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Jokowi and Clinton ‘phenomenon’
When Hillary Clinton stepped down as United States secretary of state in 2013, her poll numbers were high, almost the same as those President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has today (in the low 60s in terms of percent). This was an especially rare feat for Clinton who had spent decades under public scrutiny in the political spotlight.
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
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hen Hillary Clinton stepped down as United States secretary of state in 2013, her poll numbers were high, almost the same as those President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has today (in the low 60s in terms of percent). This was an especially rare feat for Clinton who had spent decades under public scrutiny in the political spotlight.
However, as the campaign for the White House in 2016 rolled on, her poll numbers dropped, marred by her past, her positions and her personality. She would eventually lose to Donald Trump, who many in the American media discounted, even ridiculing his motives and chances for higher office from the very beginning of his campaign. Could Indonesia’s own election be headed in this direction?
The campaign teams of the 2014 Indonesian presidential election took into account the results of elections in the West, particularly in the US, with Jokowi even borrowing Barack Obama-like tactics for the early phases of the campaign to the extent of drawing similarities between his running mate Jusuf Kalla and then US vice president Joe Biden.
Although there were many other events that contributed to their victory, the message of hope and optimism that President Jokowi ran on never shied from the “Yes We Can” vibe that Obama had so masterfully communicated.
On the other hand, judging from several surprise election results over the past few years in the US and other countries, it was initially thoughtful of Gen. (ret) Moeldoko — the presidential chief of staff — to state that Jokowi and Ma’ruf must not follow in the footsteps of Clinton to defeat (referring to it as a “phenomenon”), but he later concluded that her loss was caused by a lack of supporters going to voting booths.
This was when things started to get disorientating because it completely missed the whole point of why Clinton lost. She had a majority of almost 3 million votes in the election against Trump and although the democratic systems to elect presidents in the US and Indonesia differ, understanding Clinton’s loss and Trump’s win would serve as a backdrop to Indonesia’s own presidential election.
First, Clinton herself carried a lot of political baggage and her past as first lady, senator and secretary of state was not always placed in a positive light. She was viewed as being too close to corporate giants and Wall Street, making her seen out of touch with the struggles of the average American.
