Hillary Water-Gate

In my writing class, I have students write about a bad day on the job. The post below came from Jared Coleman who had a run in with a Mrs. Hillary Clinton. It's my favorite bad day this year. (And by the way, after you're done reading it, you might be amused to know that the Hillary water bottle is available from her website. What would you put in it?)

I once interned for the Campaign for America’s Future (CAF) in Washington DC. Each year CAF host a large event called “Take Back America” attended by prominent American politicians including presidential candidates. 

Each politician’s staff pre-requests stuff for their boss—like a rock band requesting green M&Ms—including specific lighting, entrance music, food, and water. I got the job of supplying the water. 

The vast majority of candidates just asked for bottled water without specifying a brand. However, Hillary Clinton requested Fiji water. At the local CVS, 2 bottles of Fiji cost the same as a 24-pack of Deer Park. Apparently, is actually comes from Fiji. Deer Park, according to Wikipedia, comes from places like Florida and Michigan. Since I needed to supply nearly 75 politicians with water I bought a few cases of Deer Park—thinking that a bottle of water is a bottle of water, no matter what name is on the outside. 

During the event, I handed bottles to the speakers a few minutes before they went on. Most thanked me and then engaged in short, friendly conversations—the kind of welcoming behavior you would expect from the leaders of our country. 

Mrs. Clinton, however, acted differently when she was handed her cold bottle of Deer Park. “Every year, every year, there is something different that is wrong with this event!” she told me and my boss. I personally felt disrespected and thought that as a potential President she would have handled herself better. 

She waited for a moment backstage, clearly displeased, and then proceeded to the main stage. During her speech she was booed for a comment about the War in Iraq. I guess karma truly does exist. I cracked a little smirk. Maybe it was something in the water?