Women See New Feminist Victory In Clinton At State

NY Times:

Hillary Rodham Clinton, a first lady turned senator turned almost-president, is now transforming herself again, this time into the nation's top diplomat. But she is also back to a role she cannot seem to shake: a canvas for women's highest hopes and deepest fears about the workplace.

As she pondered this week whether to trade her hard-won independence and elected office for a job working for a more powerful man, mothers and schoolteachers and law partners mulled in tandem with her. After eight years of building her own constituency, how could Mrs. Clinton surrender it? they asked. Is secretary of state a promotion or an acknowledgment that her political prospects are now limited? And ultimately, how well will her male boss treat her?

Read the whole story: NY Times

Comments

[SethBLiNK]

Throughout the election, I got the impression that women attached far more meaning to Hillary's candidacy than African Americans attached to Obama's. On election night, we saw how much Obama's victory meant to African Americans (and whites for that matter), but up to that point, it was all about what he represented in terms of policy, ideas and ability.

People chose to see sexism in Hillary's defeat, and again in her not being chosen as running mate and McCain, foolishly and cynically tried to capitalize on that feeling in his choice of a running mate.

And now, when nobody was expecting it, predicting it or insisting upon it, Obama has reached out to her for a job that is probably more important than VP and one that she is truly and uniquely qualified for. Of course, there are those who choose to attach other meanings to it, but it seems to me that if all those who wish Hillary well were to just step back and let it be what it is... a President choosing a person not because of its symbolic meaning but because she is uniquely qualified for the job, then perhaps it will eventually have more meaning than a symbolic or historic appointment.

No, she would not be the first Female Secretary of State (or even the second), but she does have the potential to be the first great one.

[nellie]

Am I missing something, or have "feminists" forgotten about Madeleine Albright? Not that Hillary landing the post isn't important, but I'm confused.

[nellie]

Condie Rice....

What am I missing?...

[antaeus]

You're missing the fact that one breathless HuffPo headline doesn't describe reality.

[Knowitall]

Madeleine Albright has been mentioned several times on this post. I mentioned her myself. Rice has also been mentioned several times. So I guess either you did miss something or I've missed your point???

[ChiGuy]

And ultimately, how well will her male boss treat her?!?!?

How inane.

[Tetiana]

Obama is a good man, he will treat Hillary WELL. He respects women!!! That is a perfect job for Hillary Clinton better then VP.

[loveobamas]

thank you finally someone,who realize that obama knows who he wants to work with.hillary will be good.

[nellie]

As are most articles about this issue.

[Knowitall]

Historically women in high government office are actually treated very well. They were even treated pretty well in the current administration. That's why it was surreal to see some of these same women "crying" during the campaign about unequal treatment, when that treatment came, not from the other nominees, but from the media and overzealous constituents.

Hillary will get on just fine. She will be treated as an equal to all her colleagues, just as she has in the Senate.

I can't see any gender issue here at all.

[BryantArms]

Hillary Clinton and feminists owe Obama a lot of gratitude. Without this opportunity Clinton would have faded away in the Senate for the rest of her career.

Now Hillary can remain in the national spotlight while her persona is transformed for the better. Rather than merely being just another ambitious mean person, Hillary Clinton can show that she is someone who can really help make the world a better place for Americans.

[Agentlady007]

I ask America in my sensitive state, and I ask if Hillary Clinton earned her intellectual responsibility from her husband, or did she muddle through economic times with him and solve our problems when he was busy in the broom closet. (Your guess is as good as mine.)
I hope more opinions from America are once again weighed accordingly.

[beaupritchard]

65 % of the appointments and vacancies filled by former Clinton loyalist ... a Clinton as SOS ... some times a president comes along that's smarter than me.

I hope that's the case ... I hope that's the case.

[ckfan]

Sometimes???????? I suspect ALWAYS.

[StillIRise]

I'm not so sure. Let's not forget George W. Bush!!!

[beaupritchard]

you poor child ... run along now.

[patwal]

So where should Obama look to get bright, savvy people with a knowledge of how to get things done in government? You know of any other Democratic governments that he could draw these people from - who wouldn't be near their deathbeds by now?

Or should he just pick all the bright neophytes he can find on the street corner? Like Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton did - and then paid the price while they muddled through the first couple of years... and that was in good times, not facing a dire economic crisis where Obama's government has to hit the ground running

[beaupritchard]

I think Obama should pick people from the same place he came from ... outside of the establishment. Hate to dissillusion some here ... but the brightest people aren't necessarily in washington.

