# What I don't like about Hillary Clinton (non-partisan observations and impressions) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 14, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472 "2015-06-14T00:29:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/1 "2015-06-14T00:29:50Z")
These may all be perception issues, or they might be indicators of real shortcomings. I don’t have enough reliable information to decide. Here they are, in no special order, for what they are worth. 1. I don’t like the way she speaks (in speeches, especially). She is absolutely leaden. She hammers every point with such emphasis that it makes me think that she thinks that we’re all too stupid to get the point unless she over-emphasizes it. When she tells a joke, she has the delicacy and timing of salami. 2. I don’t like her manner. The only word I can think of to describe it is snide. Part of this may be related to #1 above. But what I get from it is that she seems to feel entitled to not be criticized or questioned. 3. I don’t trust her character. Not so much due to all the partisan charges raised against her, but the way she responds to any charge from any source. She seems to roll her eyes as if to say “Look what horrible things they always say about me.” She doesn’t respond in a straightforward manner. I am reluctant to give concrete examples here lest the thread derail into a minute discussion of what she did or did not do. However, in the email controversy I did get the strong impression that she felt so put-upon to have to explain or make things right. As if she felt entitled to not be questioned by anyone about her integrity. Note that I have no cites for any of this. I am not an average news consumer, I suppose, since my politics are not well matched by either party. I don’t mind the specific policies that she has espoused (such few as there are so far). And perhaps it goes without saying that I would rather have her than any Republican nominee (I think, from what I’ve seen so far). This is mostly about character and partly about style. A disagreeable style is, of course, fairly trivial; but I have some sense that her style shortcomings stem from character shortcomings. I don’t care that she’s a woman, I don’t care about that precedent. I don’t care that she seem to have a lock on the nomination. I guess my motive for posting this thread is that I wonder if other relatively dispassionate observers (partisan hacks need not apply, if possible) feel any resonance with my reactions. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/2 "2015-06-14T00:54:47Z")
I am a partisan supporter and I do not think there is any question that she is stiff in speeches. I think she is fine when actually speaking off the cuff and in debate formats but her packaged self … Bill got all the charisma in that relationship. She is too busy thinking about what the coaches said and about how it sounds and how it can be snipped as a harmful sound bite to actually hit the notes that connect. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/3 "2015-06-14T01:48:01Z")
She is not a natural, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/4 "2015-06-14T05:50:30Z")
Hillary is one of the best at [speechifying](https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1CHKZ_enUS439US439&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=speechifying). Not so great at public speaking in an engaging fashion, unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![Sinaptics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Sinaptics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaptics)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/5 "2015-06-14T13:22:58Z")
Note: I’m fairly partisan I always feel like she’s telling me what she thinks I want to hear. I feel that the things she talks about aren’t really her priorities, it just what she thinks she needs to talk about to get elected. I also feel that she doesn’t have the ability to galvanize the electorate; too stiff and not relatable enough. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/6 "2015-06-14T14:51:58Z")
She seems fake and wooden. Her wide “eye stance” is downright scary. Virtually everything she says publically seems carefully scripted, and she just seems insincere to me. Go watch the 1996 Chris Farley comedy _ **Black Sheep** _ - the actress who portrays ‘Governor Evelyn Tracy’ (Christine Ebersole) nails what is wrong with Hillary’s personality, both real and imagined. That said, her political positions are more aligned to mine than anyone else currently in the running, and I don’t care about the GOP’s manufactured controversies about her (Benghazi and email), so she’s got my vote. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/7 "2015-06-14T15:03:50Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > She seems fake and wooden. She reminds me of the corporate upper-management scumbags I used to work for. I’ll vote for her if she’s the nominee, but only because I won’t vote for any of the potential Republican candidates. I’d rather have Bernie Sanders. The SO is a devout Christian, and she won’t vote for Clinton because she objects to the way she stood by Bill when the then-President got caught with his pants down. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/8 "2015-06-14T15:09:04Z")
