The View from a Recovering Partisan

WASHINGTON – My e-book is scheduled to be published in less than two weeks, on November 8th. It will be available on Amazon, to download on Kindle, or on Barnes and Noble, as well as iPad. It’s a busy, exciting time in my world.

Since I announced my book two weeks ago, I’ve had a lot of feedback on the cover.

This article from the Atlantic, which appears in the November/December issue, is serendipitous. It talks about the lies of Whitewater, which began permeating the media before Bill Clinton was even elected. This is what began Hillary Clinton’s national life, something people too often forget, but also followed her into her presidential bid. It’s part of the amazing political story I’ve written, as is Hillary’s “human rights are women’s rights,” which began her mission that has followed her in her political life, through her diplomatic rise, and will be with her after she leaves the State Department.

The cover wasn’t chosen lightly. In fact, the criticism of the bust is something I fully expected. Some of it has been down right hilarious. On my Facebook page, one of my female friends said she so appreciated my writing, but couldn’t understand why, as she implied, I’d chosen such an unflattering picture of Hillary. One person asked if I’d done a focus group to get people’s response to the cover, and if not, I should have. And on and on it went, including a lot of people who wanted Hillary pictured “triumphant,” something I heard more than once. One male, commenting via email, asked how he could put a mustache on her! Another comment came from Andy Lewis, “whadda GHASTLY cover. Have you come to praise Hillary or bury her?” However, it sets up the material inside the book perfectly.

Not knowing what to expect in the book I’ve written is the best way to set up the story I tell.

It’s the view from a recovering partisan.

I wrote the book, because I believe Hillary Rodham Clinton and her run for president is the most important event in modern American politics, especially for women, and I thought it was critically important to mark. To do that you had to be willing to immerse yourself in all of it, the good, the ugly and the triumphant. This goes whether people love Hillary or hate her.

The “Hillary Effect” is her legacy, which was first seen through the pick of Sarah Palin. So, obviously, she is part of this political story. Sarah begat Michele Bachmann and before her “women’s night,” and it’s all connected back to Hillary.

…and you simply can’t write about Hillary without including a chapter on Bill Clinton.

As for the media, pundits on cable like Chris Matthews, as well as traditional and new media types, they have a huge role in the book, for reasons that were earned.

You also can’t talk about politics and Hillary’s presidential candidacy without talking about Barack Obama and the Axelrod-Plouffe team who ran a close to flawless, but contrary to their marketing, very negative campaign. Candidate Obama is also quite a different reality than Pres. Obama, something that is very evident as we turn toward 2012.

However, the battle for 2008, to become secretary of state, but also to get the chance to even branch out on her own, was a bruising one, which started as early as when Hillary came in as first lady, to making her Senate run. It’s been rough. The cover represents this reality.

In the end, Hillary has indeed been triumphant. She’s queen of the world, having won the respect of her enemies, as well as being the chief diplomat and one of her former adversary’s chief Cabinet members. However, the road to where Hillary stands today didn’t come easily or without bruising.

The cover of my new e-book represents the atmosphere and tumult of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s rise. Her moment with destiny and the loss that would break so many hearts, as well as remind everyone that choosing a president needs to go well beyond the cosmetic.

The discontent we’re seeing in the disaffection over our two party duopoly is a manifestation of this realization, as is Occupy Wall Street. Brilliant politicians sounding good and saying what people want to hear doesn’t make them a leader capable of solving America’s problems. We learned that through Ronald Reagan.

However, as I look across the political landscape today I see many Americans haven’t learned the lesson. When Herman Cain, a man who knows absolutely nothing about foreign policy, is in the lead on the right, and Rick Perry decides to push birtherism to seduce the wingnuts, it proves it.

Pres. Obama’s chosen rightward lurch, which started when he had a Democratic Congress, has left progressive principles to be used only as a campaign cudgel.

There’s a reason independents are rising up to say no to both parties, with their numbers rising daily.

That’s where we are today in the post-Hillary political era.

The party’s over, as in political parties. What happened to me philosophically in the last years is similar to what others are feeling. That Democrats and Republicans have failed miserably, which has led to our Congress collapsing, leaving one of the main parts of our democratic republic non-functioning.

So today, what I offer is the view from a recovering partisan. That’s also the voice you’ll hear in my book.

Some of the material could surprise you, some will infuriate you, just like the book cover has done. But trust me when I say that Hillary Rodham Clinton can take the scrutiny and the white hot light of truth and facts, which are my book’s foundation.

Hillary Rodham Clinton as she stands today is indeed triumphant. Her political journey was her destiny, as was her loss, and is our story, too, America’s tale. She slogged through hell to get where she stands today and I did, too.

Taylor Marsh’s new e-book, The Hillary Effect – Politics, Sexism and the Destiny of Loss, the view from a recovering partisan, will be published on November 8th. Marsh is an author, Washington based political analyst, veteran national politics writer and commentator on national politics, foreign policy, and women in power. She has reported from the White House, been profiled in the Washington Post, The New Republic, and has been seen on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, CNN, MSNBC, Al Jazeera English and Al Jazeera Arabic, as well as on radio across the dial and on satellite, including the BBC. Marsh lives in the Washington, D.C. area. This column is cross posted from her new media blog.

Book cover was created by Hugh Syme, Hillary Clinton bust by Karen Caldicott.