It isn't as if women don't have enough stereotypes to deal with but along comes Nancy Pelosi to tell those who supported Hillary Clinton's nomination that they shouldn't act like poor sports, taking their marbles and going home, if Hillary Clinton isn't chosen by Barack Obama to be his running mate. They should be happy with whoever he picks, according to Pelosi, because more important is party unity and beating John McCain.
While I'm right on board with the need to beat John McCain, party unity is a matter of persuasion, not accusations of insubordination. Berating women who are still supporting for vice president a candidate who won half the Democratic presidential nominee votes and, as Barack Obama says, took us all another step further in breaking through the political glass ceiling, is not the way to persuade them or anyone to vote for Obama. It's counterproductive.
Pelosi should be saying, "Of course supporters of Clinton still hope she'll be chosen. And why wouldn't they given the race she ran?" Complimenting those who still harbor this hope and are doing what they can to make it a reality is a more astute step toward Democratic Party unity than spiteful detractions in the form of stereotypes -- girls who can't take the rough and tumble of the big leagues and let their feelings get in the way.
In fact, it's not only reasonable to have a favorite for vice presidential candidate, I want to know who is on Barack Obama's short list for secretary of state, secretary of defense, secretary of health and human services, secretary of education, attorney general and so on. This should be part of Obama's plan to end the secrecy that has characterized George W. Bush's administration. I want to know what and how these potential presidential advisers think, what they've done well, and not so well. Don't you? And I have some favorites there too. What's wrong with that?
I'd like to hear a little more from Nancy Pelosi about what the Democrats are going to do for consumers who were made homeless by bad loans. How about some informed commentary on immigration, education, poverty, and avoiding having the war in Afghanistan escalate so much that leaving Iraq becomes an even trade in terms of money spent and lives lost?
If you want to persuade people, you don't belittle them or their concerns. You don't lecture them about what they should rather than do think. That's part of Persuasion 101. If you want to persuade, you don't tell people that how they feel is ridiculous. Invalidation is not an effective persuasion strategy. Linking what they care about to a preferred course of action is more productive. And most of all, you don't tell everyone else what they're doing wrong when your record is less than stellar.
I think she would make an extraordinary President.
Having said that, I am not lobbying for her to be Vice President, although of course she would accept if asked.
Perhaps because she is my Senator [I'm from New York], I want Senator Clinton to continue to have a strong, independent voice in the Senate. I do hope that her impressive showing in the primaries, winning the majority of votes cast in the last half of the primary season and close to an equal number of delegates with Senator Obama, will give her a forum to speak out and be heard [too bad she was ignored when she warned over a year ago about the coming foreclosure crisis].
I have no doubt that Senator Obama will be a good President [although, as the press commentary to the overseas trip shows, much like the Clintons did--younger people might want to glance at the newspapers from November 1992 through January 2003-- Obama will face "failed Obama Presidency" commentary even before he is sworn in].
I will support him over the uninformed and bomb bomb Iran dangerous Senator McCain. Perhaps it would be helpful if some of Senator Obama's supporters would stop belittling the generation of women who made it commonplace for their younger sisters and daughters to apply to medical and law schools [of course, we can do nothing about Republican trouble-makers writing comments and pretending to be Obama supporters].
I am tired of this attitude that Obama and his supporters should appologise for him winning the nomination .
It was Hillary's jresponsability to reign in her supporters after she induced such a frenzy amoung you and her responsability to rally her supporters around the democratic nominee for president Obama ,,but all I keep hear from her supporters is how its Obama's responsiblity to suck up to them and nominate Hillary as his VP to mend your wounds ! What poor losers you people are showing yourselves to be and really you give the rest of us woman a bad name with all this whining and poor sportsmanship ! Get over it ! This time Pelosi is actually right !
"Poor losers"? The only thing worse than a "poor loser" is a "poor winner". Till the HC bashers figure that out, it's only going to make O's job of persuading the holdouts that much harder.
Speaker Pelosi is speaking an uncomfortable truth... the women (and men) holding out for a Sen. Clinton VP pick need to get beyond that and work towards getting behind the party leader, regardless of Sen. Obama's choice.
One of the things that Reardon neglects to consider in this piece is that by focusing on a potential VP pick of Sen. Clinton, her supporters are setting themselves up for another disappointment, one which will take more time to get over, further threatens party unity, and will rip the half-formed scab off the wound of Sen. Clinton's defeat at the hands of the voters.
As to Sen. Obama floating out who he is considering for each office, that is an act that has NEVER been done prior to the convention, and is unlikely to ever be done. Hey John/Jane Doe, I'm considering you for this job, I'm letting everyone know I'm considering you for this job, I'm going to open you up to intense public scrutiny... and then I'm going to pass you over for Ted/Thea, but thanks for being a great sport about it.
