Once again I, a little academic blogger with, at
this fraught American moment a larger following in Russia than in the U.S., get
this missive from the Great Political Adviser in the Sky to pass on
to Hillary Clinton. Maybe he (or
she) is worried about future conflict.
Anyway, I'll pass it on, as instructed.
You've got to trust me now more than ever,
Hillary. Play it right. Move to the center, the way Bill did. You've already got every vote to the left
of you so forget satisfying the Sanders people. Go for the shaky Trump people, who are going to get shakier
and shakier. That guy's not going
to wear well. Even at the
convention I could see the glow on the faces dim as his speech went beyond an hour.
Give blacks and Latinos due attention, but no more,
nothing to make the Republican whites think you're not entirely on their side. Even if they feel hurt the minorities
are going to mark for you rather than Trump. His wild words have bound them, and will bind them to you,
no matter what you do.
And speaking of words, modulate yours. You have a strident voice, Hillary, and
from the next room you can sometimes almost sound like Trump. Cool it. Don't be tempted by the pictures of you as a fighter ready
to take on Trump in the ring, as on the New Yorker cover. Forget the followers cheering, "Go
girl, give it to him, blow for blow," however sweet that would be in your
ears. No, leave that to your
subordinates, or your sympathetic pundits. Your speech should be as close to Margaret Thatcher's as you
can make it.
You want contrast with Trump, presidential contrast.
Maybe you shouldn't even mention his name. Just tear down, in that scholarly Obama way, everything he
stands for. Surely you have
writers who know how to do this, skewer without ever being caught with the
skewer.
I know you'll be sorely tested. Trump will say terrible things about
you. There will be moments when
you'll barely be able to contain yourself. For help in those moments I'll offer this brain-reminder,
this axiom-com-mantra given me by a lawyer in my town and employed by me ever since
when oh-such-biting answers to a Trump type rise in my brain: "Never get
in a pissing contest with a skunk."
Your failure would be a national disaster. Your ultimate prize, a Congress with
both houses behind you, would be a national blessing. Every unhypnotized American is behind you. So go girl, go presidential girl!
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