Politics is huge in Iowa right now. In some ways it is nice to have Iowa be a leader in something (besides Ethanol and corn), and in other ways, it is annoying. The political recorded phone calls are coming hot and heavy, and while it is good to know the issues, it also seems like it is way too early. However, that is the American way, and so, I am glad for it.
Recently I was listening to a public radio station, and they threw out the question that if Hillary Clinton is elected, will the presidency become a soap opera? I would assume this is because they are inferring that Bill Clinton will continue to have indiscretions like he had with Monica Lewinsky while he was in office, and that Hillary will be so distracted by this that she will be unable to concentrate on her duties as President. I see this as clearly a ploy to discredit Hillary as a candidate.
To find the answer to the above question, one should just think back a few years to when the incident happened, and remember how Hillary handled it. Did she file for divorce? Did she leave him? Did she publicly ridicule him? Of course not; Hillary, like other First Ladies before her, kept her dignity and calmly took it in stride. She realized that the other party was just using this to gain strength for the next election. She also kept things in perspective; compared to other events going on in the world, this was a minor thing that would eventually pass. After major publicity and with the Republicans calling for his resignation, Bill Clinton publicly admitted that yes, he had done wrong, and the incident was finally left between Bill and Hillary, where it should have been from the beginning.
Why was this brought up in Iowa? I think it was because of the assumption that Iowans are so conservative that even being reminded of this indiscretion would influence us to not support Hillary. Secondly, there is also the more subtle assumption that Iowans, being so “traditional,” would consider any woman “too emotional” to be president. Therefore, the idea is promoted that if Hillary is elected president, the presidency will be just one big soap opera!
Iowa has people who are conservative, sure; but there are as many views as people in Iowa, just as there are anywhere else. We Iowans will continue as we have always done to think for ourselves and select the candidates we think will do the best job, regardless of what ploys are used to influence our thinking. The people of Iowa deserve more credit than this. We are not as easily swayed as the other party might think.
