So, last night I watched the series premiere of "Madame Secretary," which conservatives have been slamming for months as a liberal Hollywood plot to pave the way for Hillary Clinton's presidential run. You know -- tough-talking, blonde secretary of state takes on the establishment and blah, blah, blah.
Now, I don't doubt for a minute that this could be on somebody's agenda. But if that was indeed the plan, sorry to have to tell them, but it failed miserably. The secretary, as portrayed by Tea Leoni, was tough-acting as well as -talking, smart, diplomatically gifted, a well-respected former member of the CIA. And when confronted with a tricky hostage situation in Syria (talk about timely), she put the safety of Americans above politics. Oh, and she was pretty.
How much of that would you say describes Hillary Clinton? As one observer noted, she "will not benefit from being compared to Tea Leoni." This review gets it about right: It isn't the exciting, original fare you might get from another network, but it's the solidly competent kind of drama you would expect from CBS.
Best thing from the show -- a quote from Thomas Aquinas:
If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever.
Define ship as "political career," and you've pretty much nailed what the captains in Washington, including Hillary, are up to. If you're waiting for them to put the national interest above their self-interest, well, brothers and sisters, that ship has sailed.
