Monday, May 12, 2008

Hillary's Psychic Reality vs. Reality Reality

First – check out this link, an allusion to the 404 error message when one types in a dead URL and a symbol of Hillary's dead campaign. It's pretty funny.

Second – here’s an entry from Slate’s Kaus files (Mickey Kaus). It’s worth a read and is not encouraging regarding Hillary’s ability to see reality. It is most relevant now especially as she ignores the reality of her mathematical chances of winning this nomination. He refers to Ellen Ladowsky’s Huffington Post, which Kaus cites. Both Kaus' and Ladowsky's posts are both about a week old but are still pertinent as we ask why on earth she doesn’t drop out.

It’s a fascinating unfolding, including Hillary’s answer at the debate, of the Bosnia sniper fire lie. Hillary just doesn’t see that the nomination process is over because reality doesn’t fit with her imagined reality, psychic reality. It’s all very scary. Kaus extends the Ladowsky's premise and points out other examples than simply the Bosnia lie.

I'd be tempted to dismiss Ladowsky's argument if it didn't resonate with other bits of data in Hillary's biography: a) Her marriage! Did she stay wedded to a notorious philanderer by insulating herself within a "psychic reality"--a reality only disrupted by "undeniable evidence" in the form of Monica Lewinsky's dress? I remember during the early days of the Lewinsky scandal when Hillary's aides said she didn't read the papers. That would be one way to stay in a comfortable "psychic" cocoon. Another way would be to surround yourself with ultraloyal aides. (Hello, Sid!); b) Her refusal to face the legislative failure of her health care plan in 1994 until it was too late; and c) Her failure to take the Obama threat to her candidacy seriously enough (including, maybe soon, a refusal to admit that it's too late for her to win the nomination).

Third, I first encountered Ladowsky’s theory in an hour long discussion over at Bloggingheads TV. If you don’t know this web site, it’s pretty cool, founded by Robert Wright, author of The Moral Animal and the Non-Zero Game. Smart guy. I had a fun flirtation with him in 1996. He told me to try and suppress the urge to become a writer because the pay and life was hell. He didn't dissuade me.

Saturday morning I watched Jonathan Alter debate for an hour with Kaus, which was how I discovered that Kaus had written about Ladowsky. Here’s the link to Ladowsky clip. (diavlogs I gather is a conflation of dialogue, video, log). The Bosnia lie is a 14 minute discussion, third one in. You can go right to it. (The discussion of Rev. Wright having narcissistic personality disorder also intrigues a bit, which is the first segment, where she delineates the features of the disorder).


No comments: