When representing a country already treading in rough waters, politicians should perhaps focus more on the public agenda than their own personal agenda. Election season is still in the distant future, but it seems that Hillary Rodham Clinton is beginning a campaign a bit early and at an inappropriate time. Last week, in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day speech in New York City, Senator Clinton remarked that the GOP is running the House of Representatives like 'a plantation,' and that the Bush administration will go down in history as 'one of the worst that has ever governed our country.' The speech was unsettling to more than just the Bush Administration and has left me wondering: was it just for votes?
The United States has seen its share of trouble in the past decade, and the economy is struggling to regain the status it held when Clinton's husband was in office. As a citizen'Democrat or Republican'I take comfort in knowing the country is being protected by a united government, one in which the state of the economy is more important than the state of the election polls. Clinton's recent remarks have caused me to question my support of the Democratic politician and her motives as a public official.
Clinton was speaking to an largely black audience comprised of many Hurricane Katrina survivors. The reference to 'plantations' and introducing herself as a representative of a 'government who has left you behind' established a negative atmosphere early in the speech. Not only is a plantation a harsh analogy, the comparison sends a message to her audience that the government is divided and politicians are lacking the support of their colleagues. How are we supposed to retain whatever amount of faith we have in our government and our economy when statements of this nature are being made?
Clinton is likely in pursuit of the presidency in the 2008 elections, so I cannot help but wonder whether her remarks are a plea to minority voters. On a day recognized as a celebration of a great civil rights activist, it seems that Clinton was looking for personal recognition. Diverting the attention away from King's famous speech, 'I have a dream,' Clinton seemed to have spoken in pursuit of her own dream.
I understand that opposing views are to be expected when under the control of a multi- partisan government, but perhaps election season and outside of national holidays, political officials can keep the harsh oppositions to themselves. Clinton may view the House of Representatives as being run like a plantation, but making statements that are reminders of a horrifying racial history on a day that celebrates part of the end of that era is entirely inappropriate.
The Republicans may be running the House in a way that does not allow all legislation to be heard, but what can the minorities in Harlem, or any other citizen for that matter, do to fix that outside of elections? If every discrepancy or every opposing party problem is brought to the attention of the U.S. public, then the trust and the faith that citizens of have left in our government may begin to rapidly deteriorate.
Clinton was out of line in her statements on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. By focusing more on the flaws in the system, she paved a clear path for distrust in the legislative system. She should have used the opportunity to reinforce the positive and shed light on what the government is still trying to do.
Clinton's motivational skills could use some fine-tuning before she pursues the presidency. Perhaps next time she will compare governemnt efforts to that of al-Qaida to create a disturbing image for all ethnicities.
