After 268 pages of torturous reading (out of 469 pages) of “What Happened” by Hillary Clinton, I’m prepared to make some comments. It will come as no surprise to my readers that I think I wasted thirty bucks on the tome. But, as I mentioned in a previous blog post, the money Clinton receives in royalties from suckers like me together with speaking fees paid by groups that she continues to lambaste, may encourage her to finally get out of the American public’s hair once and for all. Fat chance.
Frankly I was hoping to read about Clinton’s take on umpteen scandals she initiated during her notorious years in public service. The Clintons have been power mongers, manipulators and liars for three decades. Bill is the real deal. He started with nothing, swore to be president some day and did it. His wife would have been just another liberal political hack if her husband’s coattails were not so great. In the book Clinton tries to convince her readers that she deserves more credit for all her personal achievements (over and over again). Her relationship with Bill was not the reason why she has been so successful (in her mind).
I didn’t expect Hillary to spend such an inordinate amount of time lauding her achievements. I did expect her to attack her enemies. Crying foul and regurgitating her whole repertoire about how sexist America dealt her a bad hand has become more than trite. What we expect from Hillary is on full display. Americans, Republicans, Democrats, Russians, Comey, Trump, Sanders and numerous others caused her presidential campaign to turn to crap. Some say she just forgot to visit Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio in the final moments before the election. Who made those decisions?
It’s amazing that she and her hubby created such great political turmoil and suspense over the years going all the way back to Whitewater, Vince Foster and Lewinsky and ending with email scandals, the Benghazi deaths of Americans and her ineptness as her presidential candidate.
Clinton is pissed Bernie Sanders had the audacity to run against her and offer really stupid and outrageous proposals. She was unable to put away the ancient socialist early on. She was forced to move left (if that’s possible) to fend off his plans to give away our tax dollars unconditionally. She wasted time and money responding to Sanders’ inane and crazy worldview.
Clinton spends a tremendous amount of time telling her readers that she earned the right to be president. She helped destitute people when she worked at some no-name law firm in Arkansas. She was an activist in college (an all women school). She is a friend of women, children and the needy (scores of examples are presented); men are only referred to negatively. She fought male chauvinism her whole career and broke the glass ceiling a number of times to benefit all womankind. She tirelessly and generously gave her life to America. She thinks she is a model wife, mother, grandmother, daughter and colleague. She didn’t say it but it appears she expects beautification in the future. Give me a break.
Clinton is a hack, a power and money hungry person. She does not have the self-esteem to admit what nearly everyone believes- she was unable to defeat a horrible opponent. Clinton is possibly the only politician alive who could not defeat the former real estate magnate that so many despise. But it wasn’t her fault.
The novel gets syrupy way too often. I never met Clinton, but I, as well as millions of others, find it hard to believe she is the nicest, sweetest person on Earth. Laughable is the laundry list of people that made it possible for her to lose. It was like the Oscars. At least in that venue the band starts playing when the award winner thanks too many people. Not so with Clinton. Her list is endless containing so many names that few Americans will recognize.
Of course the commentary about Trump is vindictive. She could not be more disparaging and unsupportive of the new president. She associates Trump with every negative trait that a man could possibly have. She could not get more personal about Trump, something that I’m sure endears her to many women.
One of the more humorous vignettes (and there are very few funny anecdotes) was Clinton describing how Trump stalked her during the debates. It was said in a way that evoked every woman’s fear of aggressive men. Trump was doing everything to make her feel uncomfortable on stage. In every debate contestants do whatever they can to make their opponents uneasy. The question is, is Clinton a lousy debater, or is Trump a good debater?
The book is very biographical and not informative. It has endless uninteresting memories of the election campaign that I skipped over. The thank-yous were extraordinary. I suppose Clinton is trying to help these people in their careers. I would think being named in her book would negatively impact them. Thanks for helping me lose and be humiliated, everybody.
Frankly I’m running out of steam. I can barely stand to read any more of Clinton’s sob story. She is one of the luckiest women alive having married Bill. Of course the benefits of having him support her political ambitions is offset by his bizarre lifestyle.
In conclusion don’t buy the book. Borrow it from a sucker like me who did. I have a number of people already asking to read my copy.