"Not feeling Hillary? I wasn't, either" - CNN Opinion

[ehrnst]

Angela Rye is a CNN political commentator, NPR political analyst and CEO of IMPACT Strategies, a political advocacy firm in Washington. She is also a former Congressional Black Caucus executive director and general counsel.

I did not think I needed to address my lack of enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton because I believed getting everyone to see how much of a nonoption Trump was would ensure her victory. Again, I made a grave mistake. Enthusiasm to be for something or someone in an election is quite literally the difference between a win and loss. We see it in polls: There is a difference in numbers between registered voters (where Clinton has historically performed much better) and likely voters (where Trump tightens her lead or bests Clinton).

There are two reasons I haven't written this piece before now. One is that I have not been particularly excited about this election. The second reason is that I didn't believe that Clinton could mean what Barack Obama means to me -- flaws and all. The fact is that Hillary Rodham Clinton is no Barack Hussein Obama.
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"Why is she so shady?" I have friends who say things like: "Hillary just seems shady." But my response to that is simple: Clinton is guarded. Yes, she can come across as defensive and combative. Frankly, though, I do not know a single human being who could endure the level of scrutiny she has without having some kind of wall up. Her demeanor means it can be hard for her to connect emotionally, but that guarded persona is not the one most recognizable to those who really know Clinton. It is easy for people to misinterpret guarded for shady. Our gut feelings can be wrong -- and many times are.

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As I watched Monday night's debate, it became abundantly clear to me there never was a binary choice, that there is no choice at all. The debate made me an advocate. I watched someone who is presidential. I watched someone who is decisive, clear, poised and brilliant. I saw, for the first time, the candidate that most of my former bosses adore so much they have spent the last several months on the campaign trail as surrogates. I saw Hillary Clinton present and deliver the very best version of herself to the American people. The debate was a defining moment for me. My mandate was clear: I must do all I can to ensure Hillary Clinton is elected on Election Day.

I am all in now. We know Drake said: "Better late than never, but never late is better."

http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/29/opinions/clinton-trump-not-binary-choice-rye/index.html

[still_one]

1. The reason Angela Rye had the view she had before the debate was because she was letting others,

such as CNN, MSNBS, CNBS, and other talking heads characterize Hillary for us without doing our own due diligence.

These highly paid commentators have been telling us what to think for decades, and like obedient sheep we unquestionably follow

[dhill926]

3. exactly...

my Mom was the same way. I convinced her otherwise....

[still_one]

22. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[Hortensis]

4. Yes, glad she wised up a bit, but can't respect her judgement.

To put it mildly. For so many reasons she herself brings up, but it takes a TV show to clue in a person who supposedly makes her living informing others?

And how on earth could someone heavily involved in politics NOT be "particularly excited about this (extremely alarming) election?" About the enormous choices between continued liberal advances and the potential for national destruction? I can understand feeling depressed as the first black president moves on to be replaced by yet another white one, but...really?

Oh, well. Her last paragraph was nice. Not sure if Hillary's "brilliant," personally, but she's spent several decades constantly developing her understanding, experience, and skills and she's extremely impressive now.

[still_one]

23. Yes, one really has to question her critical thinking skills

[Hortensis]

26. Clearly underdeveloped.

It's dismaying how ignorant and pedestrian at best many of the minds in journalism are, including some very famous ones. But, hey, this writer is sending out an important message to those who'll read this, so good for her.

[treestar]

6. +1

You'd think people would pride themselves on thinking for themselves. Instead they parrot these stupid pundits who have no insight or ability to make more than shallow observations. Hillary has done nothing to be distrusted, so anyone who says that is just parroting the M$M.

[turbinetree]

17. Exactly in your comments, and this is what has been transpiring

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/10/gloria-borger-lower-bar

[still_one]

24. Excellent way to make the point turbine

[turbinetree]

27. They are disingenuous to the public in many respects

we don't want the bar lower we want it to be higher, this megalomaniac may have the operational means to play war with his reality between his ears with nuclear weapons and putting people on the U.S. Supreme Court, which is also scary. Then to top it all off is that if this "guy" of demeanor has both a republican controlled Congress, he would be sitting in the white house, pencil whipping bills attacking the middle class and the working poor


Thanks

[Agnosticsherbet]

28. What commentators have done is propagate the Big Lie,

A propaganda technique coined by old Adolf Hitler. So the say, repeatedly, she is disliked, she is dishonest, she killed Vince Foster, she refused to support American's at Benghazi. She gave weapons to terrorists.