For what its worth ... I don't go looking for them to solve problems ... they come looking for me.

[rob2007]

“The president, who has a job that you have the deepest respect for, says ‘You are our gal, put our country back on the world stage.’

This quote by Christine Quinn occurs later in the article. Ms. Quinn is the Speaker of the New York City Council.

As a middle-aged American male I'm confused. I thought "gal" is sexist. Maybe not as reviled as "chick" but sexist nonetheless. Is it okay to say? Or is it only okay to say if you're a woman? We need a language manifesto, or at least a rule book. And while everyone is so kumbaya, perhaps Sec. Clinton would consider naming Samantha Power her Deputy Secretary, thereby trumping Obama's magnanimity.

[Cinnamonape]

Here's one reason why Obama selected Clinton as SoS and why Hillary's appointment IS a FEMINIST (and "humanist") ACT. It has to do with the values that Obama received and the legacy he would carry out as President.

"This year I have major projects for women working on plantations in West Java and North Sumatra; in kretek [clove cigarette] factories in Central and East Java; for street food vendors and scavengers in Jakarta, Jogja and Bandung, and n Thailand; for women in credit cooperatives in East Java; women in electronics factories in the Bogor-Jakarta area; for women in cottage industry coops in Klaten District; hand-loom weavers in West Timor; shop girls along Jl. Jaksa; for slum dwellers in Jakarta and Bandung... "

Ann Stanley Dunham February 13, 1984
[Ann was, of course, Obama's mother, then working at the Ford Foundation]

[shelsay]

clearly the writer is clueless about the gender of our current SOS.

[bubbuh]

Or, more to the point, who Madeleine Albright is, the SoS who actually got to do anythng. I can only assume the author comes from the Lucille Ball contingent of HRC's base.

[bubbuh]

Oooh, meant to say "the last SoS" who was more than window dressing but my debbil fingers tripped me down again. I need my own SoS.

[Agentlady007]

At least she is still alive and you are talking about her and always will, and she has better lapel pins than Hillary Clinton. Someone Hillary should know, or get to know--- (IMO.)

[whatsthatsound]

funny.

[Agentlady007]

Clearly when you realize there are people with less than what you own and deserve more,
...)Oh ~~~~~never mind~!!!

[robXdion]

I guess it only counts if white woman makes it. I dunno, but that seems to be the logic. I have yet to hear one of these screaming feminists acknowledge Shirley Chisolm for her 1972 presidential run.

[Knowitall]

Now you really don't believe that do you?

[happypup]

How in the world would this be a victory for feminists? We have already had two female SOSs - number three doesn't seem very significat at all.

[CaptainVideo]

Right On!

Hillary staying in the Senate, gradually building up seniority until she becomes the first female majority leader, would be a victory for feminists.

[CaptainVideo]

But bringing Hillary into the administration will help bring the two factions of the Democratic party closer together and is a brilliant move by Obama.

[Knowitall]

Hillary will end up being he most effective--better than Albright, and miles better than Rice.

[HillaryGoAway]

Feminist victory? Huh? How so? If Hillary had any integrity whatsoever should would decline this offer!!! She would continue to keep her own power base in the Senate and fight for health care. Remember, her supposed big cause? Instead she takes a job as a secretary. And I do mean secretary in the traditional sense. She will be running international errands for Obama. Don't kid yourselves Hillary supporters and so-called feminists, If Barack really thought she was so great, he would have asked her to be his VP. Therefore, if Hillary had any real cajones, she would have told Barack "No thanks" to SOS; just like if she really was a strong feminist she would have told Bill to go to hell after Monica. In my opinion, she is the anti-feminist, always willing to take second best from a man.

[Knowitall]

Secretary of State is not chump change. It is the highest ranked cabinet position--4th after VP, Speaker of the House and Pres. of the Senate. If Hillary had stayed in the Senate it would have taken her years to attain Pres. of the Senate, probably well into another president's term(s). After her condescending treatment of Obama during the campaign it would have been mind-boggling for Obama to choose her as VP, so she must know that this offer is a reprieve. It shows that he trusts her intelligence and her foreign policy expertise, but he did not want a co-president.

Finally, with 2 wars in the middle east, Israel and the Palestinians on the verge of engaging, the situation in Russia, genocide in Africa, Iran and Korea nuclear threats, trade issues with China and other countries around the world, immigration issues, particularly with South American countries, and an international economic crisis.......and this is a short list.........how anyone can say that Secretary of State is "running international errands" is beyond comprehension.

Again, this is THE most important cabinet position, Obama is aware of that, and so is Hillary.
That's why she will take the position. She knows it was a supreme compliment.

