As an observer of political smear tactics and mud slinging, I have noticed a common theme in political campaigns. These tactics (used mainly by Republicans) try to vilify, demonize, cast aspersions upon, castigate, belittle, heap scorn upon and emasculate (providing the opponent is male) the other guy. The Democrats had a perfectly good candidate in 1984 in Michael Dukakis, but what did the Republicans do? They ran ads about Willy Horton, an inmate that was let out of jail in Massachusetts supposedly by then Governor Michael Dukakis. This showed that Dukakis was soft on crime. Then they got ahold of a tape of Dukakis looking silly riding around in a tank and ran that showing that Dukakis was not a real man. Hence Dukakis was emasculated or Dukakisized.
Bill Clinton was successfully demonized over the Monica Lewinsky affair. (It would be pretty hard to also emasculate someone you were demonizing over a sexual affair.) John Kerry, thanks to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, was both emasculated and demonized over his military exploits in the Vietnam War thus turning a claim to fame on its head and making it a claim to shame. He was Kerrified. So the game is to look tough while making your opponent look weak, to look masculine while making your opponent look like a sissy, to look righteous while making your opponent look morally dubious. The ultimate goal of all of this is to turn your opponent into Satan in Drag.
Now what if Hillary runs for President? What will they do to her? Well, the female equivalent of emasculation is efemulation to coin a word. (The opposite of emasculation.) In other words some group like "Lesbians for the truth about Hillary" will run TV ads claiming that Hillary is a Lesbian who favors all kinds of immoral and unacceptable activities. Let the mudslinging begin! Hillary, however, is on the right track. Noting the Bush Administration's policy toward Iran (speak softly and carry a little stick), she has accused them of being soft on Iran! Good for you, Hillary. The Democrats are finally getting smart. The American people don't care about health care, the national debt and other arcane subjects like that. All they care about is being tough on something and not looking like a sissy. Of course, this might work against Hillary because the tougher the stance she takes, the more she will expose herself to the charge of not being feminine enough. In other words she will open herself up to accusations of Lesbianism.
Now the Bush administration leading up to the next Congressional elections will portray themselves as being Tough on Terrorism. Right before the elections Bush will announce a large troop withdrawal from Iraq and declare partial victory. Everyone will breathe a sigh of relief. Our President has protected us from the bad terrorists! Yeaaa! Right after the election (to much less fanfare) the troops will slip silently back into Iraq.
Ever one to exploit anything for political purposes, Karl Rove has taken the eavesdropping fiasco and run with it. The goal is to polarize the issue between Us (the administration) which is doing everything they can to prevent terrorism and Them (the opposition) which is quiveling over a pedantic point in the law. Karl knows who looks tough on that one and who doesn't. Of course, the American people will overlook the nitpicking point that the Bush administration could have done the eavesdropping legally just by getting the OK from some rubber stamp, secret court. Nobody bothers to question whether it's really a good idea to have a rubber stamp, secret court validating the Government's snooping.
Well, maybe Hillary's weak point is that she won't be able to look tough without looking silly. She won't be able to epitomize the American cowboy, drink a beer with the boys and sing "Tumblin Tumbleweed" when day is done. She could gain balance on the ticket, however, with Kinky Friedman as the vice-Presidential candidate.
