Spin Cycle

Hillary was taking a victory lap with the media yesterday. The results include this interview with Time's Karen Tumulty and this long interview with Katie Couric.

The most interesting passage:

"This is the toughest job in the world. I was laughing because you know in that debate, obviously Sen. Edwards and Sen. Obama were kind of in the buddy system on the stage. And I was thinking whoever's up against the Republican nominee in the election debates come the fall is not gonna have a buddy to fall back on. You know, you're all by yourself. When you're president, you're there all by yourself."

This is stunning, isn't it?

We're supposed to not talk about Hillary crying because, you know, she's a woman and it's not fair. OK. But after she goes and leans on a support group of women, and chokes up because she was scared of losing, and then talks about how touching and bracing it was to get some sympathy -- then she can come out and two days later mock her opponents as not tough enough because they both agreed that she was an agent of the status quo?

Now, the woman who got weepy in a coffee shop is going to lecture us about how she's the only one ready for a tough lonely job? Edwards can't even talk about toughness afterwards, but two days later she can say their debate strategy shows Obama and Edwards aren't tough enough? Not to hurt her feelings or anything, but she sure looked a little needy on Monday, didn't she? And she still seems to be leaning on Bill a lot, doesn't she?

Hillary may have gotten a short-term boost from the diner episode in NH. But at some point, if she keeps shifting back and forth between the very-human-stressed-and-needy appeals and the I'm-tough-and-I-don't-need-anyone posture, it may catch up. Even for a Clinton, it's gonna be a pretty cute trick to try to play the most masculine and the most feminine candidate at the same time.