The XX Factor: Slate women blog about politics, etc...

Always With the Drama

When Hillary Clinton tugs on me, Emily and Hanna, it is usually not in a good way. Sometimes I do feel sorry for her, but I can't imagine casting a pity vote for president. Nor do I want to be guilted, frightened, fooled, or worn down to the point that I'll agree to anything. I do think her health-care plan is marginally better than Barack Obama's. But I'm not sure why I owe her anything for running a campaign that makes it look like the default mode for a woman, even with all of her advantages and abilities, is martyrdom and emotional blackmail. Where oh where is the feminism in the Evita model?  

And Starring Hillary Clinton as Evita Peron

When I lived in Seattle, I was a regular at Cineoke, where participants sing along, karaoke-style, to songs from movie musicals. My big number was “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina,” from Evita. I’d bring audience members up on stage to serve as my descamisados, swaying and humming in the background as I did the signature double-arm raise of the former Argentine first lady from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s musical.

I’m telling you all this because I caught Hillary Clinton’s speech in El Paso, Texas, last night, and I swear the former U.S. first lady was making the Evita arm motions. Hillary was a little hobbled by a hand-held microphone, so she couldn’t do the full double-arm benediction, but she did strike that pose before she took up the mic—check out her Evita form in the photos below. Could she be channeling Evita Peron to attract Latino voters?

Analysts have offered a lot of theories to explain Hillary’s appeal to Latinos, who, along with Asians, women, and over-50s, gave her the edge in the California primary last week. I’ve always resisted the “Latinos are used to women leaders” explanation. After all, of the many disparate groups that comprise the Latino electorate, very few have roots in countries that have or have had female rulers (Argentina, Chile, Panama, Nicaragua).

But, hey, in Hillary’s current position, I suppose it’s a good idea to try everything. 

I did wonder if the Evita lyrics held any wisdom for the Clinton campaign. Let’s hope this snippet from “High Flying, Adored” doesn’t reflect the former front-runner’s experience too closely:

So famous, so easily, so soon, is not the wisest thing to be
You won't care if they love you, it's been done before
You'll despair if they hate you
You'll be drained of all energy