A farewell to Hillary Clinton

The end of her political career is a moment to consider her symbolism, not her politics

Visitors take a selfie with portraits of presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump during US election night in The Hague, Netherlands EPA/Bart Maat

To the victor, the spoils – and in the current media landscape, most of the attention. In the first hours after her defeat, Hillary Clinton avoided the media, while Donald Trump paraded his family and friends in triumph. But Mrs Clinton deserves a farewell lap, if not of victory, then at least of valiant effort.

At 69, and with two failed races for the White House behind her, this is probably the end of her career. What she memorably called “that highest, hardest glass ceiling” remains unbroken. Other countries have found it much easier to elect a female leader, but for America, it remains out of reach. Mrs Clinton, whatever one may think of her politics, was incredibly well-qualified, perhaps the most qualified candidate, of either gender, that America will see for some time. And yet she lost. Some ceilings are just too high.

Yet Mrs Clinton ought to be proud of what she has achieved, and what her climb through the rough-and-tumble of US politics means for women and girls around the world. Female role-models at that level are hard to come by, and there will be many in America and around the world who, while they disagree with her, would have relished the chance to look at their daughters and say: “Yes, you can.” As with Barack Obama, her victory would have meant something beyond US shores.

Yet a majority of Americans did not feel that way. Mr Trump won and won convincingly. He tapped into something that both politicians and the mainstream media missed; an emotion, an anger, a raw desire for something different. Facing Hillary Clinton, in every way the quintessential political operative, was always going to give him an advantage. Much of Mr Trump’s strongest support came from areas that have been hurt badly by the economic slowdown and decades of underinvestment. For them, Mrs Clinton represented a system that had already destroyed their communities.

Such analysis, however, must wait for another day. Democrats will have months and years to lick their wounds. Today, Mrs Clinton deserves a moment to recall what she achieved, not what she has lost.