Hillary Clinton really loves Antiques Roadshow, feels like an antique herself sometimes

(Image credit: Yana Paskova/Getty Images)

last updated 11 October 2016

In this brave new world of smartphones and selfies and instant reactions on Twitter, a 68-year-old politician can begin to feel a bit like a set of 18th century Chinese cups. Or maybe like a Salem block-front desk circa 1760, or a collection of baseball cards from the 1870s Boston Red Stockings.

Hillary Clinton is in many ways an old-fashioned politician, and she knows what it's like to feel like a relic of the past:

In a sense, [Clinton] is daring voters to study her positions, listen to her answers, and not look to her for entertainment or emotional impact. In 2016, that can seem almost risky."I've laid out all of these policies, and look, people kind of made fun of it, because 'Oh, there she goes with another policy,'" Clinton told me. "I'm trying to run a campaign that presents an alternative case." It's telling that a candidate with the name recognition, résumé, and baggage of Hillary Clinton is nonetheless left to present her campaign as an "alternative case.""My husband and I laugh sometimes about the Antiques Roadshow," Clinton told me, referring to the PBS show about antique appraisers that she watches devoutly. "Sometimes we feel like we are the antiques on a roadshow when it comes to politics." [The New York Times Magazine]

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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