McKinnon-Clinton 2016
Like her or not, Val, er- Hillary is back, and she’s ready for her close up.
Remember the slightly standoffish, awkward Hillary Rodham Clinton of this summer? That Hillary is no more- at least that’s the feeling I got after watching Hillary’s guest appearance on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live. Between her recent late night appearances, her renewed nimbleness on the campaign trail, and reinvigorated organizing effort, Hillary 2.016 is ready for February 1st and beyond.
These past few weeks have reaffirmed and cemented my support for Secretary Clinton.
If, for some reason you haven’t watched the meeting of Kate McKinnon’s Hillary with the real deal, I really need you to drop everything and watch it now. I mean that! I’ll wait until you catch up.
Ready? Great. I loved everything about the skit from Hillary’s Trump impersonation to Darrell Hammond bringing back Bill- I was laughing and smiling big for the entire six minutes.
Aside from the lighthearted jokes and the hilarious Trump impersonation, we got a feeling for the real Hillary Clinton. We were given a glimpse of the former first lady, the mother, the grandmother, and most importantly a glimpse of the real Hillary. She was able to touch on issues without making it political. She was everything we need in a candidate- without the media pushback.
The media is quick to jump on Hillary’s personality, damning her “cold” and “closed-off”. The reality is, the media has created this image of Clinton and the public has bought into it. To be fair, the cause of the media created image of Hillary Clinton is not something she’s immune from- after 30 years in the public arena, she’s rightfully weary of media inquiries into her personal life. She’s changing that media image but letting her personality shine through- away from typical interviews and speeches. That is, and always has been, the genius of Hillary Clinton. While Senator Bernie Sanders is lauded in the press for his huge following at rallies and for giving interviews, that’s just not Hillary’s style. She’d rather have a small roundtable with voters and then appear on SNL.
Hillary has regained her footing in the battle for the hearts and minds of the press, and the people.
It was refreshing to see a candidate step back from the campaign trail and the fundraising to show voters who they really are. It’s easy to forget politicians- especially those in the public eye for as long as Hillary has been- are real people. It’s easy to get caught up in the headlines and focus on the negatives. In the age of Trump, or political showmanship, we’re conditioned to expect a level of performance from our candidates.
Hillary’s appearance on SNL appealed to all voters. She was able to touch on important issues- in a humorous way, and she even poked fun at herself. Her comment regarding her own long timeline in deciding whether to support the Keystone XL pipeline is very telling of her own political style: it doesn’t matter how long it takes, as long as you get it right. The same goes for any number of issues- Hillary Clinton is a poster child of the persuasive power of the gay marriage debate. While it took her a while to come around, ultimately, she was right in her choice.
It’s easy to get caught up in the attack ads and fundraising emails (Did you know 3rd quarter just ended?!?!?!) . It is, however, refreshing to see candidates appear on SNL or late night shows to remind us of the humanity of our national leaders. Being funny or good on TV certainly shouldn’t be a requirement for being president, but it’s definitely the best way to connect with voters. At the end of the day, Hillary said it the best: “A vote for Hillary is a vote for four more years of Kate McKinnon’s impression” and I can’t wait to see more.
