Is it OK for a presidential candidate to cry?
It wasn't exactly a good cry, but the tearful display Monday by Democratic hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is likely to be one of the memorable moments from the 2008 campaign. It may be getting replayed on television today as often as the infamous Howard Dean scream was shown the morning after the 2004 Iowa caucuses. Whether Clinton's cry is as damaging to her campaign as Dean's scream was to his remains to be seen. Not likely, though.
Clinton teared up during a campaign stop in Portsmouth, N.H. The former first lady was talking in a restaurant with voters when one of them asked how she keeps going in the grueling campaign.
"It's not easy. It's not easy," she said.
"And I couldn't do it if I just didn't, you know, passionately believe it was the right thing to do."
Tears began welling in her eyes and her voice caught as she continued,
"You know, I've had so many opportunities from this country, I just don't want to see us fall backwards."
How voters will react to Clinton's emotional display probably depends on how the feelings they already have toward her. Perhaps the most polarizing figure in the 2008 race, there usually is little ambiguity in people's feelings toward Clinton. They either love her or hate her. Most already have made up their minds about her, which is why polling shows Clinton unable to pull in undecided voters like her chief rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
Those who already don't like Hillary will see her tears either as a sign of weakness or as a political ploy. It'll be just another reason not to vote for her.
Those who are sexist will say she cried because she is a woman. But as the Associated Press pointed out in a story this morning, male candidates cry, too. Republican candidate Mitt Romney has choked up on more than one occasion during the campaign, most notably on NBC's "Meet the Press" while speaking about his religion.
Those who already like Hillary will find her cry as an endearing display of emotion from a person frequently criticized for being cold and calculating. It'll be just another reason to vote for her.
But the real impact of the event lies with those who still haven't made up their mind about Clinton. Unfortunately for her, those kinds of people appear to be too few and far between. Which is why she's been slipping and sliding in the polls at an increasing rate. A Zogby poll that showed Clinton leading Obama by one percentage point in New Hampshire prior to the Iowa caucuses showed her trailing by 10 points afterward. She's likely to lose New Hampshire today, and probably South Carolina after that. Her candidacy is in very real danger.
So is it OK for a presidential candidate to cry? For better or worse, you likely had made up your mind before the tears even flowed.
It wasn't exactly a good cry, but the tearful display Monday by Democratic hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is likely to be one of the memorable moments from the 2008 campaign. It may be getting replayed on television today as often as the infamous Howard Dean scream was shown the morning after the 2004 Iowa caucuses. Whether Clinton's cry is as damaging to her campaign as Dean's scream was to his remains to be seen. Not likely, though.
Clinton teared up during a campaign stop in Portsmouth, N.H. The former first lady was talking in a restaurant with voters when one of them asked how she keeps going in the grueling campaign.
"It's not easy. It's not easy," she said.
"And I couldn't do it if I just didn't, you know, passionately believe it was the right thing to do."
Tears began welling in her eyes and her voice caught as she continued,
"You know, I've had so many opportunities from this country, I just don't want to see us fall backwards."
How voters will react to Clinton's emotional display probably depends on how the feelings they already have toward her. Perhaps the most polarizing figure in the 2008 race, there usually is little ambiguity in people's feelings toward Clinton. They either love her or hate her. Most already have made up their minds about her, which is why polling shows Clinton unable to pull in undecided voters like her chief rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
Those who already don't like Hillary will see her tears either as a sign of weakness or as a political ploy. It'll be just another reason not to vote for her.
Those who are sexist will say she cried because she is a woman. But as the Associated Press pointed out in a story this morning, male candidates cry, too. Republican candidate Mitt Romney has choked up on more than one occasion during the campaign, most notably on NBC's "Meet the Press" while speaking about his religion.
Those who already like Hillary will find her cry as an endearing display of emotion from a person frequently criticized for being cold and calculating. It'll be just another reason to vote for her.
But the real impact of the event lies with those who still haven't made up their mind about Clinton. Unfortunately for her, those kinds of people appear to be too few and far between. Which is why she's been slipping and sliding in the polls at an increasing rate. A Zogby poll that showed Clinton leading Obama by one percentage point in New Hampshire prior to the Iowa caucuses showed her trailing by 10 points afterward. She's likely to lose New Hampshire today, and probably South Carolina after that. Her candidacy is in very real danger.
So is it OK for a presidential candidate to cry? For better or worse, you likely had made up your mind before the tears even flowed.
