An Army of Women
In this week's Gallup Poll, national Democratic voters continue to be evenly split, with Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton each receiving 47% support for the party's nomination. Yet despite this neck-and-neck race to the partisan finish line, as Eric Boehlert recently surmised, the press has been pushing relentlessly to get Clinton to throw in the towel and rescind her claim to the nomination. As the race for top democratic billing remains cloaked in ambiguity, I've been thinking more and more that a decisive win for the nomination is only a piece of the victory pie. And this may be the very reason why large swaths of the press are so diametrically opposed to one more day of Hillary.
Boehlert notes that numerous precedents exist for nominees to continue to duke it out until party conventions: Reagan and Ford; Kennedy and Carter; Hart and Mondale. Yet the media has never pressed a nominee to exit the race with such passionate insistence as they have with Clinton. And whereas Reagan was touted as a "resilient fighter" for his persistence, Clinton is painted as an "arrogant" and "selfish egomaniac." Why such a vehement disparity of descriptors? Is it the case that so much ambition in a woman is simply too much for American sensibilities to bear?
I think that the media's continual attacks on Clinton are symptomatic of deep cultural fear: that she is an extraordinarily visible woman who refuses to "know her place" - and that her refusal to give up her claim to power might be a rallying cry for a new wave of feminist fury. If we forget the delegates, the caucuses v. primaries, and the battle over Michigan and Florida, we see that a major win has already been had by and for the women of our nation through Clinton's candidacy. And many Americans might be afraid of how far this momentum will take us.
Never again will it be questioned, or a poll commissioned, on whether women are qualified to be president.
Never again will there be a presidential primary, I predict, without a woman - or hopefully several women - candidates.
And never again will there be any room for discussion about whether a woman can be tough enough to serve as our Commander-in-Chief.
The candidacy of Hillary Clinton has changed the political landscape forever, and has reinvigorated the political aspirations of women from all walks of life. To many, this "army of women" is a scary thing indeed. And who knows how far it will go if Hillary wins the nomination - or the presidency.
Whether Clinton has been the "perfect" candidate is not the issue at hand, and as the president of a nonpartisan organization, I am less concerned with Clinton-the-candidate than I am with what her candidacy represents. Her campaign tactics, voting record, and political maneuverings are up for debate. She may or may not win the nomination. But what she has already, and decisively, won has been a victory for all Americans, male and female, of all races, young and old: Clinton has broken a barrier for women in political leadership. For that, we are the collective inheritors of a great victory. And yet, this win is offset by what it continues to reveal: our deeply embedded cultural fears of politically powerful women.
Follow Marie Wilson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/twhp
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Clinton used the gender card to her advantage very well. People asked her to withdraw because she must win very big, 76% in each of the remaining primaries to just be even with Obama. She only managed to win by a 10% margin so that is impoosible. Secondly, in desperation, she used dirty tactics that she herself decried when the Repub played on her and her husband. That is selfish of her to do so to her Dem fellow, to damage him so the Repub don't have to do the work themself. Thirdly, this is important to voters, her character and her records of her WH years, NOT BECAUSE SHE IS A WOMAN. She boasted of her experiences but she ignored what a chaotic, scandalous her WH years were. She was criticized during those years for acting as a CO-president and had to play down her role but now she suddently boasted she was in fact the CO-president which is by any standard a stealthy grab of power from the real elected president who had shown he is so weak that his wife could get away with such a powerful role in the WH. She now revealed herself : "I don't need to listen to experts". That is her attitude in her WH years and that was how her health care overhaul failed. She never quits from her bad position and doesn't listen to expert so she failed. How good is that for a President?
Excerpt from June's Vanity Fair article on " it's the adultery, stupid:"
"She's [Hillary] the special interest candidate of older women - the post-sexual set. She's resented by others (including older women who don't see themselves as part of the post-sexual set) who see her as either frigid or sexually shunned - they turn from her inhibitions and her pain.""
Hillary Clinton is not a trail blazer. She is simply an ambitious person. Whether that is good is a philosophical viewpoint. It is sad she has become emblematic of women.
Who wants an alpha anyone?
And, unfortunately, riding to "success" on her husband's coattails.
Oh, I like this part too-
WILSON says “-whereas Reagan was touted as a "resilient fighter" for his persistence, Clinton is painted as an "arrogant" and "selfish egomaniac.
Which media outlet, exactly, called Reagan a "resilient fighter" for his “persistence”, and when? Which media sources, specifically, have used the words "arrogant" and "selfish egomaniac" to describe Hillary? Just putting quotes around something to make a point doesn’t make it true.
