The Calculator: Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton, the human calculator, is at it again. No, she isn’t good at math–she is good at calculating her every move. Much like a chess player strategically thinks of every move, so does Hillary. This would normally be a decent trait to have except it comes from a crafty politician.

From a political viewpoint, it means Hillary is selecting her words carefully (but do they represent her real actions?). Consider her recent visit to Iowa. Here’s how the New York Times put it:

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton left a couple of things behind in New Hampshire this morning when she left for Iowa: Her vocal support for abortion rights and gay civil unions, both of which she touted in the Granite State but left out of her stump speech here today.

The problem with being the human calculator is the insincerity it emits. Hillary will exact her cunning words for the crowd. The issue is we don’t know if she believes one word of it. Grant it, she learned well from Bill Clinton who would parse his words so carefully as to leave him multiple retreats. Remember his defense about what “is” is? Again, the New York Times picked up on this:

There was something more subliminal in her message to the Iowans about wanting to “stand with you to make the case for change.” In Iowa parlance, the verb “stand” evokes the Iowa presidential caucuses in January, where voters go to caucus sites and literally stand up with like-minded Iowans to be counted for their preferred candidate. Mrs. Clinton used the verb “stand” a few times in asking for them to take a close look at her and join her camp.

Hillary Clinton is one scary person. Her ability to calculate every word and action so she can present her best side strikes me as pretentious at best. If she had a track record of sincerity, I would applaud her. But she comes off as real as a $3 bill.