Hillary vs. hillary
Two Dialogues Reveal Two Different Candidates
by Zachary J. Borodkin
The recent release of speeches given by Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton have shown another side of the person who spoke very highly of giving assistance to the Middle Class during the primaries. These leaks were made public at the same time as Donald Trump’s own leaks via a video recording from Access Hollywood. Voters have their own opinions about what Trump said, but this election is about the candidate who will guide the current generation into a better future. Yet the candidate that has spoken the most about policies that are needed to serve as that guide, has spoken in a clandestine manner. This penchant for secrecy began early in Hillary’s life and has transcended with her into her political career.
Hillary Rodham, as she was then known, grew up in an environment where her parents were hard-working and often distant figures. Upon moving to Chicago’s suburbs, Hillary would be introduced to the teachings of progressive minister Don Jones. He took her and her friends downtown to hear Martin Luther King Jr. speak. Hillary called it a moment that she would never forget. His speech, along with the riots over the Vietnam War, had opened the door for Hillary to step into the political arena.
After graduating from Wesley, Hillary took a job in Washington as an attorney on the Watergate Committee. Her change began after being sworn to secrecy; she became refined and closed. Five days into Bill Clinton’s first term, he created the President’s Task Force on Healthcare Reform. Hillary would be at the helm and the entire operation would be conducted in secret. This secrecy would be used against her in Congress and in the media. Even as she tried to appeal to the public on her plan, they became visceral and questioned her intentions. The healthcare bill died and almost took Bill Clinton’s presidency with it. It was at the recommendation of political strategist Dick Morris that Hillary cease all West Wing activity. Hillary, in order to save Bill’s reelection, agreed and took a traditional role. It was during the months of the Monica Lewinsky scandal that she would develop her armor for getting through turmoil. She would call it “the mean-spirited give and take of American politics” (Hillary Clinton). The armor and her use of secrecy would be engraved into her personality as it would carry her to the Presidential nomination nearly two decades later.
No political triumph comes without a checkered past. But personality traits are rarely catalysts for one’s personal demons. These traits have revealed themselves in the forms of paid speeches to Goldman Sachs and other financial firms. Emails released by Wikileaks show a candidate detached from her beginnings as a Rodham. A contentious issue during the primaries, she is quoted as saying “I’m kind of far removed because the life I’ve lived and the economic, you know, fortunes that my husband and I now enjoy.” She also stated that government should function in “a both public and private position” (The Intercept). Then presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, based his campaign on fixing what was viewed by many as a rigged financial system. During many of the debates, Hillary would support an increase in the minimum wage and say that Wall Street should never be able to wreck main street again. In her call for fixing a rigged system, she says true reform “really has to come from the industry itself” (Buzzfeed).
With the election over a month away, Donald Trump has made himself unapologetically clear about who he is. What is clear about Hillary through all of the secrecy is the difference in the candidate on the campaign trail vs. the candidate in the meeting room. If she wins, this election will have been about a tale of two countries and between the lines, a tale of two candidates, Hillary and hillary.