Are Bill and Hillary just like the Sopranos? The Hillary-Carmela Connection

June 27, 2007

Did Hillary Clinton inadvertently underscore the ambivalence felt by some Americans over her role in her husband’s scandals in a humorous campaign ad last week? Margaret Carlson believes that Hillary made a mistake in playing the Carmela role in her Sopranos spoof, and that voters may see her in a similar light to Edie Falco’s compromised and enabling wife:

The ad touches close to the mother lode of Hillary’s vulnerability among some women. When you ask them why they don’t like her, they say it’s because they don’t understand why she makes goo-goo eyes at a guy who broke her heart multiple times and humiliated her daughter. After that, pretending to be a teenager in love makes them wonder what else she might be faking.

The Carmela-Hillary juxtaposition has been made before by others, and not in Hillary’s favor. For staying with a repeat philanderer, Carmela got to live in a McMansion, wear expensive jewelry and wield derivative power as Queen Bee of the mob families. Hillary got to be first lady with a good shot at the White House.

If Hillary’s hoping we’ll be kinder to her than Chase was to Carmela, it’s hard to see why she would tempt the comparison herself. The only possible rationale is that every time voters are reminded how bad Bill is, her numbers go up. She might not be the senator from New York were it not for Monica Lewinsky.

At first, I thought the ad was rather clever, and good politics to boot. After all, nothing sells like self-deprecation. Hillary had to know how a large number of American voters see her, as a calculating and conniving woman who clung to her philandering husband strictly for political gain. The ad skewered this perception a little, had great cultural resonance at the moment, and tweaked David Chase by actually providing a straightforward ending.

Carlson’s point is worth considering, though. The ad clearly aimed at people who watched the final Sopranos episode, but these are people who have steeped in Carmela’s denial and sellout for eight years. That same exact dynamic appeared throughout the Clintons’ terms in office but especially after the Lewinsky affair in 1997. After sending his wife out as an attack dog, allowing her to accuse people of lying to torpedo her husband, Bill had to appear on national TV to admit everything of which he was accused.

Inexplicably, this created a short burst of sympathy for Hillary — which quickly receded when her appearances reminded people that she isn’t terribly sympathetic. She stuck with Bill and, as Carlson mentions, put on an act in front of cameras that made the two look like teenagers in school defiantly daring teachers to give them referrals for PDAs. (If you’re over 35, you’ll know what that means.) Clearly she knows what she gets with Bill, and the rational conclusion is that she’s sticking around for some reason that benefits her, and given his serial indiscretions, those reasons don’t appear marital. Voters inclined to distrust her for these reasons alone may find those reservations reinforced, and others reminded of a certain lack of authenticity that has been the hallmark of the Clintons all along.

She may have scored a few points for hipness with this ad. In the long run, though, equating Bill with Tony Soprano and herself with Carmela may have a kind of resonance that she’ll regret as her campaign progresses.

Source: Captains Quarters

Posted by Hillary · Filed Under 2008, Editorials/Opinion, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton Make Overs

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One Response to “Are Bill and Hillary just like the Sopranos? The Hillary-Carmela Connection”

University Update - Hillary Clinton - Are Bill and Hillary just like the Sopranos? The Hillary-Carmela Connection on June 27th, 2007 10:51 am

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Are Bill and Hillary just like the Sopranos? The Hillary-Carmela Connection

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