Why is it that each time one of the world’s most despised egomaniacs is killed, the world gets a rare glimpse of Hillary Clinton, the human, instead of the shoulder-padded pillar of brains we’re used to? Sure, it’s only been twice, first with Osama bin Laden and now with Muammar Gaddafi, but look at the rest of her colleagues. When President Barack Obama announced that bin Laden was killed, it was still with the somber, hard-faced expression that only comes from a three-year stint at Harvard Law School. And as for Joe Biden, everyone’s happy with whatever he’s doing as long as he isn’t dropping the f-bomb into a microphone.
This past week, a different sort of bomb landed on Gaddafi as his former subjects mobbed him in his hometown of Sirte, Libya. Thanks to camera phones and the web, the world saw the final moments of the despot, clad in golden pants and asking his attackers what he ever did to them – a delusional fashionista to the end.
Then comes the clip of Secretary Clinton, looking at a BlackBerry in between television interviews, and uttering an eloquent “Wow” to a report of his death. As a college-educated journalism student who tries to use some of the SAT words she learned to get into this school, I can’t tell you what a relief it is to hear the smartest person in the White House use a three-letter word to react to an international event. Of course, probably realizing that people like me would be feeling this way, she quickly shuts her open jaw and assures everyone that it is “unconfirmed” and “we’ve had a bunch of those before.”
This wasn’t the first time she has shown that there is more to her than brains and the ability to put up with her husband’s antics. Back in May, after bin Laden’s death, a photo was released showing what has to be the country’s most stressful boys club, a.k.a. the President and his national security team, plus Secretary Clinton and Director for Counterterrorism Audrey Tomason, watching Team 6 of the Navy SEALS take down the compound via live video. There is the President with his trademark Harvard Law glare, Joe Biden doing his job and staying awake, and Hillary Clinton, her eyes wide open and hand over her mouth, showing the only shocked expression.
She later brushed off her expression of humanity by saying it was her attempt to cover an “early spring allergy cough.” With a team of the nation’s top PR experts, that’s the best reason she could come up with? It’s because of these expressions of humanity that I consider Secretary Clinton not just a model politician, but also an exemplary woman. After two high-profile political events, she has connected with the public by reacting to the emotional aspects of the killings, whether she likes it or not.
I know that she is careful to stress her identity as a non-gendered politician, as seen in an interview with KTR Studio in Kyrgyzstan where, when asked which designers she preferred, she quipped, “Would you ever ask a man that question?” It’s true, nobody ever asked President Clinton what he was wearing, but that’s probably because they didn’t want to give him any excuses to take his pants off again. However, I would not think any less of her if she embraced the fact that she is not just a politician, but a darn good female one who does a better job of emoting with the nation than the rest of them.
If world politics are any indication, girl power is on the rise. Take Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Denmark’s newly-elected first female prime minister, who successfully dodged an overly feminist image to garner male votes, while still being dubbed “Gucci Helle” by the media. Germany, led by chancellor Angela Merkel, is considering a bill to improve female representation in executive positions, following Norway and other EU countries’ already existing gender diversity laws.
Secretary Clinton should consider these international changes, as well as the rise of fellow American ladies Sarah Palin (grizzly moms!) and Michele Bachmann (foster mom to 23 kids!), as a sign that acknowledging femininity is politically acceptable. When it comes to matters of life and death, sometimes a gasp – even one caused by a spring cold – is more comforting to the rest of us than a stone-cold glare.
Yoonj Kim is a Medill junior.
She can be reached at [email protected].
