So, Hillary Clinton cried or at least teared up.  Wow, she is human.  I admit that I had doubted that fact for some time.  Probably for the last fifteen years or so.  OK, I get it… she almost cried.  The question is why she cried.  And, of course, I have a theory.

 The long and the short of it is that Senator Barack Obama has stolen her thunder.  Her dismal showing in Iowa is still fresh in her mind and now her lead in New Hampshire has evaporated.   She is going inching closer to a full-on freefall, nose-diving in several polls and losing momentum and she is not used to this, not at all.  Team Clinton is usually a winning one, especially in races for national office.  Hillary has watched her husband charm the country twice, taking the nation’s top spot both times.  She took her Senate seat, easily defeating her GOP rival.  Now, another reality, one that she doesn’t particularly like has set in: She can be beaten and South Carolina looks bad as well. (Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/charts/2008_election_primaries/democratic_primaries_chart.html)

She looked uncomfortable during her “Muskie moment” yesterday.  And she should have.  Hillary has only ever looked strong and determined in her public appearances.  Remember the “I’m-not-Tammy-Wynette” statement or her “vast right-wing conspiracy” speech on Today?  She was in a media-friendly place when she was First Lady and even in her role as the junior Senator from New York, but now, in pursuit of the Democratic nomination, not so much.

Do I think her tears were genuine?  Surprisingly enough, yes.  But not for the reasons she stated: “I have so many ideas for this country; I just don’t want to see us fall backwards.  It’s about our country; it’s about our kids’ futures.”  Sorry, Mrs. Clinton, I’m just not buying it.  Now I did believe what she said just seconds earlier: “It’s very personal to me.”  (Source: http://news.aol.com/elections/story/_a/teary-eyed-clinton-vows-to-fight-on/20080107142809990001)

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m sure that sure that she believes in her heart of hearts that we, as a country, are headed in the wrong direction.  I fully believe that she has ideas on how to put us on the track that she thinks is better, but the tears and the emotion were not about that.  They were for her.  She is determined to be President of the United States.  She doesn’t understand why people don’t like her.  She is so emotionally invested in her role as a political leader that this is a major issue for her.  This has become her identity.

As far as I am concerned the plan for a Clinton dynasty was set into motion several years ago.  Bill would serve two terms, with Hillary as a virtual Co-President and from there launch her own political career.  Everything was moving along according to plan, with some of her “presidential” duties being curtailed for the sake of appearance, but she would be President eventually, so it wasn’t that big a deal.  But now that her aura of inevitability isn’t holding up to the script and she is having trouble fixing it.

What we are probably witnessing here is the death of her lifelong dream.  She also may be realizing that she is not quite as likable as she may have thought.  Early on in the race, her thought process probably went along these lines: They liked him, so they’ll like me, too.  And when she began to lose ground, which she is still doing, her thoughts became more of: Why?  Why don’t they love me like they did Bill?  What does Obama have that I don’t? What about my turn to be President?

 Watching a dream die is painful.  I know.  I’ve done it.  Hillary, I truly can empathize with you on that point.  But trying to make it seem like you’re crying over America’s future is a cheap trick.  People aren’t looking for political theatre, they’re looking for authenticity.  Unfortunately, you may be discovering that people’s choice of anyone but you is authentic as well.