Shall we try the same game?-
“-although Richard Nixon was regularly described as the “Angel of Ethics” and the “Most thoroughly honest human being to walk the face of the earth”, Barack Hussein Obama has been characterized by a biased and bigoted press as being a “Bomb toting, Jihad-loving radical Muslin who wants to see America reduced to nothing more than smoking charcoal”.
Writing opinion pieces for HUFFPO is easy when you get to make crap up.
Let’s try replacing just a couple of Wilson’s words:
“I think that the media's continual attacks on Obama are symptomatic of deep cultural fear: that he is an extraordinarily visible African American who refuses to "know his place" - and that his refusal to give up his claim to power might be a rallying cry for a new wave of civil rights fury. If we forget the delegates, the caucuses v. primaries, and the battle over Michigan and Florida, we see that a major win has already been had by and for the African Americans of our nation through Obama’s candidacy. And many Americans might be afraid of how far this momentum will take us.
”Never again will it be questioned, or a poll commissioned, on whether African Americans are qualified to be president.
”Never again will there be a presidential primary, I predict, without an African American - or hopefully several African American - candidates.
”And never again will there be any room for discussion about whether an African American can be tough enough to serve as our Commander-
See? It’s easy to play the oppressed victim. Anyone can do it. This is not about Hillary’s vagina any more than it is about Obama’s skin pigmentation.
In fact, voters don't make much of Obama's skin pigmentation as shown in his lead but the media and the Clintons together have made a big play of this!
Well, then, you'd have to explain the quotes on television from actual voters who don't mind admitting to a national audience that they "...just can't bring themselves to vote for a woman."
See, in some people's minds, it IS about gender and color. I believe one poll put those issues in a tie at about 17% each, as a significant unfavorable factor in voter's minds -- and while I won;t spend the time looking up what poll on what date just for the HP, it is, nonetheless, true.
The difference is that it is NOT acceptable to say things like that about racial differences, but remains - apparently - uncontroversial to say it out loud about a woman.
Actually-- voters in PA did say in exit polls that race was a factor in their voting-- and those who said this voted for Clinton. I guess it was okay to say so in public because Clinton's buddy Ed Rendell himself said that many white voters wouldn't feel "comfortable" voting for a black president. Every other day I see headlines that say "white (working class) voters are not voting for Obama." What do you suppose the intended message is? It is repeated on a daily basis. Obama is unelectable because he's black. Nevermind that he has won enough white votes to be in the lead and to have made it impossible for Clinton to win without super delegate intervention. The story line is now about "electabil
The real question is can you walk and chew gum at the same time? Can you recognize both sexism and racism is at play in this race? Can you imagine a world free of both? To his credit, Obama has not exploited gender, whereas Clinton has exploited race.
BobZilla--
Hot diggety damn, you said it all. GO OBAMA!
“Whether Clinton has been the "perfect" candidate is not the issue at hand, and as the president of a nonpartisan organization, I am less concerned with Clinton-th
This may indeed by the most absurd statement of the campaign!
To you the process of electing a president is merely a facilitating platform from which you can further the goals of a special interest group? Really?
Let me tell you something, you paranoid, myopic, narcissistic manipulator- “Clinton-t
Bob
Uh oh.......y
Hillary's "tactics" and "political maneuverings" may come in handy on the world stage.
We've seen, for the last 8 years, how the world reacts to a president who lies, bullies, intimidates and blackmails the world. Our dismal approval rating worldwide tells the story.
I won't support someone who is a Republican in every manner but name.
YEAH LOOK AT ALL THOSE NEW FRIENDS BUSH TACTICS HAVE GOTTEN US SO FAR.
Gee, let;'s see you say anything as distasteful as this about African-Americans. Ain't it great to be able to disparage a woman in crude terms!
Agave, it may not be okay to say racist things but its still okay to murder people....
Here read this very sad story about Sean Bell who was murdered by police on his wedding day (57 bullets) & the police were just acquitted this week.
http://www
We are all in this world together---
Rather than respond to the argument at hand, you ignore the proposition I’ve constructed and fabricate a red herring by attempting to turn the discussion to HOW I said it. In other words- you apparently cannot contradict what I said, so you’ve made my delivery the new issue.
I took Wilson to task for WHAT SHE SAID and not, as you believe, BECAUSE SHE'S A WOMAN.
If you had paid attention, you would have realized that the point of my argument was that gender and ethnicity are meaningless in determining whether either candidate is worthy of nomination. My complaint with Wilson is that she actually admitted that SHE’S the one who is biased and is shamelessly exhibiting misandry.
While I believe you are merely uninformed, I contend that Wilson is selfishly distracting attention from what should be crucial issues during this most important election process in a desperate attempt to breathe life into a cause that has become insignificant to most Americans at a time when we’re at war, entering a depression, our Courts have been hijacked by extremists and corporations receive welfare while the poor starve.
