Hillary Clinton, as Seen Through a Chinese Prism New York Times

What a refreshing article about Hillary Clinton. No bloody emails. No trust issues. We have a serious article on Hillary and the attitudes of the Chinese hierarchy towards her. They apparently aren't any more thrilled than the BernieBots, but at least it's a change of script.

"Hillary Clinton is blunt, negative on China, friendly toward homosexuals, and female — all reasons some Chinese give for not wanting to see her as the next president of the United States.

She is highly qualified, visionary, caring, and will support women and children and development around the world – reasons others give for wanting her to win the November election.

As China looks ahead to a new American administration, opinions on the front-running Mrs. Clinton veer from admiration, mostly among women and civil libertarians, to distaste, mostly among male policy makers and an often nationalistic public.

Understanding Hillary

Why the Clinton America Sees Isn't the Clinton Colleagues Know: Why We Keep Missing Hillary Clinton's Greatest Strength VOX

Ezra Klein does a terrific job of laying-out one of the singular differences, generally, between the way male and female politicians campaign and govern. As he notes, men talk more; women listen more and seek to build relationships (or in politics, coalitions - as Hillary has done her entire career). Yet, in spite of how important and useful it is in politics to listen, this skill set isn't one that is rewarded. And why is that? Ezra has some thoughts on this, as well as insight into the ways this mostly female view of leading may be exactly what is needed in our current divided country. From our perspective, this signals a revolutionary shift in our politics, toward the so-called female skills: listening and relationship/coalition-building, both of which Hillary excels in. ~ Laura

Modern presidential campaigns are built to reward people who are really, really good at talking. So imagine what a campaign feels like if you’re not entirely natural in front of big crowds. Imagine that you are constantly compared to your husband, one of the greatest campaign orators of all time; that you’ve been burned again and again after saying the wrong thing in public; that you’ve been told, for decades, that you come across as calculated and inauthentic on the stump. What would you do?

(...)

Let’s stop and state the obvious: There are gender dynamics at play here.

We ran a lot of elections in the United States before we let women vote in them. You do not need to assert any grand patriarchal conspiracy to suggest that a process developed by men, dominated by men, and, until relatively late in American life, limited to men might subtly favor traits that are particularly prevalent in men.

Talking over listening, perhaps.

(...)

Talking is a way of changing your status: If you make a great point, or set the terms of the discussion, you win the conversation. Listening, on the other hand, is a way of establishing rapport, of bringing people closer together; showing you’ve heard what’s been said so far may not win you the conversation, but it does win you allies. And winning allies is how Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination.

Gays Powering Up As Elected Officials

Gay Political Power Reaching Record as US Attitudes Shift Bloomberg Politics

"Now, according to Maloney (Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, the first openly gay congressman chosen by New Yorkers in 2012), the biggest priority is electing more Democrats and gay politicians to win support for a sweeping federal law, the Equality Act, that would give LGBT residents in the U.S. the same civil protections afforded for race, age and religion.

“It’s very clearly shifted from an outside game to an inside game,” said Jeff Trammell, a Washington lobbyist, who has been active in political campaigns stretching back to Al Gore’s 2000 presidential run. “We have definitely reached a tipping point within the Democratic party. Acceptance has changed so much faster than expected. We’re in bit of a sorting out process.”

Trammell, who was married to his longtime partner in 2013 by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, estimates that as many as 20 percent of his fellow fundraisers for presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton are members of the LGBT community. An increasing number of key campaign personnel, including the treasurer of the Democratic National Committee, Andrew Tobias, are also openly gay."

Hillary Clinton Headlines July 12, 2016

Obama Tries to Mend Tattered Ties With Police Politico

Hillary Clinton knows polarization is here to stay. Here's how she hopes to deal with it. VOX

Lynch refuses to answer questions on Clinton email probe Politico

Poll: Clinton leads Trump in Nevada Politico

Evan Bayh readying Indiana Senate comeback run Politico

Clinton's new friend -- and maybe VP Politico

How Trump's wall will hurt US energy companies Politico

A lot of holes in GOP presidential ground game in key states Washington Post

Hillary Clinton could run on strongest climate change platform The Guardian

What Drives Trump? His Towering Fear of Shame The Daily Beast

How Hitler's Rise to Power Explains Why Republicans Accept Donald Trump New York Magazine

Star Jones Co-Hosts Hillary Clinton Fundraiser in New York on Dec. 10, 2015

Next month on Dec. 10, Star Jones, former co-host of 'The View' and president of the Professional Diversity Network and National Association of Professional Women; Cora Masters Barry, widow of former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry; Yolanda Caraway, president and CEO of the Caraway Group; and Minyon Moore, principal of Dewey Square Group and head of state and local affairs and multicultural strategies practices for the Clinton campaign are hosting an exclusive private reception and fundraiser called 'African-American Women For Hillary Clinton.'

Donations begin at $1000.

Hillary Clinton's Nov. 19 Speech At Council for Foreign Relations

Transcript: Read Hillary Clinton's Speech on Fighting ISIS TIME

Clinton offers her plan for defeating Islamic State Politico

Clinton also challenged Turkey to step up and become full partners in combating ISIL. “This is their fight, and they need to act like it,” she said. “So far, however, Turkey has been more focused on the Kurds than on countering ISIS.”

And she specified how she would run a no-fly zone in Syria, saying it would be “principally over northern Syria close to the border, cutting off the supply lines, trying to provide some safe refuges for refugees ... creating a safe space away from the barrel bombs. I would certainly expect to work with the Russians to be able to do that.

“This is a time for American leadership. No other country can rally the world to defeat ISIS. Only the United States can mobilize common action on a global scale,” she said. “The entire world must be part of this fight, but we must lead it.”

The balancing act for Clinton remains how to position herself in relation to Obama, who last week, just hours before the coordinated attacks across the City of Light, said the Islamic State in Iraq had been geographically “contained.” Clinton is seen as the most hawkish Democrat in the 2016 race but also the only candidate who can be directly connected with helping put together Obama’s ISIL containment strategy as secretary of state.

“We have to look at ISIS as the leading threat of an international terror network,” Clinton said at the second Democratic debate last Saturday. “It cannot be contained; it must be defeated.”

In a Q&A following her speech, journalist Fareed Zakaria pushed Clinton to draw contrasts with her foreign policy vision and that of Obama, but she did not take the bait. She called her proposals “in many ways an intensification and acceleration” of Obama’s current strategy to defeat ISIL.

Hillary Clinton Takes On ISIS David Brooks @New York Times

Hillary Clinton Headlines November 22, 2015

Clinton moves to end the primary quickly Politico

Wall St. Ties Linger as Image Issue for Hillary Clinton New York Times

Clinton Opens 25-Point Lead on Sanders in Bloomberg Politics National Poll Bloomberg News

Hillary Clinton Calls for Middle Class Tax Cuts TIME

Hillary Clinton Remembers When She Was Once Told That Women's Rights Were Not Important Vogue

Bernie Sanders backed by $570,000 from union super PAC CNN

Hillary Clinton Urges No-Fly Zone and More Airstrikes To Defeat ISIS New York Times