Hillary's Study

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I thought this NYT front page image today was particularly clever.

It seemed to be saying, or reminding, how Hillary — just as much as she seems to be finding her own voice right now, and striking a blow for women and society by vigorously challenging and exploding gender norms and gender bias — remains extremely savvy when it comes to creating a persona and shaping perceptions.

Obviously, it is not lost on the Mandy Grunwald’s of the political consulting world how much the gender backlash (or, as one reader here coined it, the “anti-anti-Hillary” backlash) also represents an enormous opportunity.

(Of course, I understand how the idea that Hillary, women or the country had some kind of breakthrough last week is not very satisfying to those who feel the campaign had been looking, all along, for the chance do some triangulation around the women’s vote.)

(image: Nicole Bengiveno/NYT.  January 9, 2008.  nytimes.com.  caption:Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton did live television interviews from her home in Chappaqua, N.Y., on the morning after her victory.)