Interview with Spanish journalist Nuria Ribo about Hillary Clinton
La Vanguardia has just now published an in-depth interview with veteran correspondent Nuria Ribo, on the occasion of the publication of her book “Hillary Clinton: Return to the White House” (Hillary Clinton: retorno a la Casa Blanca). I found it particularly interesting to see the reflections on Senator Clinton through the eyes of an experienced foreign correpondent, who had the opportunity to observe Mrs Clinton from closeby, also from the perspective as a woman herself. Ms Ribo previously wrote a biography about Hillary Clinton in 1993.
During this interview by Enric Tomas, Ms. Ribo touches on a broad range of issues, from the early beginnings of Mrs. Rodham-Clinton’s political career through to her current candidacy for the US Presidency. As I believe it’s of interest, I decided to translate it quickly; below is the result for the benefit of public discourse among English readers (and speakers) at a major junction: picking the right candidate for the White House.
Two observations: one, it’s the product of a rush job, and two, some quotes given during the interview are (necessarily) back-translations, from English to Spanish to English, which obviously may result in variations from the original. But I still think the gist is there. Of course if you see anything that went wrong / missing in translation and/or the typing job, feel free to point it out below! I’ve made a few sparse explanatory notes in the translation, in square brackets [like so] to set it apart from the real thing.
INTERVIEW WITH NURIA RIBO
“The US is a male chauvinist country”
The former chief correspondent in Washington for [Spanish national TV broadcaster] TVE analyzes the Democratic candidate in her book, “Hillary Clinton: Return to the White House”
La Vanguardia
By Enric Tomas, Barcelona
2/20/2008 - updated on 3:31am
In her book “Hillary Clinton: Return to the White House”, journalist Nuria Ribo mentions an anecdote, featuring the Democratic candidate for the Presidency of the United States. Ribo, ten-year correspondent for TVE in Washington and London, tells that after a notorious speech by Hillary in the Arkansan Assembly, an assemblyman who was struck by the forcefulness of her words, exclaimed: “Well colleagues, it seems that we’ve elected the wrong Clinton.” During the entire long stage of primaries, Americans have the option of correcting that error.
Q: One newspaper headline said that Hillary divides people. Why is that?
A: I think that’s because some stereotypes have been played out. In the same manner that the Obama tsunami is unstoppable, the Hillary tsunami that started out in 1992, has been ongoing. Since then, she’s branded as a woman who meddle too much into too many things, with a lot of power. She’s always accused with the same stereotypes. Divisive? Someone with strong ideas always does that.
Q: It is said that her ideas are somewhat ambiguous.
A: That’s right, in spite of the fact that her positions on health care, education, and youth are very clear. She’s also accused of having operated in secrecy, and for taking advantage of the Clinton name. Besides, she’s treated the US press badly for a long time. All that has created a concoction that she’s paying for now. Bill, in spite of his scandals, continues to be very popular. This is explained because he has something she lacks: charisma.
Q: In spite of her lack of charisma, what are Hillary’s assets?
A: She has a spectacular resume, with a good track record in the Senate, where she’s working for seven years, and where she was able to do a makeover of her political image, something in which she has considerably succeeded.
Q: How has she done that?
A: By engaging in politics in the purest sense of the word. She made overtures to senators in a male chauvinist and aged environment of dinosaurs. [Ted] Kennedy himself is there since 1962. It’s not conducive to younger people entering, and especially women, because it’s also a money issue. The first thing Hillary did when she came into the Senate was to win over her principal Republican enemies, who were responsible for sinking her health care reform initiative of 1993, and who pulled the impeachment procedure forward against her husband [after the Lewinksy scandal].
Q: And how did she manage to get closer to these Senators?
A: She has a very strong faith, and in the Senate there are some religious gatherings during which politics are not discussed, and instead faith and spiritual issues take center stage, because that’s something which — contrasting with day to day politics — doesn’t cause rifts. This works, and if you don’t understand that, you can’t understand how things work in the US.
Q: What happened at those meetings?
A: One of the most conservative Senators, Sam Brownback, said during one of those meetings: “Before we go on, I have to ask forgiveness to Hillary Clinton. I couldn’t hate her more than I have. But I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t recognize this woman and asked her publicly for forgiveness for what I have felt toward her as a person.” She accepted. In these meetings things are made common in a way that later makes overtures possible. Similarly, he has dealt on many occasions for New York with people who in theory are her enemies, but to whom she managed to get closer. All in all, Hillary is the most unifying person in the Senate, in spite of the fact that out on the street she’s seen as divisive.
Q: Hillary unites because she’s rather moderate.
A: That’s right. Besides, she chaired — something which was never before done by a woman — the Senate Armed Services Committee. Because of that she has good relations with the military. There she was already preparing for the White House.
Q: When did she start thinking about the White House?
A: I believe it was in 1998, during the Lewinksy scandal, when she really exploded. The other scandals [of her husband's sexual pecadillos] didn’t catch her with her guard down because she already knew what might happen. It’s even said that in Arkansas, on one occasion during the campaign for the White House, Hillary asked for the list of possible lovers of her husband to have an answer for everything and not look like a “cuckold”. However, I think that the Lewinksy issue has deceived her from the beginning. It was at that moment that the Clinton marriage started to widen, and Hillary started to prepare for the Senate, for which she ran in 2000.