HC is representative of the typical Washington politician for life. totally ruthless, will do anything for wealth and power. No record to speak of, as SOS, had little or no effect. Plus, her husband’s bogus “charity” takes money from anybody, and seems to function as a way to sell influence.No, I do not care for her. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/9 "2015-06-14T16:00:07Z")
Shouldn’t we be judging politicians on their ability, not their manner? I’m sure GW Bush would be good company at a dinner party, but it was a huge mistake to put him in charge. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/10 "2015-06-14T16:03:45Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The SO is a devout Christian, and she won’t vote for Clinton because she objects to the way she stood by Bill when the then-President got caught with his pants down. That sounds like a non-sequitur to me, but okay. ---
**Author:** ![Sinaptics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Sinaptics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaptics)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/11 "2015-06-14T17:33:39Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Shouldn’t we be judging politicians on their ability, not their manner? > > I’m sure GW Bush would be good company at a dinner party, but it was a huge mistake to put him in charge. To a point. Part of their job is the bully pulpit. If they can’t get the populace behind them, it hamstrings them somewhat, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/12 "2015-06-15T15:02:28Z")
I’d say there’s no question that she has a severe lack of charisma. Even her supporters will usually admit this. If she wasn’t married to Bill Clinton, she wouldn’t have a prayer of getting nominated, much less elected. Myself, I really don’t like her, altho I really don’t give a crap about Benghazi, and I wish the Republicans would leave it alone already. The real dirt is most likely in the Clinton Foundation. That organization is looking increasingly shady. I’ve read reports that say it only gives away 10% of its income as charitable grants, which puts it in the category of one of those horrible pseudo-charities that’s basically a scam. I suspect that if it was being run by anyone except the Clintons, the feds would probably have shut it down by now, and perp-walked the directors. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/13 "2015-06-15T15:19:47Z")
I’ll grant that she’s a lousy speaker. Listening to her Saturday, she talked about the four fights that she was going to take up for us. Damned if I could follow what those four fights were. Her speech needed an editor and was about 50% too long. But she had some effective lines, most notably “you won’t be seeing my hair turn gray, I’ve been coloring it for years”. That being said, she’s a solid Democrat of the FDR-LBJ heritage. Her heart is in the right place and she’ll be pushing for things I believe in. I don’t care if she’s a great speaker, she’s a policy wonk and a fighter. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/14 "2015-06-15T15:38:37Z")
> [@glee](#): > > I’m sure GW Bush would be good company at a dinner party, but it was a huge mistake to put him in charge. At a barbecue, maybe, but despite knowing which fork to use I can’t think of any reason why you’d want GWB at a dinner party. That said, I agree with you. Obama was a transformative candidate but has been pretty much okay as POTUS. Clinton will be a bleh candidate and probably a better POTUS. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/15 "2015-06-15T15:58:40Z")
I posted this some years years ago, and it is still appropriate: [QUOTE=BrotherCadfael] The thing that scares me about Hillary is that she has no sense of humor whatsoever. Zero. Zip. Nada. Politicians without a sense of humor are without the slightest trace of self-doubt. They are constitutionally unable to laugh at themselves, because they are utterly convinced of their own rectitude and virtue. The oposition therefore must be either evil or corrupt, and must be destroyed by any means, legal or not. Such people are dangerous. This is a failing of certain politicians from all sides of the political spectrum (consider Richard Nixon, a singlularly humorless person). While I was no fan of Bill Clinton, the guy’s sense of humor kept him from taking himself totally seriously, and was, in fact, a major part of his charm, such as it was. Hillary is totally without humor. While I doubt very strongly that she would throw her political enemies into jail a la Indira Ghandi (unless she thought that she could get away with it), I could certainly see her, for example, using the FBI and IRS to destroy them. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/16 "2015-06-15T16:09:25Z")
I don’t understand what having a sense of humor has to do with anything. Joseph Stalin was very witty, by all accounts. So was Indira _Gandhi_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/17 "2015-06-15T16:09:37Z")
