What only Chelsea Clinton can do for Hillary
Chelsea Clinton arrives on stage to introduce her mother, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, on the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 28, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Credit: Getty Images / Aaron P. Bernstein
PHILADELPHIA — America may need a mom right now. And Chelsea Clinton is the only person in the world who’s ever called Hillary Clinton that.
Chelsea needs to underscore the side of her mom many people don’t see, said Lauren Morris, 20 of Charlotte, outside the women’s caucus Thursday at the Democratic National Convention, where Hillary-as-a-mom was the theme of the day. “Tell us what it was like being raised by her, show us that she can be nurturing,” Morris added. “That’s what we need right now.”
The former first daughter is the last scheduled speaker Thursday night before Hillary Clinton addresses the convention after three days of all-stars trying to convince America that she should be president.
Like many women, Clinton’s life has been a tricky dance of having to distance herself from traditional motherhood and having to embrace it, a challenge male candidates rarely face.
“I really think Clinton knows how much a gallon of milk is, unlike Donald Trump,” said Triana Arnold-James of Georgia, a mother of 12 kids. “Chelsea should talk about her being a mom, that makes her relatable to so many of us.”
Identity politics are front and center here with the historic nomination of the first major-party female presidential candidate.
“A women’s approach to life is just different,” said Mary Fracker of Washington, D.C. “We tend to be better listeners and more patient, so many qualities that would be important for a president to have right now with the state of the world.”
Chelsea’s speech comes a week after Ivanka Trump took the stage at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland to vouch for her dad. Like Chelsea, she also was tasked with humanizing her father, especially for women voters. She spoke about her father’s plans for family leave and making affordable child care more accessible, though some criticized that neither are policies he’s discussed.
“There’s no way Trump understands what it’s like get your kids up and ready for school and juggle everything moms have to do,” Arnold-James said.
On Tuesday, former President Bill Clinton told us their love story. On Thursday night, Chelsea has to crack open the family album.
Amanda Fiscina is a web producer for Newsday Opinion.
