“If Britney Spears can get through 2007, I can make it through anything,” is the motto presidential candidate and former frontrunner Hillary Clinton is likely living by these days.
As Bernie Sanders dominates polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, Internet critics are predicting Clinton’s imminent political death. After a triumphant announcement and hearty start, Clinton has found herself in treacherous waters thanks to her ongoing email scandal.
The content found within the emails is more humorous than menacing, with many emails highlighting Clinton’s grandmother persona with her spelling of “I-Pad” and her love for the CBS drama “The Good Wife.”
The emails show Clinton is likely to be an embarrassing old person who takes pictures with an iPad while out in public, #Stahp.
Yet voters on both sides of the political spectrum are quick to paint Clinton as an untrustworthy figure who has a long record of deceit. How does Clinton respond to the critics? She does the “Nae Nae” on Ellen DeGeneres’ No. 1 rated daytime talk show.
Because Clinton isn’t an ordinary candidate — she’s a cool candidate.
As the media eagerly awaits her inevitable downfall, it’s hard not to compare Clinton’s situation to Spears’ in 2007.
Like Clinton, Spears was the target of various media outlets as she dealt with — to put it lightly — personal issues. The media loves to watch stars fall from grace. A star’s misfortune means there is a story to run.
While Clinton is not running into gas stations barefoot or shaving her head and attacking photographers, she’s certainly not handling her email crisis properly. The media and general public is waiting for the situation to result in a downward spiral that will see Clinton doing the political equivalent of Spears’ actions.
But even though the odds aren’t in Clinton’s favor now, she still has a card to play.
As much as the media and the American public love tearing a public figure down, they love the idea of a comeback even more.
After watching her performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Award’s, it was easy to say Spears’ career was over. It was painful to watch, and everyone was well aware.
Yet when Spears came back in 2008 with fresh weave and a No. 1 hit with “Womanizer,” the masses ate it up. Everyone overlooked the fact she was mentally committed less than six months prior and possibly a danger to her children because Britney was back, y’all.
Clinton’s misfortunes aren’t as concerning as Spears’ were in 2007, but the comparison holds. Both women are prominent figures who were at the top of their respective fields before unfortunate situations put their careers at risk.
Like Spears, Clinton is able to use her unfortunate situation to her advantage. It would be stupid for Clinton to not do so. Clinton, like Trump, has an advantage over other candidates thanks to her celebrity status.
While Trump has been using his celebrity status to dominate headlines, Clinton has kept hers on the down low — other than her appearance on Ellen — in an attempt to be seen as relatable and down-to-earth.
But who can actually relate to Hillary? Does an elderly Iowan woman think because she and Clinton are both grandmothers that they’re soul sisters? If she does, she’s wrong.
Clinton is a political titan. Sure, she might not know how to charge an iPad, but she’s Hillary Clinton. She doesn’t need to know how to charge an iPad because she knows how to run a country.
Clinton should tap into her celebrity and use it to her advantage. The media will relentlessly cover Clinton’s demise, but it will also obsess over her comeback to #HBIC.
As Spears might say in her song “Work B—h:” “If you wanna be president of the United States, you better work b—h!”
John Gavin Harp is a 20-year-old mass communication junior from St. Francisville, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @SirJohnGavin.