After nearly 30 years in the public eye as attorney, politician, diplomat and power spouse, Hillary Clinton has an ability to incite powerful reactions and inspire opinions equaled by few Americans today. With the 2016 Presidential election still a year away and her campaign for the Democratic Party nomination already running at full throttle, the conversation surrounding her is more intense than ever, and the essay collection Love Her, Love Her Not: The Hillary Paradox joins it from a variety of perspectives.
Edited by Joanne C. Bamberger, founder of the online magazine The Broad Side, Love Her, Love Her Not presents 28 reflections and opinions on Clinton. Bamberger notes that women's votes have decided nearly all of the presidential elections of the last three decades, and in accordance with that and her mission to advance political commentary by and among women, all of the book's contributors are women, representing many ages, cultural backgrounds and political beliefs.
Some essayists are supportive, some are critical. Some are objective and analytical, while others are unabashedly personal. Several of the writers ponder the conflict between wanting to support a woman for president and disagreeing with aspects of this particular woman's record, giving the lie to the assumption that women will vote for a woman just because she is one. Love Her, Love Her Not is not a portrait of the candidate, but it presents an enlightening picture of her effect on the electorate; while no consensus emerges, it's a valuable contribution to the conversation that will surely occupy the months ahead. --Florinda Pendley Vasquez, blogger at The 3 R's Blog: Reading, 'Riting, and Randomness