Hillary the [w/b]itch

In the matter of the Right-Wing Publishing Machine v. Hillary Rodham Clinton, I find for the defendant.

During the final months of this singular presidential campaign, a batch of bestselling anti-Clinton books has emerged, offering the most nefarious interpretations of the Democratic nominee. They are the case for the prosecution, and their closing arguments leave nothing out — if it’s damning, or outlandish, or even contradictory, it’s here. In these pages, the former first lady, senator and secretary of state is invariably lawless and duplicitous, her record as horrifying as her hidden blueprint for national destruction. For those who already despise Clinton, these books affirm and amplify that loathing.

With chants of “lock her up” and “crooked Hillary” and simply “bitch” reverberating at Donald Trump’s rallies, these works have found a ready audience, already spending a collective 29 weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list. If these books and authors sum up your knowledge of the Democratic nominee, if they are all you believe of Clinton, I see how supporting her would seem impossible, regardless of her opponent’s overwhelming shortcomings.

But if your feelings about her are even slightly more complex, if mistrust and admiration come together with every Clinton speech or shimmy, such attacks may backfire. These books have taken me beyond Clinton fatigue; they’ve given me Clinton fatigue fatigue. I’m now tired of being tired of Hillary Clinton.

No doubt, Clinton has earned some of this criticism — but there’s no way she deserves all of it. The focus on her personality and appearance is crude and sexist. The obsession with her scandals, so well known for so long, leaves her accusers looking nearly as dirty as the accused, and more desperate. And her allegedly ruinous policy projects and worldview come across as more improbable than terrifying.

katherine61
11:05 AM EDT
You forgot to include Lester Holt who got screamed at after his town hall where Clinton threw a bottle narrowly missing one of her staffers head and then she called the president of the network and yelled at him all because Holt asked her about her email. This is one nasty woman with legions of stories of her meanness by those who were unfortunate enough to interact with her.Trump says dumb things but is not a mean person.