MARKET WATCH COLUMNIST
“Hillary’s poll numbers could be in for a baby boom”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, April 20 2014
Will Hillary get a baby bump?
Oh, I know. Chelsea’s the Clinton who’s pregnant. But her mom’s approval ratings have suddenly started sagging. And a baby in the family might be exactly what the poll doctor ordered.
Babies are humanizing. Any consultant will tell you that. Why do you think politicians kiss so many of them?
So of course the former first lady and secretary of state gushed in a celebratory Twitter post: “My most exciting title yet: Grandmother-To-Be! @billclinton and I are thrilled that Chelsea and Marc are expecting their first child!”
Some Clinton-bashers were quick to theorize that the whole thing might be a cynical setup, that Chelsea and her husband, Marc Mezvinsky, decided to make a baby as a pandering political gift to Grandmother.
But this makes no sense. No parent who’s ever heard the term “3 a.m. feeding” could possibly make such a sacrifice for any relative’s career. Not even if that relative has eyes on the White House. Not even if a new Fox poll pegs her favorable-unfavorable at 48-45.
Raise another $100 million. Bring back Carville. Trudge across New Hampshire in the snow.
Those are the sacrifices people make for political ambition. Changing diapers? Suffering through colic?
Forget about it, Grandma!
GOO-GOO-GA-GA
1. Rand, Rand Go Away
2. Hil and Bill Went up the Hill
3. Round and Round the Jeb Bush
4. I’m a Little Tea Partier
5. Christie’s Bridge is Falling Down
ASKED AND UNANSWERED
Exactly how much precinct ribbing has top Suffolk cop James Burke received for letting a Smithtown junkie steal his gun belt and ammo? None, you say? I don’t mean to his face . . . Is geography destiny? Does the choice of Melville for next month’s Democratic state convention help propel LI Association boss Kevin Law as Andrew Cuomo’s lieutenant governor? Or does the site pick actually boost Suffolk Exec Steve Bellone? . . . If the Secret Service had actually fired at Mr. Met, any chance the snipers would have missed? That fathead was an easy target on the field . . . Is laughter the best medicine to prevent suicide? The cash-strapped Long Island Crisis Center will find out at a not-so-depressing fundraiser Thursday night at Bellmore’s Brokerage Comedy Club . . . Are other LI truckers using rigged license plates to beat Port Authority bridge tolls as Westbury’s Eric Bonhommer allegedly did at the Goethals Bridge? . . . How many 19- and 20-year-old Suffolk smokers will now start buying across the Nassau line? Is Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves worried about that — or just counting the coming tax revenue? . . . Will the soon-to-open Hamptons Café in pricey Dubai make the real Hamptons look cheap? “A new dining establishment inspired by the flavours of Long Island in the US state of New York” featuring “the nonchalant elegance and diverse wholesome flavours of Long Island’s East End.” Bring credit cards!
THE NEWS IN SONG
I hope he’s not like me
“With Arms Wide Open”
by
Creed
LONG ISLANDER OF THE WEEK
VIC POLITI
Yes, it’s Easter. Yes, it’s a holiday. So what’s Vic Politi doing at work? The new president and CEO of Nassau University Medical Center decided he’d rather spend the day serving brunch in the pediatrics ward. “Having spent holidays as a doctor in the ER,” Politi said, “I know how hard it is for children and families to not be home for Easter. So I figured we would bring it to them.” The father of two, who lives in Bellmore, is promising gifts, an indoor Easter egg hunt and a six-foot bunny running up and down the halls. And this could well turn into an Easter tradition. The hospital is opening a state-of-the-art maternity department just in time for Mother’s Day.
E-mail ellis@henican.com
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