Not one of these allegations was ever proven to be even partially right.

People's attitudes towards Clinton are the effective use of propaganda I've seen in my lifetime.

[Agschmid]

2. Kick.

[Coolest Ranger]

5. I get so angry

when people were telling me that I don't do research or I don't vote in my interest. But I knew from the moment I really looked at Hillary's record that she was for me. Is she perfect no, no person is, but I knew based on me watching her get attacked in the media over and over again, I knew she was the one I was going to vote for

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

7. Not "feeling" Hillary? Well hey CNN could that have something to do with the fact that yall still

dont give Hillary even half the air time yall give her opponent to say things IN HER OWN WORDS - if we get 40 yrs of other people saying things about her like how untrustworthy and twisting words and taking things out of context is it any surprise that even progressives & centrists are going to absorb that message whether they choose to or not?

You wanted infotainment and ridiculousness - you got it.

[world wide wally]

8. It is probably impossible to over estimate how much influence media, in general, and TV, in

particular has over what we think. It is a constant deluge of trivial and sometimes important information designed to make money.
Only "we" ourselves can filter through it and separate the reasonable from the lies.

[Gamecock Lefty]

9. "She Just Seems Shady?" Really?

I am so damn sick of these negative comments surrounding Hillary - not being trustworthy, that whole e-mail thing, she’s not near as exciting as her husband or Obama on the campaign trail, does she inspire enthusiasm, etc.

I’m sorry – you’re not feeling inspired when she speaks? You’re just not feeling it?

Who the f cares???

I want a leader and Hillary is it. I want someone I can trust in the White House and Hillary is it. And I want Hillary nominating Supreme Court justices.

It’s Oct 6, folks – if you don’t know by now who you’re voting for or you’re just not feeling anybody – then stay home on election day!

Off soap box now.

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

16. Al Gore was supposedly "boring" too- so how did that "exciting" Jr. Bush work out- Iraq Invasion

with all the spectacular shock n awe fireworsk - wow that was so "exciting" wasnt it.

Guess Im old fashioned I belive voting is a civic duty, its not entertainment. I get excitement in other areas of life .

[ehrnst]

20. Me too. I never expect to have candidates customized to my user experience.

I want them to get things done. And wonks get things done.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

21. +1000

Trump would no doubt be an "exciting" POTUS- but in a way that would be totally disastrous (and wrong) for this country. Johnson and Stein are, of course, throwaway votes (and whackos in their own right) we can't afford with Trump on the ballot. I'll take somebody sane, stable, rational, and intelligent like HRC!

[TCJ70]

29. Trust matters compared to the some of the other things you mentioned, though...

...being exciting or inspiring are surface qualities of someone. Being able to trust what they say? That matters big time to people...and it should. I'd rather that matter than appearance or gender or race. When someone brings up trust issues with a candidate that's an opportunity to inform and it's a whole lot easier to overcome someone's misinformation regarding those trust issues than other surface level judgements.

Race/gender can play into trust issues which makes things more complicated and if that's the case then you probably won't get anywhere. But for people with just trust issues it's far from a lost cause.

[Osakagreg]

10. It's good to know...

It's good to know that people who weren't fired up, are getting fired up now.

Hillary 2016!

[greymattermom]

11. The shoulder shimmy thing

makes her human. All it takes sometimes is something like that.

[Orsino]

12. The memes calling her guarded are part of what has made her so guarded.

She probably never was a big glad-hander or very touchy-feely, but on a practical level it seems she has long been very giving.

She'll be a new kind of president, perhaps a great one. We need a better Congress to work with her.