Special interests certainly have the right to make a case for voting for and against various candidates. My issue with Wilson is not that she’s stating her case but, rather, that her argument is embarrassingly absurd.
Brava! You are so right. And I am shocked that so many people here attack Hillary as if she were a mere nuisance. Hillary is smart, she is not afraid to debate, she can take on any adversary, unlike Obama who has shown to be so much less than expected. I am proud of Hillary's campaign, and I will not be discouraged by all these Obama folks, sitting in their dorm rooms, filling up these forums.
Sitting in their dorm rooms? Do you really believe that Obama's only supporters are only College students?
You can be as proud of Hillary as you want, but please acknowledge the fact that every age and demographic has many Obama supporters.
If only young voters support Obama, he is not where he is today: his lead in popular votes, number of states and pledged delegates. He has won all over the place and every demographic. It is only when the Clintons spin that they won big states (she won only by 10% but when Obama won big states, he won by mostly over 30%), white voters (she chose to use the state she won ignoring the whitest state Obama won, Iowa and many others) that those are seperated but if you believe in her tale of sniper fire, her "most popular votes" by adding her votes but not Obama's then you are hopeless!
Sophie..th
The author writes:I think that the media's continual attacks on Clinton are symptomatic of deep cultural fear: that she is an extraordinarily visible woman who refuses to "know her place" - and that her refusal to give up her claim to power might be a rallying cry for a new wave of feminist fury
"
Wah..wah wah..I am a 53 year old white woman..in a male dominated industry..
I think the press has been so much easier on McHillary (one in the same).... no..sadly.
Hi Sophie22,
Can you please give me a list of Hillary's accomplishments - those that have nothing to do with Bill - that qualify her to be leader of our nation?
I think its the older generation of women (roughly over 40) that are obsessed with the ideals initially portrayed by that relic Gloria Steinham that seem to take anything but a blanket endorsement of Hillary Clinton as somehow an attack against women. I'm 36 (male) and honestly, if I thought a woman could do a job better, I'd vote for her in a heartbeat. My annoyance with the whole Hillary situation is that number 1, if she wasn't married to Bill Clinton, an ex-president yet, would we have even heard of her?? And number two, the lemming-like attitude of many women to vote for her just because she's a woman and somehow, "its her turn". Does even 1 woman out there know anything at all about what she is proposing if she gets elected, other than the 30 second soundbites we see on tv? ..or does it even matter? Based on what I've seen, I'd say it doesn't even matter..th
...Do YOU know anything at all about what she is proposing if she gets elected, other than the 30 second soundbites you see on TV?
Doesn't sound like it.
If you haven't read her books or books about her, you can read the Cliff's Notes version of her unique life over at Wikipedia. Before she even met Bill Clinton many predicted she'd be the first female president.
So in answer... number one: YES. number two: silly question, while you're at Wikipedia look up the word lemming and discover the despicable Disney myth. You're kind of a blind follower by even using the word, huh? Ahh, Irony.
If you haven't read her books or books about her, you can read "For love of politics" by Sally Smith and many other books about the Clintons years in the White House. Cliff's Notes don't mention at all all the scandals, cover-ups, impeachment, law license suspension, Flower-Jon
Bliss - I do not know much about her policies yet, I will if she becomes the nominee; I never claimed to, I was asking a question. Claiming you will be the first woman president is kind of like saying you will be the first woman astronaut or the first woman on mars isnt it? I mean who would fault you if you didn't do it, on the other hand, you have your bases covered. Are predictions statements of fact? I stand by my statement that hardly anyone would have ever heard Of Sen. Clinton had not she been the presidents wife. She tried to pull the ol '2 for 1' comment back when Bill was Pres. and it didn't fly, and again tried it when first asked about the so-called dream ticket saying 'well that may be where this is headed' to latch on to Sen. Obama.
Lets see here, as for lemmings 'they will migrate in large groups ' a direct quote from Wikipedia, so thank you for making my point.
Notice at no time did I name-call nor do I think Sen Clinton is not an intelligent woman and a tenacious campaigner, but lets call it like it is. What did I say here that was not true?
Yes, she was interested in politics prior to meeting Bill. She was a "Goldwater girl" in 1964 and was a member of the college republicans ! She also later served on the board of Walmart and is linked to the DLC - the conservative wing of the Democratic party. Gender has nothing to do with it. She voted to authorize the war in Iraq. She has run a horrible campaign having a twenty-five point decline in three months.
I know enough about her ... next time send us a woman we can support with pride.
Nonsense, her power comes from her husband. If she were not married to him, she would be the republican anti-unionist lawyer she always was.