**BrotherCadfael** , would you mind explaining your reasoning further? From what you posted above, it looks like you’re saying that because Nixon had no sense of humor and he was paranoid and corrupt, Clinton will be the same way. I’m sure you have more sound logic than that, but I’m not connecting the dots based on what you wrote. Why does an absence of humor lead to thinking that everyone who opposes you is evil and corrupt? ETA: I have gotten the impression that Hillary is not a person to mess with, and that some establishment Democrats back her because they’re scared of how she’ll retaliate if they don’t. So I could see the merit to thinking that Hillary would have that attitude towards her enemies. I just don’t see how the presence or absence of humor factors into all that. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/18 "2015-06-15T16:24:41Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > The real dirt is most likely in the Clinton Foundation. That organization is looking increasingly shady. I’ve read reports that say it only gives away 10% of its income as charitable grants, which puts it in the category of one of those horrible pseudo-charities that’s basically a scam. I suspect that if it was being run by anyone except the Clintons, the feds would probably have shut it down by now, and perp-walked the directors. Only 10%, huh? Even Rush claimed it was 15% and that was a questionable interpretation. The Clinton Foundation may well be dodgy but the reason it doesn’t give away all its money to charities is because it does much of its intended work in-house so it doesn’t need to. In other words, it’s both a foundation and the charity the foundation supports, which is an unusual but perfectly legal business model. [Here’s the Politifact take on it](http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/apr/29/rush-limbaugh/rush-limbaugh-says-clinton-foundation-spends-just-/). > [@](#): > > “When Mr. Limbaugh says most of the spending is on salaries, travel, and other, that is not particularly informative,” said Linda Parsons, an associate professor of accounting at the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce. “Travel and salaries for those who are directly carrying out the mission of the organization are much different than salaries and travel for executives who are networking in order to raise funds or for those who manage the organization. The response from the Clinton foundation that they carry out their missions directly, rather than outsource it to another organization or series of organizations, makes sense given that the Clinton Foundation reports travel, salaries, depreciation and conferences directly.” ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/19 "2015-06-15T16:34:31Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > I posted this some years years ago, and it is still appropriate: I’ve had experience with humorless people, and unfortunately I’m inclined to agree with you 100% on this. You cannot reason with such people. They are right. End of discussion. > [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’ll grant that she’s a lousy speaker. Listening to her Saturday, she talked about the four fights that she was going to take up for us. Damned if I could follow what those four fights were. Her speech needed an editor and was about 50% too long. But she had some effective lines, most notably “you won’t be seeing my hair turn gray, I’ve been coloring it for years”. That being said, she’s a solid Democrat of the FDR-LBJ heritage. Her heart is in the right place and she’ll be pushing for things I believe in. I don’t care if she’s a great speaker, she’s a policy wonk and a fighter. Bleh. Standard talking points from the official Democratic Party PowerPoint presentation. Class warfare stuff implying the Pubbies are all elitish rich people (somehow said without the slightest touch of irony, which was actually pretty amazing. Or scary.) Something about welcoming immigrants, said in a way which implies it will include illegal immigrants, but nothing specific enough that she could be called on it later. Really, pick any random Democratic candidate’s speech from the last couple of elections. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472/20 "2015-06-15T17:14:52Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Bleh. Standard talking points from the official Democratic Party PowerPoint presentation. Class warfare stuff implying the Pubbies are all elitish rich people (somehow said without the slightest touch of irony, which was actually pretty amazing. Or scary.) Something about welcoming immigrants, said in a way which implies it will include illegal immigrants, but nothing specific enough that she could be called on it later. > > Really, pick any random Democratic candidate’s speech from the last couple of elections. She wouldn’t be the first wealthy Democratic president to champion the needs of the poor- see FDR and LBJ. Not all of the wealthy are interested in exacerbating income inequality, just the Republicans. Republicans have their own class warfare, only they are the champions of the elite while they continue to attack Social Security, Medicare, unemployment benefits, etc. A generic welcome to immigrants is more in keeping with the national tradition of welcoming newcomers than is the Republican mantra of “Run for the hills! The Mexicans are coming for your jobs!” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-dont-like-about-hillary-clinton-non-partisan-observations-and-impressions/722472.md?page=2)