Clinton cackle irrelevant if Hillary has last laugh

America Letter:Hillary Clinton may be far ahead of her Democratic rivals in the polls after launching a new plan for universal health care and taking contested positions on US policy towards Iraq and Iran. In parts of Washington, however, the talk over the past two weeks has been less about Clinton's policies or poll numbers than about her laugh - a loud guffaw critics claim she uses to deflect tough questions.

The laugh was on full display last week when Clinton appeared on all five Sunday morning television talk shows - a scheduling feat that itself highlighted her unrivalled pulling power for the media. The laugh appeared at the most unlikely moments, in response to serious questions as well as trivial ones, but was longest and loudest when Chris Wallace of Fox News asked why she and Bill Clinton were so partisan.

Within days, "Clinton's cackle" was everywhere, with Jon Stewart's Daily Show portraying her as a robot programmed to laugh at certain times. Much of the commentary on the laugh saw it as evidence of Clinton's calculation and essential phoniness, although Fox's Sean Hannity declared that her "maniacal laughing fits on Fox News Sunday have sparked speculation that she is trying to get voters to believe that she's not the cold, calculating candidate that the press has often characterised her as". While commentators sought to compare the Clinton laugh to Howard Dean's notorious "scream" during the 2004 campaign, Clinton spokesman Jay Carson was quick to defend his boss.

"She's got a great laugh. But given the serious issues facing this country - the mess this administration has gotten us into in Iraq, growing economic woes and millions without health care, to name a few - we don't think voters are going to decide on their next president based on who has the most melodious laugh."

More than any other candidate, Clinton is accustomed to close public scrutiny of her personal style - from her hair (changed it too often in the 1990s) to her ankles (too thick, according to biographer Carl Bernstein) and her cleavage (she wore a low neckline recently). Some women commentators believe the laughter critique falls into the same, sexist pattern, suggesting that women are often portrayed as giggling like schoolgirls or cackling like witches.

"Any woman who has ever been the only female in the room knows the guys are always waiting for that perfect moment - the one that makes the woman look silly, stupid, weepy or, best of all, witchy," said Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi.

Men are much more likely than women to dislike Clinton - 45 per cent of men have a negative opinion of her and only 36 per cent have a positive opinion. Some 45 per cent of women like her, compared to 31 per cent who have a negative view of her.

In New Jersey this week, I met Republicans of both sexes who frankly loathe Clinton and will never forgive her for standing by her husband following his sex scandals.

"Hillary Clinton is a powermonger. Only a woman who is a powermonger would take a national embarrassment and stay with the man," said Patricia Nardone, who is supporting thrice-married Republican Rudy Giuliani.

Giuliani and other Republicans can exploit conservatives' dislike of Clinton to boost their own support but attacking Clinton is a riskier proposition for her Democratic rivals. Pundits aching for a closer contest are pressing Barack Obama to become more aggressive in his criticism of Clinton's vote to authorise the Iraq war and her status as the candidate of the Washington establishment.

Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, acknowledged this week that the Illinois senator was wary of undermining his image as the candidate of hope and change by getting down and dirty with the frontrunner. "He has a strong aversion to going out there and engaging in sort of gratuitous attacks... One of the things people appreciate about him is he's not a cheap-shot artist. That's part of the change we need in our politics."