Another politcal/current events post. Bear with me.
While doing my cool down run on the gym treadmill, I saw a CNN headline, roughly paraphrased: “Clinton wants us to take a fresh look at her.” Granted, this was during a panel of five interchangeable talking head-types—three grim, serious guys in suits and two leggy, brightly-colored women—so I don’t know if this is CNN or Clinton’s team saying this. I can’t find the clip anywhere online. However, asking to take a “fresh look” at Clinton is openly admitting, by implication, that everyone thinks she is stale or unappealing to begin with. I know this because that’s what I immediately thought when I saw the headline. Did Hillary Clinton stop beating her wife? It would better if Clinton had addressed the issue through covert re-imaging rather than admitting it (or at least threatened CNN to remedy it).
Vaguely related: a running mate named “Kaine”? Worst idea. People in Christianized America automatically associate it with the “Cain” of Genesis, one of the earliest scumbags on record. Visually, “Clinton/Kaine” logos and banners will drill the association home even further. Men my age might associate it with the equally-scummy Cain from Robocop 2, or another fictional namesake villain. I know this because that’s what I did immediately when I saw his name the other day. The .001% of voters who are rational about voting probably won’t notice it, voters already in Clinton’s camp will do quick rationalizations against it, the Trumpites are already against her. The “Kaine/Cain” association sticks with the undecided and they will stay far away from it.
EDIT: Also remember Herman Cain, from the 2012 elections? I barely did. He probably suffered the same thing Kaine will experience, though Cain may have been a weak candidate overall, and an obvious “look, Republicans aren’t racist” marketing ploy by Romney.