An Insulting Question and a Pointed Reply

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was asked the following question by a Congolese student during a town hall event in Kinshasa yesterday:

Mrs Clinton, we’ve all heard about the Chinese contracts in this country. The interference is from the World Bank against this contract. What does Mr. Clinton think through the mouth of Mrs. Clinton and what does Mr. Mutombo think on this situation? Thank you very much

Responding to what turned out to be an unfortunate mistranslation of the student’s question, our nation’s lead diplomat replied:

You want me to tell you what my husband thinks? My husband is not the secretary of state, I am. You ask my opinion I will tell you my opinion, I’m not going to channel my husband.

Watch the exchange here:

YouTube Preview Image

These remarks were followed almost immediately by a blogospheric uproar about Clinton’s “unprofessional” “temper tantrum.”  But I’ve watched the video more than once and I don’t see a “hissy fit” or “meltdown.” I see the highest ranking cabinet member demanding respect for her office and expertise.

The question, as translated, was entirely inappropriate and while the answer was not conventional enough for some armchair diplomats to swallow, it was not out of line.  If she had submissively accepted the insult or politely laughed it off, the same critics attacking her for “showing her true colors” wouldn’t be praising her for her tact, they’d be calling her an impotent pushover lacking the political chops to emerge from beneath Bill Clinton’s shadow.

Like it or not, Hillary Clinton is a cabinet member.  She is no longer the first lady and should not be expected to play that role.

And if you want to know what my husband thinks about all this, you can ask him yourself.

Published by Jenn Q. Public on August 11, 2009 at 11:58 pm

Filed Under Hillary Clinton, Misogyny, The Blogosphere

Comments

6 Responses to “An Insulting Question and a Pointed Reply”

  1. Eclectic Radical on August 12th, 2009 11:59 am

    While I am not the biggest fan in the world of Hillary Clinton, I have to agree entirely with your support of her reaction. I’d have been more critical of her had she not been offended, and would have been shocked if she weren’t especially tender about it after the recent round-a-bout with North Korea.

    I’m glad the question was a mistranslation and that the kid wasn’t really being that offensive.

  2. DodiaFae on August 12th, 2009 12:27 pm

    I agree… I’d have been more than a little annoyed as well.

    Geez… you’d think they could have found a better translator though.

  3. Jenn Q. Public on August 12th, 2009 3:09 pm

    Eclectic Radical, I’m certainly no Hillary Clinton cheerleader myself, but the reaction to this incident (from both left and right) is really off base. It’s embarrassingly inconsistent to sit around gushing over how great it is for Sarah Palin or Sonia Sotomayor to speak frankly if we’re going to turn around and skewer HRC for doing the same. We’d all be better off with a little more honesty in our politicians.

    DodiaFae, I’ve seen some speculation that perhaps the student referred to Obama as “the president” and the translator assumed that meant President Clinton.

  4. DodiaFae on August 12th, 2009 8:41 pm

    That sort of makes sense… But even if that’s the case, you’d think they could find a translator for a political even that is more up to date on world politics. I mean… Clinton has been out of office for nearly a decade now.

    I’m just wondering if that little slip-up caused any problems for that translator.

  5. Eclectic Radical on August 14th, 2009 6:31 am

    “It’s embarrassingly inconsistent to sit around gushing over how great it is for Sarah Palin or Sonia Sotomayor to speak frankly if we’re going to turn around and skewer HRC for doing the same. We’d all be better off with a little more honesty in our politicians.”

    Oh, I agree completely with that. :)

  6. Martin on August 5th, 2015 1:59 am

    There is historical pernedect: I like Ike you could chalk it up to being famous for something else before running for office (winning WWII, putting up with bill clinton). Still, I can’t help but think that sexism has something to do with it.

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