical information will get you only so far. The war records of George H.W. Bush in 1992, Bob Dole in 1996, John Kerry in 2004, and John McCain in 2008 didn't get them elected. Sarah Palin's baby didn't elect her ticket in '08. Sure, plenty of people will coo over Chelsea's daughter in 2016. But Chelsea's pregnancy is not a 2016 game-changer.
I can't think of any normal person who thinks that having a grandchild will affect people's views of Hillary Clinton in the slightest. The fact of this astoundingly ordinary event is already being slotted directly into every preconceived (sic) notion that people have of Clinton. On the right--check out Newsmax--they are already pretending that this is some kind of scarily prescient, inhuman, clintonesque "plan" to win the election. On the center/left if you liked Clinton as a woman and as a political figure you rejoice that she's getting the grandkid but it doesn't affect your vote at all.
ReplyDeleteIts going to be a wash and sane people know that its going to be a wash.
If only Mitt Romney had had a few grandkids ... it would have made all the difference. People would have loved him.
ReplyDeleteOur Reich-Wingers will call the child, "Rosemary's Baby."
ReplyDeleteA few righties will almost certainly veer into total lunacy and suggest that Bill impregnated Chelsea himself to help Hillary seem more likable and earn himself a de-facto third term as president.
ReplyDeleteActually, I'm a little surprised one of my conservative uncles hasn't already emailed me this theory. Oh, that's right-- I put a filter on my email client to route their messages to trash...