The beginning was great...

...then it was downhill all the way.

I am referring particularly to the valedictory speech of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton this morning in Washington. She started off with a joke, saying, "Well, this isn't exactly the party I'd planned, but I sure like the company." Then proceeded to thank every Tom, Dick, and Harriet she could think of ("And to all of those women in their 80s and their 90s..." josh ko 'day!), which made me switch back to Tim Gunn's Guide to Style.

Then she goes on to pat herself on the back, for fighting a good fight, put in a few plugs about her pet program – universal health care – then finally gets to the meat of the matter...her endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama as Democratic Party presidential candidate. I just noticed, however, how she punctuated her sentences and stressed each word in the portions where she talked about herself adoringly, but in the portions where she endorses Obama and underscores his accomplishments, she just rushes through them, flat without emotion. Walang kagana-gana.

Of course, she's hurting because she lost the nomination. And yes, I cannot take away the fact that she fought the good fight and almost made it as the first female presidential candidate of the U.S. (I doubt though if she would have beaten Sen. John McCain.) But in her speech, she couldn't be more obvious about her disappointment at not reaching her goal...so she kept on lifting herself up. Nagbubuhat ng sariling bangko, as we say in these parts.

It seemed as if she was sending a mixed message to her supporters, underscoring how difficult it will be to campaign to get Obama into the White House. I dunno, maybe I was just reading too much into her lack of enthusiasm in her endorsement. I sure hope to God Obama doesn't choose her as his running mate. Di sila bagay talaga. She will emasculate him. Moreso, that her husband Bill CIinton, the former U.S. President, is going to be around...it's going to be a very crowded White House if that happens.

Speaking of Bill, the last Democrat who occupied the White House, he looked visibly disappointed by the result of the caucuses. He couldn't hide his dismay, unlike daughter Chelsea, who looked genuinely relieved and happy over the outcome. While watching Hillary's speech on CNN and observing her husband's body language, I couldn't help but think that he was in the dumps because having Hillary at home meant less booty-call time for him...haha. Or perhaps Hillary already gave him a lickin'. After all, he did make a few enemies along the campaign trail, him being a loose cannon and all, which is one of the reasons she lost the nomination.

Anyhoo, all eyes will be on the November elections. It's going to be an exciting time in the U.S.