The Clintons - Unpresidential Communicators

As a professional communicator, one of my mantras is it’s not what you say, it’s what people hear. Yes, I stole it from Frank Luntz, a man I greatly admire. But it speaks volumes about what will hopefully be the final flameout of Hillary Clinton that went down this past weekend.

First, let’s hold our noses and assume Hillary was not implying anything when she said a certain charismatic presidential candidate was assassinated in 1968. Let’s also pretend she didn’t imply anything sinister when she said Obama was not a Muslim, “as far as I know.” And let’s give her yet another pass when she said, “Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me.”

After her assassination comments (even more poorly timed given Ted Kennedy’s brain cancer diagnosis), Bill Clinton joined her by shoving both his feet in his mouth. He claimed he’d “Never seen a candidate treated so disrespectfully just for running,” and that, “she will win the general election if you nominate her. They're just trying to make sure you don't.”

Just who would “they” be, Bill? It’s amazing that in the last six months, Bill Clinton has gone from esteemed ex-president to professional crackpot. People used to wince whenever President Bush opened his mouth. Bill Clinton now shares that same horrendous stigma. He has permanently damaged his legacy, perhaps even more than Monica Lewinsky did.

But both Clintons have failed to understand that even if they said all these words with the best intentions, they failed miserably when it comes to convincing the public. This cuts to the quick of why a growing number of people hate the Clintons – all their communication revolves around whatever is best for them. They may think they’re telling us they are the best choice for the country. But they don’t get that we are hearing nothing except their sense of entitlement. It is a huge turnoff, and their unshameful egotism obviously comes at the expense of the Democratic Party and the majority of Democratic voters and delegates who think otherwise.

If you’re a diehard Democrat, you’re probably shaking your head at all this. But hopefully this has a silver lining and means Hillary is permanently off the list as a VP candidate. Now you only have one more serious worry left – what both of these unbalanced party “leaders” will say at the convention.

More Info:

What the Liberal Blogs Think of The Clintons Now