The Hillary Conspiracy

On the first day of the Democratic National Convention, “The Point” fell victim to its prefabricated nature. With the major speakers not slated to take the podium until late afternoon or early evening, Mark Hyman was forced to come up with something to say during the day in order to fulfill his self-described purpose of reporting on the real stories behind the Democratic National Convention.

Without much material to go on (and with little inclination or ability to actually find a story by, for example, finding someone to interview), Hyman rehashed the story of the “snub” of Hillary Clinton, offering a long-winded analysis of why John Kerry and John Edwards would not want Hillary Clinton to speak at the convention, but were forced to acquiesce by Democratic power brokers. His hypothesis revolves around the idea that the Clintons don’t really support John Kerry and that Hillary harbors presidential aspirations for 2008, possibly at the expense of both Kerry and Edwards should Bush win reelection and they each wish to run again for the nomination in four years.

Whatever the reasons for Hillary Clinton not being put on the slate of speakers initially, it soon became clear how silly it was to suggest that the Clintons didn’t support Kerry’s run for the presidency. Given the full-throated support of both Clintons, Hyman’s theorizing seems rather hollow. It’s difficult to believe President Clinton would have given as powerful a speech as he did if he wasn’t committed to electing John Kerry. The final nail in the coffin came the next day when Newsweek hit the stands with a story on Hillary Clinton’s political aspirations, making it clear that while she indeed might consider higher office, she’s clearly in favor of removing President Bush from office.

Of course, it’s a bit unfair to criticize Hyman for such vapid theorizing since he needed to get “The Point” in the can long before the Clinton’s took the stage Monday night. He might have done some digging to find an actual story to discuss, but that would have required actual reporting, something beyond the ken of a corporate VP.

And that's The Counterpoint