Q: There are people who criticize her for running. What kind of arguments do they use?
A: They have slammed her for the dynasty thing, something which didn’t happen with the Bushes, who are father and son. She has also been criticized for always thinking about the Presidency. What’s there to criticize? Any country in the world should be happy to have someone who has dedicated so much time to preparing herself. There’s also been talk about her ambition. And who doesn’t have that? She’s being slammed for her political ambition because she’s a woman. Hillary can be calculating, but all politicians are, something which I think is normal, especially in a country as important as the US. Besides, ambition isn’t something that men are criticized for, it’s that plain and simple. This is how you get to realize that the US is a male chauvinist country.
Q: In that case, being a woman is a major disadvantage.
A: The US system is democratically open, but only if you have money, and the money goes to men. In the Senate for example, there are few women. She, because she has an ample list of contacts and having the background that she has, could move about and raise money. Another woman would face much greater difficulty. I’ve already said years ago that there’ll be a Black President before a White woman, because, after all, he’s a man.
Q: So, Hillary wouldn’t be where she is now if it hadn’t been for her husband Bill?
A: Yes, but he wouldn’t have become President if Hillary hadn’t been by his side. That is what I want to prove in my book. She accompanied Bill to Arkansas, when she had already introduced herself in the power circles in Chicago and Washington, where, when she was very young, she participated in the Watergate investigation. Keep in mind that in the first Clinton administration, the majority of names came from Hillary’s circles. She was also the one running Bill’s campaigns.
Q: Is that the so-called Billary tandem?
A: Yes, he’s the pretty face, the passion inspiring artist, but Hillary was the organizer, the one managing the script. That is why saying that she is who she is thanks to him isn’t correct. Hillary blocked off many sexual scandals for her husband, she appeared on TV by his side. Once in the White House, Bill trusted Hillary a lot. He even entrusted the health care reform to her, which would later became the big fiasco of his administration.
Q: Why did such an ambitious project as the health care reform flop?
A: Over time, the broadsides against it became brutal, but it’s also Hillary’s fault, for lacking tact. Hillary is a powerful woman, tough, I’d say somewhat haughty and she was convinced that she was serving the right cause, because of that religious “thing” that she has. But she wasn’t inclusive in her team, she didn’t reach out to everybody. One of her rivals in the campaign admitted to me that Clinton was right with her plan, but they didn’t get along well. They even told her to change a few things, but she was proud, and said that she wouldn’t change anything.
Q: In that sense, you quote a former Clinton adviser, a certain Dick Morris, who says that Hillary doesn’t accept that she can be wrong, that she’s above right and wrong.
A: She doesn’t accept mistakes. And Americans applaud those admit an error. But Hillary has the handicap of being a woman, so if she were to ask forgiveness [for an error], the public may think she’s weak.
Q: What does Obama have that Hillary hasn’t?
A: Obama delivers a speech of hope and excitement, that comes at a time of drought of hopes after eight years of Bush. The best thing about Obama is that he has lifted hopes, the desire to vote and the interest in politics, and he has done that also because he had Hillary leading him.
Q: What do you think about the so-called “Dream Ticket”, that is: where Obama and Hillary split the Presidency and the Vice Presidency?
A: I see it as quite impossible, but the results that we’re seeing now were previously unimaginable. The Democratic Party can’t afford the luxury of losing in circumstances in which everything points out they can win. A “dream ticket” is difficult, because they’re two major egos. The one who should be President because of her experience and the party’s base is Hillary. But Obama, with all that he’s evoked, can’t deny those who have backed him the sight of him becoming President. If he can’t make it, his followers could bounce out, something which in the US may cause them to vote for the Republicans.
Q: What weight should be given to the famous tear that dropped before the New Hampshire primaries?
A: Some have said that it was a lie, or calculated. If Obama would have done that, nobody would be talking about that. Besides, it happened with a woman that is presumed to be tough; if she were to cry, nobody would trust her because she’d be considered weak. Hillary is walking a tightrope that no man is asked to walk: she has to be a woman but at the same time tough. I’d be surprised if Hillary were to engage in that sort of comedies. I think she engages in others are far more sophisticated. She knows she can’t cry too much, because she’d be considered a softie, and nobody votes for a softie in her country.
Q: What do women see in Hillary?
A: They see the glass ceiling being broken by a brilliant, intelligent and experienced woman. Although without charisma. She doesn’t have charisma at all.
Q: Perhaps she has more charisma among the press. In fact, there’s publication dedicated to her: The Hillary Clinton Quarterly.
A: That magazine started in 1993, because the first days of Hillary in the White House were impressive; her brilliance, her speeches without a piece of paper. Now she does use them. The were grand, lecturing speeches, where she mixed in spiritual themes, and that’s why they started to criticize her by calling her “Sain Hillary”. But it isn’t improvised, she has always been a profoundly religious woman, no like Obama, who equated religion with anthropology.
Q: If Hillary wins the primaries, will she win the White House?
A: It’s not that easy for her, because the conservatives hate the Clintons, and they’ll pull all the stops, something which wouldn’t happen with Obama.
Tags: interview, la vanguardia, nuria ribo, translation
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