Condaleeza Rice, although I don't agree with her politics, is a woman who has made it on her own merits.
I am not interested in reenergizing an army of women any more than reenergizing an army of blacks, hiapanics, gays, republicans, democrats.
What I am interested in is coming together as humans and learn to respect what each group can contribute to make this world a better place
You must hate America. ;)
Exactly! That is why Obama appeals to people who want change and hope for a better angels in each one of us.
But Senator Clinton isn't running as a woman. Somewhere along the way, she's convinced herself that she must behave like a Republican man to be a successful politician. One of the members here put it best by saying Senator Clinton is Dick Cheney in a dress.
Hillary always has my vote. I think Hillary haters are not seeing the real story. Your character assassinations are misplaced. Obama is a blank slate for fools to project onto and he clearly attracts the kind of hysterical voters who do not fully process the information at hand and IN HISTORY - the same kind of blinded, gutter-minded, hysterical and hateful voters who elected Bush in the first place.
This is my first offensive post, and I'm just really sick of the sentiments of so-called Obama folk. If he does win in two years time you'll be devouring him next.
Take a breath.
Please see clearly a clear perspective.
Hillary is one of our great American leaders, she has created a legacy we all will be proud of someday, and for her tireless lifelong world-wide humanitarian efforts she deserves our - including your - respect. And support.
As I'm sure those I've correctly read will,
flame on....
I am sorry to disagree, but have just read your profile, and I find most of them slightly offensive in the fact that you are defending her outright lies, you badmouth Pelosi, Dean etc. for their positions, when,in fact, they have been more than fair in this primary. If it had been anyone other than Clinton running, they would have done the Huckabee a long time ago.
The only legacy that Hillary and Bill will leave behind is their shameful conduct in this race. The rest of any good they've done will be overshadowed by this.
Marie Wilson dares to talk about mysogeny on Huffington Post - how dare she?
The MSM gave the Obama brand (brought to you by Chicago's Sleaziest political puppeteer Axelrod) the traditional 'black candidate' pass and is enjoying the high ratings and all the ad profits while the Obama campaign has done very well to fan the Hillary is a 'nasty evil bitch' flames.
While my progressive friends may hate to admit it - the liberal leaning Democratic party may cheer the opportunity to vote for a capable black man for President but this country hides its racism and guilty past regarding this chapter of its shameful past well while Americans (especially progressives it seems) enjoy slinging their mysogenist rants in public.
We all have anecdotal experiences that Americans spout their racism only in private but feel completely uninhibited when it comes to mysogenist jokes and comments.
And herein lies the problem if you support Obama - IF you admit to America's undercover racism and want a Democrat to win in November.
If Obama is running neck to neck with Hillary in the relatively liberal Democrat primary how is he going to do with the more conservative (read closet racist) general electorate?
How has obama fanned the flames of sexism-- please give concrete examples of things he's said or done to exploit these attacks on Clinton.
As for the rest of your rant, I am having trouble tying it together. We shouldnt vote for Obama because the country is racist, but the media has given him a free pass because he's black? So I guess we should vote for Hillary because she is not black?
Quit whining. I bailed on Hillary as soon as her campaign monopolized the gutter, making Obama's bowling attempt look like a perfect game. It has nothing to do with her gender, it has to do with her shameless tactics. With Democrats like Hillary, who needs Republicans?
I'm sorry, but which of Obama's shameful tactics are you deciding to overlook? The one on Janaury 9th when he sent his surrogates out and called all voters in New Hamshire racists? The one where he called Bill Clinton a racist? All the others where he calls people racists whenever he needs a bit of the spotlight? Hell, we asked him to kindly explain his relationship with his ranting pastor and instead of saying then what he said last week, he called ALL of us racists.
This is the dirtiest, mud-slingin-est politician to come down the pike since McCarthey called everyone who disagreed with him a communist and you bubble-heads have the gall to call Clinton a dirty-fighter?
Geez.
Wow. You must have a different source of news than I do because I didn't see or hear Obama calling all of us racists. Please find the quote and share it with us.
He did give a 45 minute speech on race in response to the Wright affair. Did you listen to or read this speech? It's available on UTUBE.
It's not Obama's fault a lot of people were offended by Bill Clinton's comments in SC.
This article is just "silly talk" . . . . and yet another excuse for Hillary's failures (none of which are ever her fault!?!).
She was fatigued when she told the lie about "sniper fire"; she was tricked by Bush when she voted YES to the war; Her mismanaged Campaign (from the start) was Mark Penn's & Patti Solis Doyle's fault; NAFTA was Bill's fault; and she keeps the gaffs going . . . . and going . . . and going (cue the energizer bunny already. . . .)
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