"Yes We Can" vs. "Yes She Will"

[BurtWorm]

Did anyone besides me and Salon's War Room notice the war cry of the Hillary supporters last night as she claimed victory in Ohio and Rhode Island? "Yes, she will! Yes, she will!" Kind of an interesting retort to the Obama camp's "Yes, we can!" The pronoun shift is more interesting to me than the verb--from "we" (the people) to "she" (the leader). Was it just a coincidence, or does it reflect a real wish? Probably just an accident of losing something in the appropriation, right?


It struck me as emblematic of the many ironies and paradoxes of this strange campaign season, one in which the alleged "establishment" candidate is apparently drawing stronger support from labor, working families, and the non-degreed than the "progressive" candidate is.

Did anyone else notice it? What did you make of it, if anything?

[anonymous171]

1. Hillary thinks a president is a manager, Obama thinks a president should be a leader.

One reeks of executive privilege, the other of empowerment.

[Justitia]

6. Well, if anyone knows about "executive privilege", it's the Clintons.

Too bad it failed and they still got his lying ass impeached.

[samdogmom]

Barack has always been a "we" guy/Hillary a "me" girl!

People need to get this--it's an important distinction! Barack involves all of us/Hillary tells us what she'll do!

Me? I prefer Barack's more encompassing approach!

Edited for grammer.

[GodlessBiker]

16. Yes. The difference in these messages reveals a lot about the candidates.

[thereismore]

2. yes we will doesn't roll out the mouth as easily as yes she will. Since yes we can has been taken...

[ClassWarrior]

3. It's always been about her to her. I want a candidate who knows its about us.

NGU.

[TomClash]

22. Precisely - well-put nt

[Larkspur]

4. Hillary has always thought of herself as the Queen

and rightful her to the Dem nomination. That's why the emphasis is on her. She's a narcissist, like her husband, and like Bush and his Republicans.

[Maddy McCall]

5. I thought it was "Yes we will."

I must not have been listening close enough.

[SaveOurDemocracy]

9. ...guess we were BOTH imagining things. ;o)

[BurtWorm]

11. That's what Hillary said later in her speech.

That's what I thought the crowd was saying for a second, but then I distinctly heard the "she," and so did the War Room people.

It probably means nothing more than the fact that they're proud of supporting someone who might be the first woman president.

[THUNDER HANDS]

13. they said "yes she can" and then "yes we will"

I was going to write a post with this exact headline last night.

[SaveOurDemocracy]

7. I heard her say, "Yes, we will"

she simply switched the word 'can' to a more proactive word "will". I'm quite sure she didn't refer to herself in the third person.

[Maddy McCall]

8. In the past, she's said "Yes we will." Youtube inside.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhCikLeXb7c

[Heidi]

10. A lot of people think it's time for a female president. Most of the women in my family feel that way

and are supporting Sen. Clinton. To be fair, most of my family are in Oklahoma and are diehard Dems and longtime Clinton fans; politically-involved women in my family far outnumber politically-involved men.

I will proudly vote for the Democratic nominee. At this point, it doesn't much matter to me whether it's Obama or Clinton.

[Capn Sunshine]

19. I've always wondered about this

I don't support Barrack Obama because "it's time for a black president". It's about the leadership ability, the message and the clarity of vision thing. Yet many I speak to about Hillary mention "it's time for a woman president">

Time How? Will gender really affect anything? I expect a woman will be elected president some day, but Hillary isn't the only capable candidate of the female gender. Her running of course and doing this well so far breaks a lot of assumption barriers right there.

I've said this all along. it isn't Hillary the woman I don't support in the primary; it's Hillary the inside the beltway status quo pro war vote corporate oriented "lobbyists are people too" candidate.

This is, to me a battle of the progressive wing of the party vs the establishment wing. You know. The establishment. Top down. Inventors of the super delegate. Those guys.

[Heidi]

23. Without telling my whole life story, I will say

that I am successful in life largely because I work very hard to be kind, fair and compassionate -- not because I'm a woman. At the same time, I realize that having white skin has given me many, many advantages that I would not have had if I had been born darker-complected Cherokee like most of my family.

So, I know I have benefitted, through no virtue or achievement of my own, from the status quo and that's probably why I'm so determined to make sure that the status quo doesn't hold anyone back or unfairly propel others (like me) to success. There's no inherent virtue in race or gender; these are flukes of genetics that say nothing about who we are as people. Hard work, kindness, fairness and compassion, though, are personal and professional achievements, and I'm most likely to support the Democrat who best embodies these qualities.

[BurtWorm]

20. I will also support either one,

I won't feel like I'm betraying Obama if I support Hillary in November.

This is just such a strange political season.

[Heidi]

24. Yes, it's very, very strange.

While I'm aware of my race and gender, I don't identify by race or gender, so I find it difficult to identify with those who make race and gender the key factors in choosing a Democratic candidate.

[Saturday]

12. So now Hillary is responsible what her enthusiastic supporters

start chanting? Get real.

[Tom Rinaldo]

14. If Hillary used the word "We", people would think; "the Clintons"

At the root it is as simple as that. No one thinks Barack means him and Michell if he says "we" will accomplish something.

Peple around here go ballistic enough trashing even a hint of a Bill and Hillary tag team at any excuse.

"Yes we can" has long been the slogan of the United Farm Workers, a mostly hispanic union that endorsed Hillary Clinton for President.

[grantcart]

15. versus she can't add

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

17. Clinton's New Phrase Was "Yes WE Will".

It was brilliant. It totally rises above Obama's in such a simple straightforward way. Just brilliant.

[Maddy McCall]

21. Hey.

I'm sending you a PM in about five minutes. Check it, please.

[JNelson6563]

18. That's what I thought too

When I saw her speech in Ohio I noted they chanted that. First, how sad that they couldn't come up with something more original but, more importantly, they really screwed it up. "Yes we can" is a power to the people kind of thing. "Yes she can" makes it all about the leader, and not about the people.

Julie