[Panich52]

13. Missed big reason to not be unenthusiastic

It didn't take long at all to realize Trump was garnering a sizeable cult following of nativists, racists & bigots. These willfully ignorant "deplorables" believe all of the lies and fabricated scandals the right wing spreads about Hillary Clinton. (On Morning Joe this morning, a right-wing Evangelical actually said that they follow Trump because they are tired of all the lies politicians tell.)

I am so disappointed in all of those left of center who have decided to vote 3rd party or not vote at all because they also believe these right wing memes. It is as though they have lost all capacity for pragmatism in realizing Trump's cult following and what it means if he should win. The generations-long effects from any Supreme Court Justices he would seat is only part of it.

Not only is it imperative that he lose, but that he lose big to send the message that the disgusting ideology, ignorance of & disrespect for the Constitution, and religious intolerance he advocates is not to be tolerated.

[helpisontheway]

14. Exactly how I feel as an African American woman.

I would never vote for Trump. However, I did not care for Hillary. She always seemed kinda cold to me. I always LOVED Bill. However, I could not stand them after the way that they treated Obama in 2008. I was pissed. I soon realized that it was going to be Hillary or Bernie. I did not feel the burn so I voted for Hillary. I was not happy about it. Then as we headed into general election I always said so was voting against Trump. Anyway, now that I have learned more about Hillary, I absolutely support her. I still have some bad feelings towards Bill (for things he said in South Carolina in 2008). He brought those feelings back when he said that crap about Obama care the other day. It was almost like he was trying to trash one of Onama's signature accomplishments and tarnish his legacy. No, Obama care is not perfect. However, why give the Republicans a talking point? Why not discuss the potential changes when Hillary is elected. Felt like he was trying to knock the President down a peg or two.

[ehrnst]

18. He actually wasn't trashing Obamacare

He was comparing the private health care system in general with medicare and medicaid, which Hillary wants to expand.

It was another one of those "You didn't build that" misrepresentations.

[JTFrog]

19. Bill Clinton addressed the health care system and Hillary Clinton’s plans for further reforming it.

You are merely repeating the MSM's talking points.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bill-clinton-obamacare-speech_us_57f3bceae4b0d0e1a9a9b334

Calm Down — Bill Clinton Didn’t Say Obamacare Is Terrible
The former president fumbled a sales pitch for Hillary Clinton’s health care agenda.
Jeffrey Young
Senior Reporter, The Huffington Post
10/04/2016 02:37 pm ET | Updated 1 day ago

~~~~~~~~~~~~~snip~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bill Clinton accurately described the status quo as one where people who get health coverage from government programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and people who are eligible for subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, are well-covered ― but where people who earn too much for financial assistance can face high premiums:

The current system works fine if you’re eligible for Medicaid, if you’re a lower-income working person, if you’re already on Medicare, or if you get enough subsidies on a modest income that you can afford your health care. But the people that are getting killed in this deal are small businesspeople and individuals who make just a little too much to get any of these subsidies.

So you’ve got this crazy system where all of a sudden, 25 million more people have health care and then the people that are out there busting it ― sometimes 60 hours a week ― wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half. It’s the craziest thing in the world. Plus, prior to the Affordable Care Act, millions fewer people qualified for Medicaid, and no one received subsidies for private insurance. Hillary Clinton’s campaign proposals would help close the remaining gap and make health insurance more affordable for people who don’t currently qualify for financial help, Bill said Monday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~snip~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite its characterization in the CNN report, Bill Clinton’s assessment of the health care system and the Affordable Care Act mirrors Hillary Clinton’s and Obama’s own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~snip~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think (Obama’s) health care bill has been a remarkable success.
Former President Bill Clinton, Oct. 3, 2016

[ecstatic]

15. The reason it takes so long for people to see it

is because the media doesn't speak on it at all, it's a conclusion people have to reach by themselves after observing bits and pieces here and there.

For me, it clicked several months ago during her first "foreign policy" anti-Trump speech. She's no Obama, she's no Bill Clinton. She's shy, but that speech was one of many examples of the hard work and prep she puts in to get her point across.

[bettyellen]

25. This is the truth.... Not only do they not speak to it, they deliberately avoid interviewing her

Supporters and take delight in asking her stupid shit like why is she not likable. Donald has worse ratings but they never ever dared asked him about it.