Hillary Clinton's Neckline: Making My Point - Political Capital with John Harwood

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Jul.31

8:19 AM ET

Tuesday, 31 Jul 2007

Hillary Clinton's Neckline: Making My Point

Posted By:John Harwood

Topics:Media | Print Media | Politics & Government | White House

From my email and the blogosphere, I see that some people have taken exception to my remarks on "Meet the Press" Sunday (see clip below) about Hillary Clinton and the Washington Post article about her display of cleavage on the Senate floor. My point was, and remains, as follows:

*Sen. Clinton takes great care in how she presents herself to the public; as with any careful presidential candidate, her choice of clothing is not casual. When Al Gore wore earth tones in the 2000 campaign, it wasn't because that's what he happened to grab from his closet in the morning darkness.

*Thus it is highly unlikely that Sen. Clinton was unaware of the appearance that Robin Givhan wrote about. (In the same way that I consider it highly unlikely that top athletes like Barry Bonds, who has claimed he used steroids unwittingly, are heedless about how they take care of themselves)

*Givhan's piece was fair commentary and analysis, just as her previous stories about the likes of Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice and many others have been.

*The clothing choice by Sen. Clinton, which Givhan wrote about, was not inappropriate. To the contrary, like most other choices Sen. Clinton has made in her campaign thus far, it was smart. It was a small, endearing step that enhanced the former First Lady's ability to come across as a normal person--extraordinary as she actually is.