Finished reading WHAT HAPPENED by Hillary Rodham Clinton. Published recently, this memoir recalls what happened during the 2016 US presidential election campaign. From Hillary Clinton’s standpoint, of course.
The last election had promised to be historic, if only the first woman president had been elected. Alas! Donald Trump became president although Mrs Clinton received 2.9 million more votes than he got.
In this book Mrs Clinton blames her loss on, firstly, excessive news media coverage of her personal emails; her emails got three times more coverage than all other issues affecting people’s lives combined. Secondly, she says Russia carried a massive misinformation campaign against her and violated US sovereignty by interfering in the presidential race. Thirdly, she asserts that Republicans let loose an avalanche of fake news against her person, Barack Obama and other Democrats. Fourthly, she says, sexism is still a dominant force in American politics; millions of people harbor a conviction in this 21st century that a woman must not govern in the White House.
Hillary Clinton is also self-critical in her memoir. “I’ve tried to give an honest accounting of when I got it wrong, where I fell short, and what I wish I could go back and do differently. This isn’t easy or fun. My mistakes burn me up inside.”
Though this is a political memoir, it is readable to the average person. And instructive too, regarding the American system.