Or you could keep trying your way (and Nancy's way) and see how that works out for you.
You can show passion, conviction and dedication, all while finding a peaceful solution to a problem, one which takes into account everyone's point of view and seeks to build consensus, but at the same time gets the job done.
The shoe is on the other foot. The Party has no duty to stoop to persuading or appeasing this crowd of petulant spoiled children. Rather, if they will get over their hissy fit, maybe the party will forgive them for having one and will welcome them back on the train. But the train is leaving the station and will go forward whether they choose to get on or not. The Party's will lose nothing and the fringe will be left behind to whine and complain in a vacuum.
The ironic thing is that the "lunatic segment" of her supporters are doing more to reenforce the stereotypes than any of the media's sexism can.
All this "handle these woman with care," and "give Hillary her time" stuff also re-enforces the stereotypes. Are women like Hillary adults capable of dealing with losing or not? Is Hillary and her supporters incapable or losing with grace? I'd put money that if Obama would've lost, he'd been infinately more graceful than Hillary and her supporters. Why is it everyone else that needs to speak up about sexism and not Hillary? Obama spoke up about racism?
And until there are more women living in poverty and in jail and on drugs than blacks, please stop saying sexism is worse. Although it may be more acceptable, it's obviously nowhere near as damaging right now as racism is.
I've found this thread very disturbing, because I now realize there will always be a "Reardon" saying that Obama supporters should compliment. Should persuade. And I think that for a job they want Hillary to have - one heartbeat from the presidency - it's her own supporters who need to do some persuading.
I saw a campaign, during this economy; world chaos, that began with a 10-stride lead in money and super-delegates, that proceeded to derail before our very eyes. No plan beyond February 5, staff hired for loyalty not competence, caucus states with delegates for taking, ignored. Rounds of applause for keeping on keeping on. Kept on by not paying her bills.
If her supporters had wanted to persuade me she was the best for the job, it would have helped if you'd done more than just told me she's the BEST. It would have helped if I'd seen a person applying for the job of Chief Executive who had not just run her campaign into the ground. I can't see that person running our government. I wasn't drinking the kool-aid when Obama clearly demonstrated he knows how to hire, manage, set goals, and achieve them. Neither you, nor she, persuaded me otherwise.
I know that you will never understand that another woman looks right through your argument and believes you're wrong. And I can't dissuade you. But you didn't "persuade" me either.
I am 57 years young, an aging hippie and an ardent feminist and I am thoroughly tired of and discouraged by all the talk of sexism and and gender bias as rationale for Hillary losing the primary. Hillary did not lose because of sexism - Hillary lost because of HILLARY. She ran a campaign based on her sense of entitlement which was advised by incompetents and made no provisions for caucuses or continuing the race after Super Tuesday. Her campaign used negative ads and tried changing the rules when they began losing. She kept spending money when she had none, encouraging her supporters to continue giving when she had no chance of winning.
Real women - strong women - wise women - will vote for the best available candidate. I apologize in advance for the next sentence - it is very trite but also quite appropriate. STOP THE DRAMA, VOTE OBAMA!
The following comes from an interview of CassSunstein at the NationMagazine.
Q. "What dynamics are at work with Hillary Clinton, the way she's treated...?"
A. "I think she has been turned into a cartoon by people who dislike her, and the cartoon really does involve an information cascade. There are things said about her character, her conduct, her plans, which have no basis. Once they start circulating they start being widely believed. Even if the particular fact isn't believed, there's a kind of odor that its dissemination produces.
There are legitimate questions that can be raised about anybody. The polarization with respect to her has something to do with her, but has a lot more to do with how information travels. An empirical answer would involve work that I haven't done. But, offhand, talk radio, Fox News and some parts of the blogosphere are responsible for the cartoonization of Hillary Clinton.
It's always easier to spread a simple story than a complicated story. With politics and with products, if there's a simple narrative that can take hold, it's very powerful. *******The people who hate Hillary Clinton have a narrative of her that is hateful, and the simplicity of it allows it to travel.********
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Deluded worldling.
The reason Hillary Clinton lost is because she was not the right woman for the job of being the first woman president of the United States. She wasn't or she would be. The right woman will sail right in like Obama is sailing in because she will be the ONE the people have chosen. Get up. Let's go. We have work to do.
Nothing like being in Love ,is there ?
Whether you like him or -- for whatever reason I can't imagine -- prayer that nothing like that happens would be a good use of prayer.
You all need to stop digging. Every time another article comes out like this, the anti- Obama forces
get more people to join them. It's a free country, you can say what you want, but if Obama loses,,,
you will be part of the reason. I have never known any kind of big cat that doesn't get angry when
every day you poke it with a stick. PUMA has grown from 7 groups to over 250 in about a month.