By Eli Christman via Wikimedia Commons
What is it going to take for voters to turn on Hillary? I suspect it’s not going to be Benghazi, Filegate, Travelgate, Whitewater, or her husband nailing the interns in the Oval Office. Sadly a large percentage of the electorate is shallow and celebrity obsessed — they rarely wander into the deep weeds of political intrigue. But fear not, all is not lost. I do think there is one thing that would be guaranteed to sink Clinton in our shallow, cult-of-celebrity culture: Pictures of Hillary doing those “yoga routines” she said were in the emails she deleted from her servers.
Imagine a picture of a sweaty, haggard-looking 67-year-old Clinton in yoga pants appearing on every Facebook feed, mobile device, and news outlet in the country. It would be a devastating blow to her campaign. (Think I’m exaggerating? See: Dukakis in the tank, Nixon in the first televised debate, and Howard Dean’s Rebel Yell for other examples of campaign-ending memes.)
But this raises some questions. If you were in sole possession of the hypothetical picture of Hillary in yoga pants, would you leak it to the press and/or her opponent’s campaign? Is all fair in love and war — and campaigns? Would it be unfair to leak it because Hillary is a woman and she will be judged more harshly on her appearance? Could you throw a middle-aged woman under the bus (or Scooby van) if it meant saving the country? Do the ends justify the means?
I’m not sure I could do it. I know campaigns are dirty and almost nothing is off-limits these days, but I still think we ought to keep personal attacks out of these contests.
How about you? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments below.
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