Hillary Lannister?

Charlie Spiering reports that in her new book Hillary Clinton compares herself to Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones. For those who don’t know, Cersei is a cruel villain.

Some might say this is the sort of thing that happens when your ghostwriter’s Standing Subcommittee on Popular Culture References had a few too many beers the night before. But let’s assume it wasn’t a mistake and speaks to either Clinton’s views or those working for her. I think that’s interesting.

I remember that National Review film critic Ross Douthat was one of the very few people to openly count himself as a member of Team Sparrow — i.e., he sided with the religious “zealots” Clinton (or her team) disparage. I think that as a moral matter, Ross was probably right (though it’s debatable). A Westeros ruled by the Church would have been better than one ruled by Cersei or the Lannisters. But for many of the liberal fans of Game of Thrones, this was crazy talk, like siding with the patriarchy in A Handmaid’s Tale.

The thing is that even if you despise the theocrats, Cersei had every reason to be ashamed. She was, in fact, guilty of everything she was accused of. Yes, the person shouting “shame!” the loudest was an uptight prig and zealot, but most of the people shouting “shame!” were actually . . . the people. You might even call them deplorables. Cersei certainly would.

I honestly have no idea if Clinton watches Game of Thrones, but I think it’s interesting that the team that put together her book took it for granted that everyone reading it would see Cersei as a wholly sympathetic figure in that scene.