Would things have turned out differently?
Massachusetts US Senator Elizabeth Warren was on Democrat Hillary Clinton’s list of possible running mates, Clinton said in her new book.
Clinton, who lost the 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump, said in the book, “What Happened,” that she expected a strong primary challenge from the left and Warren’s name had been “most often mentioned.”
Clinton said the two women were both “a little wary” in a meeting at Clinton’s house in Washington, but “I came away convinced that if Elizabeth believed her views and priorities would be included and respected in my campaign, she might become my champion rather than my challenger.”
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Clinton said she asked Warren to recommend experts to give her advice and her staff worked through a list Warren gave her, “making sure our agenda was informed by the perspectives of people she trusted.”
“Later, Elizabeth was on my list of potential choices for Vice President,” wrote Clinton, who has been making appearances promoting the book, which was much anticipated after Trump’s stunning upset victory and the tumultuous eight months of his presidency.
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine eventually became Clinton’s running mate.
Clinton also mentioned Warren several times when talking about the treatment of women in politics.
“Think how often you’ve heard these words used about women who lead: angry, strident, feisty, difficult, irritable, bossy, brassy, emotional, abrasive, high-maintenance, ambitious (a word that I think of as neutral, even admirable, but clearly isn’t for a lot of people),” she said.
“The linguist George Lakoff both identified this problem and embodied it when he said about Senator Elizabeth Warren, ‘Elizabeth has a problem. She is shrill, and there is a prejudice against shrill women.’ How about we stop criticizing how she speaks — which is just fine, by the way — and start paying attention to what she has to say about families and the economy?” Clinton wrote.
“What Happened” is neither a juicy insider account nor a manifesto of the Democratic party’s failings, says Joanna Weiss in a Globe book review. Instead Clinton explains why she was right all along and offers a psychological salve to members of Team Clinton, the review says.