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

Comments

[jozap]

As a 54 yr old woman, I know a lie when I hear one.

I don't like liers
I don't trust liers.

I don't trust panderers.

I may forgive, but I don't forget.

I vote with my brain.
I vote Obama

[EngineerBill]

"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."
"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."
What the above quotes have in common is that they indicate little, if any, regard for the consequences of this primary continuing too long. What I find fascinating is that Ms. Wilson can't see that the people calling for Hillary to quit are concerned about just that. Why she can't see that these people are afraid of a McCain victory and not a woman president is beyond me.

[BatedBreath]

Hmmm...it'­s funny, but I haven't heard any attacks on theclintons recently. The volume on the Wright screeds must be too loud. Say, Media mavens! would you turn down the Wright rants please so I can hear the Hillary attacks. Thanks a bunch.

[donaldw6]

I rarely post before I've read all, or most, of the previous posts, and I know what I'm going to write has been expressed previously, but I can't help myself.

Ms. Wilson, you are doing American women, and America in general, a tremendous disservice by the argument you present. I am a white male who is more than ready to vote for a woman, who has no discomfort whatsoever in the presence of powerful women, and who has taken up the cause of women all my life. I love women. :-) But not as objects. I love them as individuals, and I have no vested interest whatsoever in maintaining the "white Christian male" power structure in America. I am voting for the best candidate, Barack Obama.

I am supporting a female candidate for Congress in my district. I have supported, and voted for, our female governor. I will vote for the first woman candidate for president of the United States that I believe is the best candidate, absolutely without any residue of "male guilt", and without hesitation.

The problem with Hillary has absolutely nothing to do with the fact she's a woman. I am proving that in my votes elsewhere, and I will prove it as soon as you present an honest woman candidate for president.

[omahkohkiaayo]

Right on. Women's liberation is not having an "equal opportunity" to become an oppressor. And no women are enhanced when a supposed "representative" of women and "feminism" is a serial liar and megalomaniac. The forms of petit-bourgeois and privileged white feminism represented by the likes of Billary and N.O.W., not only have nothing to say to women of color, poor and battered by life, but they really don't do much for middle-class white women, particularly non-upwardly mobile "professional" women, either.

That which is merely a fact, of which one has no control--gender, race, disability, age etc--should be viewed neither as a credential nor asset nor detriment to anything. It is a matter of what someone has done, what someone represents, whom someone purports to represent, real motives for seeking office and what real provable (not merely self-asserted braggadacio) capabilities, integrity, honesty, etc one possesses that should be considered for all candidates.

[JFB]

Ms Wilson:

You appear to live in some parallel universe. You actually think that Hillary Clinton has suffered greater negative air time with the MSM than Barack Obama. Do you even watch TV? Have you never heard of Rev. Wright? You know, that fellow who is being used to take down Obama 24/7 all over the corporate media.

And consider this: prior to the Pennsylvania primary the conventional wisdom as expressed across the media airways and print was that Hillary Clinton would have to beat Obama by double digits to demonstrate that she was still a viable candidate. Yet when the primary was over, and she was found to have won by 9.2 percent, she was universally haled as the landslide victor, and very much alive in this race.

Your casting Hillary as a victim served the women’s movement poorly.

[Sophie22]

Before Reverend Wright, it was all Obamafest on MSM. Remember. And all of you gloated. Now we see that he is just as flawed, just as dishonest, just as slick as any other typical candidate.

[Terriac]

Wanting Hillary to quit has nothing to do with her being a woman and everything to do with her being behind, with little chance of winning. She is doing more harm than good, and that would be true no matter what her gender. I am a woman, and would love to have a woman president. But it has to be the right woman -- candidate -- not just that she is a woman. Maybe that day will come some time, but that time is not now. I think this idea of being fearful of a strong woman is hogwash. It's the candidate that is the problem, not her gender.

[Manx]

Puhleeze! Don't try to play the misogyny card. It's getting old and boring. I would love to see a woman president, and, in fact, supported Hillary at the outset. But when she resorted to a vicious, bitter, demeaning scorched-earth campaign, I changed my mind and now support Obama. Try as you will, there is no way to separate Hillary from her candidacy. By sliming her opponent and damaging the Democratic Party, she reveals a flawed character who is not presidential material. Hillary is giving women a bad name and is setting the feminist movement back a decade.

