The Sincerest Form of Flattery
“Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal,” T. S. Eliot said, meaning that the best poets seek to improve on lasting ideas. It would seem that the Democratic presidential primary’s mature poet is Hillary Clinton, who has been adopting the progressive words, and style, of her rival Bernie Sanders. The Vermont senator’s longstanding call for revolution against a system rigged against the poor and middle class resonates with young Democrats who jam convention halls to hear his booming, Brooklyn-accented voice. Some Democrats say it’s great that Mr. Sanders is nudging Mrs. Clinton to the left. Others say she’s merely parroting the race’s true progressive.
In April, leading Mr. Sanders by more than 50 points nationally, Mrs. Clinton traversed Iowa in her “Scooby bus,” speaking to handfuls of people at highly orchestrated round tables, favoring everybody-wins subjects like help for small business. In July, she opened up on Republicans, without mentioning her Democratic opponents. In September, Mrs. Clinton told a gathering in Ohio that she was “kind of moderate and center.” A month later, after poll numbers showed that Mr. Sanders was gaining on her in Iowa, she drew criticism for newly portraying herself as a “progressive.”
Now locked in a tighter race, Mrs. Clinton is holding big rallies too, and she increasingly channels the Bern. As both Democratic candidates made closing arguments at rallies in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, before the caucuses, it was remarkable how Mrs. Clinton’s talking points, style, even hand gestures resembled Mr. Sanders’s. In a fiery speech in a high school gym, she used clipped-cadence flourishes like, “Here’s what I want ya to know, guys,” to raise topics her rival holds dear: income inequality, poverty, the Koch brothers, taxing millionaires. “We’re going where the money is, the money is where the wealthy are, we’re gonna change the tax code and make them pay for all of the benefits they’ve got here in America!” she shouted.
This is the sincerest form of flattery. Here’s what Mr. Sanders said when he was inaugurated as the mayor of Burlington, Vt., 35 years ago: “In America today, the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer and the millions of families in the middle are gradually sliding out of the middle class and into poverty.” He’s been saying that ever since. Trying to beat Bernie Sanders at his own game carries risks for Mrs. Clinton. Democrats frequently fault her on trustworthiness, accusing her of changing her positions to suit the political moment.
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The merging of the philosophies pursued by these two very different politicians is a fascinating twist in the race. After an entire political career as a voice in the wilderness, Mr. Sanders’s lifelong message is resonating. The challenge for Mrs. Clinton is to listen and adapt to what these voters are demanding, not just to imitate what Mr. Sanders says.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/06/opinion/the-sincerest-form-of-flattery.html
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