Jonathan Allen of General Electric Vox wrote a loving paean about Hillary Clinton's speech today at Columbia University which touched on the Baltimore riots. However, what was really notable about his article is what it left out. An inadvertently jarring laugh line which Allen very conveniently skips.
It might have been overlooked by Allen, but Hillary's unintended humor has caused a lot of laughter on the Web. We shall get to that, but first let us watch Jonathan Allen grow misty eyed over Hillary's speech:
Her first major policy address of the 2016 campaign was Clinton at her finest, showcasing both strong policy chops and a deep sensitivity to Americans who are heartbroken over the deaths of young black men at the hands of police officers.
Speaking at Columbia University, Clinton used the violence in Baltimore as a window into a larger argument — one she said she would revisit on the campaign trail — about addressing poverty and injustice. It's a theme that dovetails smoothly with her ideas for empowering women and families through increased wages, pay equity, and the expansion of child care benefits.
Not to intrude too harshly onto Allen's state of bliss, but what political party has been running Baltimore for the past few decades? Okay, back to his love letter to Hillary:
Clinton delivered the speech in a way that showed she's ready for the trail. She connected cleanly with the message she's been trying to send about the difference between her 2008 campaign and this one: this time, it's about everyone else. And the way she did it pointed to her age and experience as a strength rather than a weakness.
"It is a time for wisdom," she said.
As we shall see, it is also a time of laughter due to Hillary's total lack of self awareness. We now return you to Allen acting like he is applying for an executive position at the Clinton Foundation:
Clinton, who spoke with a much softer tone than usual, likened herself to so many Americans who have watched, powerless, as the crisis of inequality in the justice system has played out on television for months.
...If this is the Hillary Clinton that hits the campaign trail for the next 18 months, she'll be a far more formidable candidate than the halting speaker who struggled to articulate a raison d'être in 2008.
Although Allen quoted extensively from the speech chock full of standard liberal platitudes and clichés, he failed to repeat the one line in the speech destined to live on for all eternity unto the end of time as an example of inadvertent political humor. So what is it? Ironically, Vox also provided the transcript of Hillary's speech which included this laugh line that Allen was careful to omit in his Hillary tribute:
Restoring trust in our politics, our press, our markets. Between and among neighbors and even people with whom we disagree politically.
And when one thinks of restoring trust in politics doesn't Hillary's name leap immediately to mind? The laughter generated by Hillary's declaration can be seen at Twitter:
TO BE HONEST I HAD HAD A SIP OR THREE RT @worldviewdawson: Wait. What? Hillary calls for ‘restoring trust’ in politics #tcot
— DRUNK HILLARYTWEETS (@HillaryDrunk) April 29, 2015
Good God..Hillary talks today about "restoring trust in politics"! How delusional, hypocritical & totally phony can this woman get?? #joke
— HLMA (@harryartinian) April 29, 2015
Hillary Clinton calling for ‘restoring trust’ in politics is like Michael Moore at a Twinkie factory saying, "No thanks, I'm full."
— Ecklebob Chiselfritz (@RotNScoundrel) April 29, 2015
Hillary calls for ‘restoring trust’ in politics. What's the punch line? Are you kidding me?
— Howard Rosenstein (@RoseRockSavior3) April 29, 2015
Yes, Jonathan. This speech by Hillary will be long remembered, but not in the way you so desperately hope.
