BobD
03-12-2005, 02:30 PM
Hillary Needs More, You Know... Reinvention
Michael Bates
http://www.therant.us/images/hillary_needs_more_you_know.jpg
March 12-13, 2005 - It seems like only yesterday that many Americans were introduced to Hillary Rodham Clinton. That was before we learned she’s the world’s smartest woman.
It was 1992. Another of those malicious bimbo eruptions was plaguing her husband’s presidential campaign. Damage control was required, so the Clintons showed up on 60 Minutes to exchange adoring glances and chat about how much they love, honor and respect one another. At least during election years.
Mz Clinton said: "You know, I’m not sitting here as some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette . . . And, you know, if that’s not enough for people, then heck, don’t vote for him."
Here was a highly educated woman with degrees from prestigious universities, the chair of the Arkansas Education Standards Committee, a high-powered attorney. Yet she used the grating —at least to me — "you know" as a conversation filler twice in only three sentences.
Perhaps she was just under a great deal of pressure. Being married to someone like William Jefferson Clinton can undoubtedly do that.
Sadly, it wasn’t an atypical moment for the soon to be First Lady. "You know," often pronounced by Mz Clinton as "ya know" or y’ know," is just as much a part of the woman’s baggage as all the scandals.
Maybe I’m overly sensitive about such matters. Listening to folks repeatedly peppering their conversations with "you know" is like the sound of chalk screeching down a blackboard. It is an irritating habit. The more one hears it, the more irritating it becomes.
Not that I don’t have my own devious ways of annoying others. Judging by some of the emails I receive, writing this column is one of my more serious transgressions. The unabridged list of all my aggravating behaviors would fill another book, however, so for the time we’ll focus on this one of Mz Clinton’s.
Last year she gave an interview on a New York television station. The senator was asked many of the usual questions politicians routinely get. The same material she covers over and over to the point where keeping her eyes from glazing over must be difficult at times.
Yet even in that interview, which she handled with the standard boilerplate responses, she averaged almost two you knows a minute.
Now it is assumed by many observers that Mz Clinton will be running for the White House in 2008. Reinventing herself to appear more moderate is an ingredient of that effort.
So she compliments the military and criticizes employers who hire illegal immigrants. The senator says nice things about selected Republicans in an attempt to appear mainstream. Incredibly, she even has a newfound respect for those who oppose abortion.
One thing she really needs to work on as part of this Madonna like makeover is ditching the you knows. Possibly she uses them, as speakers have been known to do, to sound folksy and elicit concurrence. Whatever the reason, over the next three years the you know habit will become much more conspicuous.
My guess is many voters, hearing Hillary’s sound bites over and over, won’t find this speech pattern particularly endearing. I’m surprised her campaign advisers haven’t brought this to her attention by now.
Consider last month’s outing on Meet the Press. She replied to one Russert question this way:
"Well, you know, Tim, I don’t think that you either rule it in or rule it out. I think that, you know, depending upon circumstances, it’s something that, you know, the American government would have to, you know, consider. But, for goodness sakes, I think we are a very long way from beginning to have that conversation, if we ever have to have it. But I don’t believe in having any president of the United States or anybody, you know, in a position like Senator McCain and I in the United States Senate, you know, saying we would take anything off the table. But before we get to that question, let’s try to, you know, deal with the many other possibilities." Like, you know, fer sure.
She used "you know" more than two dozen times that day. We can only wonder how many more she would’ve squeezed out if there hadn’t been five other guests on the program.
Have mercy, Mz Clinton. For your sake. For our sake. Yes, even for Bill’s sake. Give the you knows a rest.
This appears in the March 10, 2005 Oak Lawn (IL) Reporter. Mike Bates is the author of Right Angles and Other Obstinate Truths, which is available at Barnesandnoble.com, Booksamillion.com, Amazon.com or iUniverse.com and can be ordered through most bookstores.
Michael Bates
http://www.therant.us/images/hillary_needs_more_you_know.jpg
March 12-13, 2005 - It seems like only yesterday that many Americans were introduced to Hillary Rodham Clinton. That was before we learned she’s the world’s smartest woman.
It was 1992. Another of those malicious bimbo eruptions was plaguing her husband’s presidential campaign. Damage control was required, so the Clintons showed up on 60 Minutes to exchange adoring glances and chat about how much they love, honor and respect one another. At least during election years.
Mz Clinton said: "You know, I’m not sitting here as some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette . . . And, you know, if that’s not enough for people, then heck, don’t vote for him."
Here was a highly educated woman with degrees from prestigious universities, the chair of the Arkansas Education Standards Committee, a high-powered attorney. Yet she used the grating —at least to me — "you know" as a conversation filler twice in only three sentences.
Perhaps she was just under a great deal of pressure. Being married to someone like William Jefferson Clinton can undoubtedly do that.
Sadly, it wasn’t an atypical moment for the soon to be First Lady. "You know," often pronounced by Mz Clinton as "ya know" or y’ know," is just as much a part of the woman’s baggage as all the scandals.
Maybe I’m overly sensitive about such matters. Listening to folks repeatedly peppering their conversations with "you know" is like the sound of chalk screeching down a blackboard. It is an irritating habit. The more one hears it, the more irritating it becomes.
Not that I don’t have my own devious ways of annoying others. Judging by some of the emails I receive, writing this column is one of my more serious transgressions. The unabridged list of all my aggravating behaviors would fill another book, however, so for the time we’ll focus on this one of Mz Clinton’s.
Last year she gave an interview on a New York television station. The senator was asked many of the usual questions politicians routinely get. The same material she covers over and over to the point where keeping her eyes from glazing over must be difficult at times.
Yet even in that interview, which she handled with the standard boilerplate responses, she averaged almost two you knows a minute.
Now it is assumed by many observers that Mz Clinton will be running for the White House in 2008. Reinventing herself to appear more moderate is an ingredient of that effort.
So she compliments the military and criticizes employers who hire illegal immigrants. The senator says nice things about selected Republicans in an attempt to appear mainstream. Incredibly, she even has a newfound respect for those who oppose abortion.
One thing she really needs to work on as part of this Madonna like makeover is ditching the you knows. Possibly she uses them, as speakers have been known to do, to sound folksy and elicit concurrence. Whatever the reason, over the next three years the you know habit will become much more conspicuous.
My guess is many voters, hearing Hillary’s sound bites over and over, won’t find this speech pattern particularly endearing. I’m surprised her campaign advisers haven’t brought this to her attention by now.
Consider last month’s outing on Meet the Press. She replied to one Russert question this way:
"Well, you know, Tim, I don’t think that you either rule it in or rule it out. I think that, you know, depending upon circumstances, it’s something that, you know, the American government would have to, you know, consider. But, for goodness sakes, I think we are a very long way from beginning to have that conversation, if we ever have to have it. But I don’t believe in having any president of the United States or anybody, you know, in a position like Senator McCain and I in the United States Senate, you know, saying we would take anything off the table. But before we get to that question, let’s try to, you know, deal with the many other possibilities." Like, you know, fer sure.
She used "you know" more than two dozen times that day. We can only wonder how many more she would’ve squeezed out if there hadn’t been five other guests on the program.
Have mercy, Mz Clinton. For your sake. For our sake. Yes, even for Bill’s sake. Give the you knows a rest.
This appears in the March 10, 2005 Oak Lawn (IL) Reporter. Mike Bates is the author of Right Angles and Other Obstinate Truths, which is available at Barnesandnoble.com, Booksamillion.com, Amazon.com or iUniverse.com and can be ordered through most bookstores.