ABC News

She took a page from Franklin Delano Roosevelt in her first major campaign speech, but Hillary Clinton is still Wall Street’s woman — a point not lost on some who took in her surreal show at Roosevelt Island’s Four Freedoms Park on Saturday.

Among those who noted the contrast was The Daily Beast’s Olivia Nuzzi, who described feeling a recurring sense of dissonance between the candidate and the message in her report from Clinton’s New York City campaign stop:

Saturday’s event was designed to highlight her champion-ness by contrasting her with the New Deal Democrat, whose Four Freedoms she has attempted to mimic with her own “Four Fights,” the economy, families, campaign finance and national security.

[… ] The park feels divorced from Manhattan, whose skyscrapers loom from across the water, not just geographically, but spiritually. With the bomb-sniffing dogs, security guards, metal detectors, police officers, Men In Black-looking security guards and campaign staff speeding around on golf-carts, Hillary Island felt like its own world with its own rule. It’s a serene summertime police state—wherein campaign staffers told reporters to stay in their designated area, away from attendees—pleasant and creepy at the same time.

Which might be the best way to describe Clinton herself during Saturday’s launch.

In a royal blue blazer and glowing blonde hair, Clinton took to the stage to deliver her Four Fights speech. At times she sounded robotic, like the pol who won’t take a position without poll testing it as she has been accused[;] at others some humanity crept through. All the while, though, it was hard to shake the feeling that she was already president—of this island.

Voters have until Nov. 8, 2016, to decide if they’re able to buy what Clinton was selling Saturday, giving her team plenty of time to work on the packaging.

–Posted by Kasia Anderson

WAIT, BEFORE YOU GO…

If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.

Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG