The 3am Call

In my not at all humble opinion, it will become one of those great campaign ads. Hillary Clinton’s “The 3am Call" and her shrill insistence that she – and only she – would be able to take that crisis call when it comes through to the US president in the dead of night. Of course, the ad might not work, but at least it is memorable.

But a few points spring to mind about this attack ad – and it is basically an attack ad because it has been used to attack Obama’s perceived lack of experience. But seriously, what experience does Hillary Clinton have of taking that middle-of-the-night phone call that does – sometimes – come through to world leaders? The woman’s been a Senator – OK, for longer that Obama, but still won’t have that executive experience. It will be her husband who has that experience. Hell, Hillary’s experience of the 3am call is probably rolling over in bed and asking her husband to take his call somewhere else if he is going to talk so darned loud.

And why is this 3am phone call so important? What call really needs to be taken at 3am? I’d say only those that directly jeopardise or take the lives of US citizens. There may be all sorts of crises going on throughout the globe, but a decent time manager should let those wait for the morning. Unless America or American citizens are under attack, then the President should want to be informed when they are awake, in the morning, munching on their muesli and actually in the right mindset to make these crucial decisions. Because at 3am, no-one is at their best. There might be just occasions when the President actually needs to take that call at 3am, but those are few and far between.

And even if that call does come through, even if someone is going to nuke the US, why is experience so important at that point? Because hopefully the President – be it Obama, Clinton or McCain – is going to consult with others before they take action. Before you take action that may jeopardise the lives of others, you should really check with others who are specialists in their fields and can offer sage advice.

There’s something in the mindset of a candidate who is focussed on this sort of 3am crisis call. They are the type of people who relish the adrenaline rush of a catastrophe, those who get a hard-on* for making any drama into a crisis. They probably get a bit breathless when they hear a siren. Being part of a motorcade, with all those police officers and all those flashing lights, is the biggest thrill in the world. They wait for that terrorist atrocity, because it will allow them to pose as heroic. They wait for a war, so they can become a war leader. And as a result of all this, they are utterly unsuited to high office.

And, given the constant convening of COBRA every time a sparrow farted when he first came into power, I would include Gordon Brown in that list of unsuitable leaders more interested in the melodrama of their office rather than the actual role. But there’s nothing new in Brown being called a unsuitable wanker on this blog…

*Ok, ok, Hillary won’t get a hard-on, I know…