ELECTION WATCH ’08 – Hillary Clinton: Experience or Exposure?
My husband is an architect. He’s been doing it for almost 10 years. Myself, I’m a writer/producer, but if you asked me some questions about architecture I bet you I can answer them, or at the very least hold an intelligent conversation about Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water or Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye – I’ve visited both of these architectural landmarks thanks to my husband.
The point I’m trying to make is not about architecture, though. It is that Hillary Clinton has been exposed to politics in the same way that I have been exposed to architecture – through her husband.
From being the First Lady of Arkansas to being the First Lady of the United States, there is no doubt that Mrs. Clinton’s exposure to politics through Bill Clinton had a great impact on her becoming the first First Lady to serve as a United States Senator… but will this exposure have the same impact on her campaign for presidency?
And furthermore, how much exposure does one have to have in order to call it “experience?” Well, let’s take a look at Mrs. Clinton’s resume of exposure (and I’m trying to be fair here, so please bear with me)
- She's a 1972 graduate of Yale Law School, where she first met William Jefferson Clinton.
- Was First Lady of Arkansas for 12 years, where she also practiced law and served on the boards of several organizations dedicated to underserved children and families.
- In 1993, her official duties as First Lady of the United States began. Husband Bill Clinton quickly appointed her as chair of the Task Force on National Health Care Reform. She also wrote a weekly newspaper column called, “Talking It Over,” which was the precursor to her best-selling 1996 book, “It Takes a Village.”
- In 2000, she used her First Lady Mojo to secure a seat in the United States Senate, the only First Lady in history to do so.
So the question that keeps popping up in my mind is: would she have been exposed to all of these great opportunities if she were not married to one very influential man? And, yes I do think that almost 30 years of exposure does equal experience, but is this the kind of experience that our country needs right now, especially after the Bush dynasty is finally coming to an end?
I just don’t know.
What you think: does Hillary Clinton’s exposure equal the type of experience needed to run a country?
The point I’m trying to make is not about architecture, though. It is that Hillary Clinton has been exposed to politics in the same way that I have been exposed to architecture – through her husband.
From being the First Lady of Arkansas to being the First Lady of the United States, there is no doubt that Mrs. Clinton’s exposure to politics through Bill Clinton had a great impact on her becoming the first First Lady to serve as a United States Senator… but will this exposure have the same impact on her campaign for presidency?
And furthermore, how much exposure does one have to have in order to call it “experience?” Well, let’s take a look at Mrs. Clinton’s resume of exposure (and I’m trying to be fair here, so please bear with me)
- She's a 1972 graduate of Yale Law School, where she first met William Jefferson Clinton.
- Was First Lady of Arkansas for 12 years, where she also practiced law and served on the boards of several organizations dedicated to underserved children and families.
- In 1993, her official duties as First Lady of the United States began. Husband Bill Clinton quickly appointed her as chair of the Task Force on National Health Care Reform. She also wrote a weekly newspaper column called, “Talking It Over,” which was the precursor to her best-selling 1996 book, “It Takes a Village.”
- In 2000, she used her First Lady Mojo to secure a seat in the United States Senate, the only First Lady in history to do so.
So the question that keeps popping up in my mind is: would she have been exposed to all of these great opportunities if she were not married to one very influential man? And, yes I do think that almost 30 years of exposure does equal experience, but is this the kind of experience that our country needs right now, especially after the Bush dynasty is finally coming to an end?
I just don’t know.
What you think: does Hillary Clinton’s exposure equal the type of experience needed to run a country?
I don't think it's the kind of experience we need.