[whit4brains]

How is one woman replacing another woman as SoS, who wasn't even the first woman SoS, a victory for feminist?

And do women even label themselves "feminist" anymore? Aren't most women for equal pay, equal rights and opportunities for all women? Unless you are a fan of Phylis Schlafly or something I find it hard to believe any woman wouldn't be for women's rights in 2008.

[Cinnamonape]

Because Condoleeza Rice is not a "feminist". She's a woman...but that doesn't mean that she supports the improvement of womens status worldwide...any more than Margaret Thatcher being PM of Britain was a "gain for feminists".

I'm quite certain that the US will terminate the rules that ban giving foreign aid to organizations (and nations) that incorporate abortion into their mix of options for Family Planning. She'll work hard to terminate the "special deals" with nations that allow cross-border trafficking in females as prostitutes (Bush constantly granted waivers to several countries that did this). She'll work seriously to improve the status of women in factories, women's and childrens health care, civil rights, education.

[Rep0X]

What is a feminist?
I'm Not really sure what the meaning of that word is anymore, but if we are talking about fighting for women causes, then people should worry a little more about impovered women in Africa, Eastern-Europe, Asia etc... People should start worrying about women outside the political game show that is Washington. Those so-called "feminists" did something very strange during the primaries / election; they forced O's hand, and threathened him through the media pundits, not to choose another woman for VP if it was NOT HRC... To all the so-called "feminists", I ask YOU this; how is that of any help to the feminin cause?

And about this Hillary-thing as SoS, is NOT even a case of a strong women, qualified for the job, as much as it's a case of name recognition...

[robXdion]

There's an obvious answer here. But since you cry each time it's mentioned, I'll leave you to figure it out on your own.

[lafrance]

I am no fan of either clinton but, my 75 year old mother loves Hillary. It seems many older women think of Hillary as a hero to them.
So, the fact that she is Sec of State makes those women very happy to see Hillary in a vital role in this administration.
I see it as I got the president I wanted so, if my mother and all those older women are happy to have Hillary be Sec of State then that is good.
They should have something to be happy about and cheer about, too.
I think Hillary will do fine and represent the will of President Obama well.

[Giada]

My mother is in the same age range ... She worked tirelessly for Civil Rights and NOW. My mother is ecstatic to live in a time and see Obama as president, and Hill as SOS.

Each generation has an opportunity to live their lives, attempt to right wrongs, and push society forward to help the next generation. Hill stated this in her concession to Obama.

Celebrate and understand our past and our future.

[CaptainVideo]

Pleasing older women voters is certainly consistent with Obama's strategy of building up as broad a coalition as possible of ALL factions of the Democratic Party (including the DLC), independents, and independent Republicans to support his agenda, so that he can overcome the obstructionism of the defenders of the status quo and move his agenda forward.

Obama is a brilliant political strategist.

[duze]

He is brilliant because he;s really going to try and make things better. He knows that;s the only way to concretely make the mark that he wants his legacy to represent. Obama is a total surprise to all of his. He simply swept past the old guard and changed the way you introduce to politics as a refreshing advantage to the grip and grind of staged politics. Yes, he is brilliant beyond our knowledge just yet. Wait until we see what he's really made of.

[donbrown]

So does this mean the PUMAs are finally on board the Obama train?

[tlintx]

Nope!!!! We are still here and since the election we have actually gotten larger.

PUMA

http://www.justsaynodeal.com/

[happypup]

Dream on

[CaptainVideo]

We won and you lost. Deal with it.

LOSERS!!!!!!

[Quaoar]

Republicans cross-dressing as Democrats.

[bubbuh]

Overeating is not a cause for celebration. just look at Limbaugh.

[cjk002]

The thing is, there were only 5 of you before, so the fact that there are now 8 doesn't really mean very much......

[roshni]

PUMA are not real democrats.
They have always been rethug trolls.
Why bother with them?

[MIKEBC]

IN THAT JOB SHE WILL BE WAY BETTER THAN RICE IS.

[ebanks84]

You got that right! She will make that position STAND OUT AND BE NOTICED around the world, I'm sure. You go Hillary. As long as she stands behind Obama, I see no reason why we can't stand behind her.

[happypup]

Rice has been carrying out the policies of Bush. If Hillary is SOS she would be carrying out the superior policies of Obama, so of course she would be better than Rice.

[Tetiana]

Rice was not good at all she will never compare to Madeleine Albright. Madeleine Albright rocked and so will Hillary Clinton!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!