http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/the-road-to-elle-clintonworlds-plutographic-presidential-rollout/article/2562882The road to ELLE: ClintonWorld's plutographic presidential rollout
By Byron York | April 11, 2015 | 5:41 pm
As part of the rollout of her presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton chose the Huffington Post to publish a new "epilogue" to her tepidly-received 2014 memoir, Hard Choices. A significant part of the chapter is about Clinton's happiness at becoming a grandmother, now that daughter Chelsea Clinton has had a daughter of her own, Charlotte. But the epilogue's broader point is Clinton's intention to make much of her 2016 campaign about fighting inequality.
"I have always believed that every child should have the chance to live up to his or her God-given potential," Clinton wrote. "I'm more convinced than ever that our future in the 21st century depends on our ability to ensure that a child born in the hills of Appalachia or the Mississippi Delta or the Rio Grande Valley grows up with the same shot at success that Charlotte will."
With those carefully-chosen regions and the voting groups they represent — Appalachia for working-class whites, the Delta for blacks, Rio Grande for Hispanics — Clinton took care to associate herself with opportunity for those parts of the American electorate struggling the most to get ahead, or just to maintain their place, in today's economy.
All of which made another part of the Clinton rollout — a new photo spread in the trendy fashion magazine ELLE featuring Chelsea Clinton modeling high-priced clothing, jewelry and shoes while discussing equal opportunity — all of that made for a discordant note in ClintonWorld's big week.
One photo in the ELLE article featured this caption:
Chelsea Clinton in a Gucci dress, Mateo New York bracelet, Cartier bracelet, Garland Collection ring, Halleh ring.
Another photo featured this caption:
Derek Lam blouse, Stella McCartney trousers, Bulgari necklace, Tiffany & Co. bracelets, Trollbeads bangle, Garland Collection ring, Halleh ring, Brian Atwood pumps.
Cartier, Gucci, Bulgari — they are some of the most expensive names in the fashion business, and in this case they are the background to Chelsea Clinton's thoughts on equality of opportunity, especially for women. "One of our core values in this country is that we are the land of equal opportunity," Clinton told the magazine, "but when equal hasn't yet included gender, there is a fundamental challenge there that, I believe, having our first woman president — whenever that is — will help resolve."
As admiring as the article was — "There is something innately regal about Chelsea," gushed ELLE's editor-in-chief — the oddity of ClintonWorld including a fashion magazine in the 2016 rollout was not lost on Democrats who are not fully on board with Hillary Clinton's presidential candidacy. Some sent around a tweet from Jeff Smith — the Missouri Democrat who was one of the party's rising stars until he ran afoul of campaign finance laws — raising a serious eyebrow over the ELLE spread. "As a matter of optics, odd sartorial choices for someone whose mom is kicking off a campaign about income inequality," Smith tweeted, to the delight of some Democrats.
Displaying the trappings of wealth isn't new with the Clintons. Hillary Clinton was famously giving speeches for $300,000 nearly to the start date of her presidential campaign. She stirred controversy when she said that she and Bill Clinton had been "dead broke" when they left the White House in 2001, even though they immediately began spending and taking in millions. Meanwhile, Chelsea Clinton, who enjoyed perhaps more than an equal opportunity to become vice chair of the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, attracted comment when she and husband Marc Mezvinsky bought a $10.5 million, 5,000 square foot, six-and-a-half bath apartment in New York last year. Chelsea Clinton also made news for accepting a $600,000 offer to become a special correspondent for NBC News.
None of that is to say anyone should begrudge the Clintons their money. Successful people can make a lot in America, and the family's current situation stems from the incredible success that Bill Clinton made of his life. There should be rewards for that kind of ability.
But there's a difference between enjoying success and posing for magazine spreads showing off high-end bling. The display is the thing. And in this context, the key question is: Is that a good idea when one is kicking off a presidential campaign on the platform of fighting inequality?
In the 1980s, the writer Tom Wolfe coined the word "plutography," which he defined as "the graphic depiction of the acts of the rich." Wolfe called it "the great vice of the 1980s," but it is of course still alive and well today. And now the Clintons have pulled off the first-ever plutographic kickoff to a presidential campaign.