[ginnypoo]

Putting a crack in the glass ceiling isn't breaking it. Nice pat on the hand though, are we now supposed to just be happy we got this far...it sounded like it. I don't think so, that ceiling has cracks and she's pushing on through it.

[cinemaven]

My sentiments exactly!! Well said Ginny.

[NoSillyName]

It can't be said enough: this isn't about "women"; its about HILLARY. If she stands to be the first woman president, we should all be ashamed. Her arrogance in "expecting" to be the nominee and the nasty campaign she's run, full of pandering and lies, have been despicable from Day One.

If so many of the women of her generation want to vote for her simply because she's a Woman, they are not thinking with the rational part of their brains. I won't be part of some feminist game-plan, regardless of my age, gender, or desire for equality.

[Trinidad707]

The old Guard men (senators) Kennedy,Kerry,Dodd Richardson the Washington Elite; want her to quit,they spin the press to make you think she should quit! They want to keep discrimination against woman alive and well in washington DC . For them it's always been men inthe whitehouse­...They intend to keep it that way "The good ol boys club" alive and well. Older woman have fought long and hard for the itty bitty crumbs younger woman 40 years later are now reaping. Even though younger woman still don't make equal wages or get the big jobs reserved for the boys.....T­ime has come and woman of all ages should fight for their rights "Girl Power" or we will always be kept back. and yet spun that all is ok and told women are making strides. It's 2008 There are many woman presidents in the world. We the US are supposed to be a forward country, and yet we have kept the archaic exclusive top jobs and wages in the mens club.. and evidently are still working and spinning hard to do so. Time for some estrogen in the whitehouse.

[editorjuno]

I'm fine with the estrogen, but much less than impressed with Senator Clinton and her campaign tactics -- my 54 year old wife wrestled with her feelings of gender loyalty and came to same conclusion: Senator Obama is both a better candidate and a better leadership prospect for the country.

[djelimon]

Her being a woman is neither here nor there for me.

I first realized I disliked Hillary when she blamed 9/11 on Canada, and when it was proven there was no Canadian involvement no matter how peripheral, she refused to apologize and said she was right anyway.

When her camp went all racial, my dislike turned into disrespect.

[Necron99]

I understand your first and third paragraphs--but to the meat of your comment...­what the hell are you talking about?

Canada? What?

[Grunty1]

Another week, another post that Hillary is losing due to sexism, not for being a closet neo-con.

I would argue that sexism is HELPING Hillary helping more than hurting. For every person that is voting against "a woman", there is a newly voting female voting for a "feminist".

I would also argue that Obama's ism is probably more of a negative given the demographics of our nation, but he is beating it.

[bepa]

This election has brought out so many prejudices .

This article by Wilson, is filled with biases and wishful thinking with the author's blind devotion to electing a woman.

For example:

"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."

There will still be questions about the role of women in politics and in the military. This has not ended it. And would Hillary Clinton be where she is now if she had not been married to a previous president?

[berensma]

Although I agree that it may be sexism when HRC is tarred with the beyotch label for being ridiculously dogged, I am also hopeful that she will set a new (gender-neutral) precedent for when to get out and the limits you can go to before you are laughed off the stage.

[jungpatawan]

Gee, a post-menopausal, 70s-era feminist harridan for Hillary.

Didn't see THAT coming.

It's so sad that these older women don't think they'll live to see Ms Right for President so they settle for Ms Right Now.

JP

[Vige]

I'm a 62 year old white woman and I am tired of being associated with the Hillary group. Not all of are stupid.

There is no way I will vote for Hillary because she does not share my values. I would be honored to vote for a woman but I will not vote for this woman who lies, divides people and only cares about people if it suits her purpose.

Please stop being so general when speaking about the older women. Some of us actually know what feminism of the 60's and 70's was about. If Hillary ever did she forgot that along with a lot of things she has forgotten.

[Heika]

Here, here. I'm sixty-four and wouldn't vote for Hillary if my life depended on it, not because I don't support other women, but because I will never support such an unprincipled, hypocritical, self-serving whiner. And yes, cut the generalizing, we might be post-menopausal but that doesn't mean we're dumb. Many of us know Hillary is no feminist. She failed the Washington Bar Exam, and the "fighter" didn't retake it. Instead, she high tailed it to Arkansas, where Bill got her a job and she's ridden his coat tails ever since.