By Robert Schlesinger
Much has been made of Hillary Clinton’s tonal about-face regarding her rival. Thursday night she wrapped up the debate with a moment that many, including Jack, thought was a fare-the-well. But within days she was crying shame upon Obama and mocking his rhetoric.
Here’s a theory: Maybe she thinks he’s running up the score and is pissed off.
I write with no first-, second- or even third-hand knowledge. But here’s my speculation. Suppose that all of the theorizing about Mrs. Clinton’s debate wrap-up was correct: Perhaps it was a signal to Obama that she was content to play out the string without aggression, fighting hard but acknowledging what seems to many inevitable. I’ll go with grace if you let me.
What happened next? Negative — which is not to necessarily say factually incorrect — mailers in Ohio. And then Mrs. Clinton blows her top.
Look at it from her point of view: She signals that she’s willing to go quietly into that good night, and the apparent Obama response (and I seem to recall — but would swear to it — reading that the mailer had gone out before the debate) was to try to give her a swift shove in the posterior.
Wouldn’t you be pissed?
Perhaps she implied… he should have known… the overture meant… it was understood…
Lets say we accept your speculation. Grownups can explicitly say what they mean in a private conversation without dysfunctional signals during a debate. If she wanted to throw in the towel, she could have told him so, rather than blow up later because he should have known what she meant. It this an example of maturity?