I was Bill Clinton at the Peace March in Washington, DC. I’ve never been famous,
or president, or had anyone but my mother want to take my photo before. But
today well over 5,000 people snapped photos of me. I grinned, I smiled, I laughed…
and no one saw any of it. I was the guy underneath an oversized (think "Jack"
from Jack-in-the-Box) head of Bill Clinton. People stood in a row of 15 and
took my photos. Click. Click. Click. Then in groups of 5. Click. Click. And
on and on like that for hours. Of course, I wasn’t just sporting an over-sized
Bill head, I had on a pink suit and pearls with high heels and a pink purse
to match. I was Bill as First Lady, campaigning for Hillary for president in
2008 with the Bill-for-First-Lady.com
campaign.
Yes, I was Bill Clinton in a pink dress, heels and a matching purse, at Saturday’s
pro-peace rally and march in Washington DC. I stood in front of the White House
with a couple of campaign staffers as the march passed by. We were campaigning
for Bill’s (hopefully) new role as First Lady in 2008.
When the Bill-for-First-Lady.com campaign decided to go to the march we weren’t
sure how our pro-Hillary and pro-Bill campaign would be received by Democrats
opposed to the war. But since the campaign’s staff is all strongly opposed to
the war we wanted to attend the march and to take a stand. So we were surprised
(and frankly a bit disappointed) that out of the thousands of people who stopped
to take Bill’s photo, only a handful expressed concerns about Hillary’s position
on the war. Perhaps they, like us, know that Hillary would never have invaded
Iraq in a war of aggression, never would have tortured prisoners and never would
have exploited terrorism to get no-bid contracts to her college buddies and
other cronies.
(even the police wanted to pose with Bill)
We were not prepared for the level of excitement and love that our "Bill"
received from the marchers. When we filmed Bill’s
First Lady "campaign commercials" we’d seen the kind of Beatles-like
public reaction that only Bill Clinton in a dress could possibly generate. But
we still were not prepared for the kind of reaction we say today. There was
a non-stop line of people taking photos of Bill. Perhaps walking by Bush’s White
House to see a Clinton campaigning was the kind of hope needed on this day.
Or perhaps Democrats are finally learning that we can have our differences and
still stick together.
To the people at the march, I was Bill in a pink dress. There wasn’t "someone"
behind the eye holes looking out. But to me, I was that someone looking out.
And what I saw was dizzying. I don’t know how Bill makes it through a day! Even
with the help of other campaign staffers, I could not walk more than 2 feet
without being asked to stop, wave and look into a camera. My butt was pinched
at least 50 times (I’m not complaining). I was hugged, kissed, high-fived and
otherwise embraced by the tens of thousands of people passing by.
Today’s march was a pro-peace march in a time of war. And there were
moments that overtook me in other ways. As the parents and families of soldiers
passed by, the tears behind the mask dripped down my face. While Bill’s
face was smiling, I was in tears. Looking through my tiny window into the world
around Bill, at the moms and dads whose children were being asked to fight for
an unjust and immoral war, I felt a mix of rage and deep sadness. And I realized
how high the stakes are, just like I am sure that both Bill and Hillary do when
it comes to sending soldiers into war.
One mother asked for a photo with Bill. She told me (Bill?) that her daughter
was in Iraq. My hands trembled as I hugged her. I whispered to her that I cannot
imagine what she is dealing with, and told her that we’d (Americans) would
do what it takes to end the war. She looked me in the eye – through the tiny
hole into the mask, and said: "Yes we will."
There were times when the Tom behind Bill’s mask had to leave the march,
sit down and think about the gravity of today’s event (and relax my feet
– how the hell do women walk in heels?). I am part of Bill-for-First-Lady.com
because I believe that this is one way to help ensure that Democrats can turn
back the radical agenda of the Bush administration. If Hillary gets nominated,
she’ll need grassroots defenders at her side. Our strategy is to use up
the anti-Bill ridicule and humor, to get Americans used to Bill as "First
Lady," long before the election – when it really matters.
We’re using comedy as part of a serious political strategy. But there
are some things that just aren’t fun. One such thing is war. From behind
Bill’s mask, as the coffins passed in front of the White House, as Cindy
Sheehan stopped to let Bush know that he’s accountable for his actions
as President, as hundreds of thousands of Americans marched together for peace,
I realized how much Americans want to go back to the kinds of years that were
the Clinton years.
Over and over people came and talked to me (as if I were Bill) to thank me
and to let me know that Hillary is their woman. The Clinton years – years
when domestic issues came before boogeyman politics – were good for many
Americans, and for America as a whole. Person after person wanted to let Bill
know this. And so, today I learned what it must be like (just a tiny fraction
of it) to be Bill Clinton. To have seduced an entire nation, to have a nation
be in love with you and what you stand for.
To find out more about our campaign and campaign strategy, visit the site:
Bill-for-First-Lady.com. There are
videos of "campaign commercials" with Bill getting ready to his new
role as First Lady – including one with Bill
in a pink thong and one with Bill
in a men’s restroom struggling with panty hoes and high heels. Hopefully
you will join our campaign (we won’t make you wear the mask).
Cross-posted at Bill-for-First-Lady.com’s
Campaign Blog.
