Eighteen Million Cracks in the Presidential Glass Ceiling
A few days ago, standing front row, right, in a strangely barren room at a Boston hotel, I watched Hillary Clinton walk onto a stage with a rather lonely American flag, and again capture the admiration and imagination of every person in the audience. But this group was 80 of her closest New England supporters. Before and after our ovation for her, our voices were hushed. We all felt like we had walked into a wake.
I thought back a few weeks, watching my friend end her campaign. I was among millions of women who literally cried. No, not millions. Tens of millions. I've been working abroad a lot. Colombia to China, Lebanon to Liberia, Moldova to Mongolia, women have pulled me aside and insisted, "She must win -- for us."
Among the 18 million Americans who supported her presidential bid, none will be more important to a November win than women. So what's with us?
I've known Hillary since her husband's 1992 campaign. She obviously had the right stuff to be president, but few of us imagined she would take the plunge into politics. That year, our "Serious Issues, Serious Women, Serious Money" symposium in Denver became a template for women's engagement that has been replicated over the years, most recently by Hillary herself. She has brought women into the political process with an intensity not seen since the early 20th century, when women campaigned passionately for suffrage. For many, the Hillary Clinton candidacy called forth a similar passion.
The hurt many of us supporters now feel is understandable. What happened to our candidate is what countless women have experienced. We in the "sandwich generation" finally position ourselves for The Big Job after years of taking care of others (including the families of our men) only to have it given to someone else (the next generation's man).
That pain is real, and it's deep. But what is Hillary asking us to do in the face of this political, and personal, loss?
Focus on our broadest goal. Mine wasn't to get Hillary elected. In fact, hers wasn't to get herself elected. It was to create a more just nation. A more secure world. We both believed she was the best to deliver on that goal. She didn't win first prize, but meanwhile, she's moved women light years ahead. At the end of the primary season, polling indicated widespread acceptance of a woman as commander-in-chief. As Hillary noted in her magnificent concession address, how remarkable that previous barriers to women's presidential leadership became "unremarkable."
She may not be commander in chief, but she's asking her troops, in no uncertain terms, to get behind the Obama candidacy. It's time for serious conversations with ourselves, and with others, about What Really Matters Now. There were precious few differences between the two Democratic contenders; they lined up on women's rights and a host of other issues. We women who supported Hillary know that Barack Obama is brilliant, talented, and visionary, and that he carries our brief.
That's at a rational level. But at a gut level, we were long past ready for a new era of women's leadership. So we need a personal rigor to return to the issues, to recognize the clear choice that faces us in November. To stay home, or to vote for John McCain, is a betrayal of all we, and Hillary, have stood for these long months.
If we can't heal from this loss, how long will we be suffering from the damage of more Republican policies? So to my Hillary sisters, I say: campaigns are highly imperfect animals. Maybe they haven't found you, but the Obama supporters are doing a lot to reach across the divide. As of this writing, they've contributed well over half a million dollars to retire Hillary's debt, and I've been in one meeting after another in which we've been not only invited but warmly welcomed. Sure, sexism played a role in her loss, but that was not an Obama strategy. In fact, Hillary pointed out to our group (as Geraldine Ferraro said about her own vice presidential run) that there were also advantages to being a woman. The underlying question is, can we women, known for loyalty and steadfastness, switch our support without feeling as if we've betrayed our hero - and ourselves?
For many of us most closely drawn to Hillary, these conversations are exquisitely difficult. Her success would have been vindication of gender-based power struggles throughout our lives -- with fathers, bosses, brothers, colleagues. So with her loss we're wounded all over again.
Recrimination is a strong temptation, but it will be deadly, literally, to give into it. Instead, let's follow Hillary's lead. Forget the admonitions that we "move past," or "move on," or (oh, please) "just get over it." We're women, and we know how to deal with loss: Take it in and carry it forward inside of us. Then -- paradoxically -- we'll have the power to unify our party and win an election critical to our children's, our grandchildren's, and, yes, our own future.
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It is a favorite lie of the feminists that Hillary had 18 million women voting for her. In fact many of Hillary's voters were bitter white male blue-collar racists who voted for her just because she was the only white candidate. A large number of women voted for Obama.
Gloria Steinem has endorsed BO, as well.
By the way, *my* candidate lost the primary race, fair and square, just like Clinton lost. I moved on immediately.
Voters, male or female, get a grip!
Anyplace you see discrimination against women you could substitute black and see the same discrimination.
We had eight great candidates for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency; three of them would've been historic nominations (I'm adding Bill Richardson in here).
Somebody had to ultimately win the nomination, it came down to it was either going to be the white wife of the ex-president who happens to be a U.S.Senato
Either one would be light years better than four more years of Republiscum politics.
The black man won, we NEED to have him be the next President. If Hillary had won we'd NEED to have HER be the next President.
Personally, my choice would've been John Edwards because I didn't think he'd have the baggage that either Hillary or Obama carry with them. The right would've crucified Hillary; I'm sure a lot of her support was from Repubs crossing over to vote for her to get her on the ballot and then it would've been 1992 all over again. I still worry that there are a lot of closet bigots out there that won't vote for Obama - some not so closeted. Why else are the polls so close?
Get your priorities straight progressive Democratic people: we NEED to get the Republicans out of office! Nothing else really matters.
See Swanee Hunt's Profile
I'm afraid what you're saying about the closet racism is all too true. It is masked sometimes as, what David Gergen called "uppity." Obama is getting too much attention. Who does he think he is, anyway?
I'm sure, too, that we have a long, long way to go before many people in our country think of a woman on the same terms as a man, in terms of leadership. But you know, that's also a prejudice we women carry inside ourselves. It's hard for many of us to think of ourselves as experienced enough to run for office, for example.
I imagine the same is true about how we view age. Isn't this fascinating, that we had three candidates at the end who represent different biases?
The most important thing now is to debate the issues -- not prey on fears. That's why I'm disheartened about the McCain campaign ad hominum attacks.
First I checked the date on this to make sure it wasn't months old. Isn't this whining over yet?
The 18 million heartbroken Hillary supporters is a total fiction. The proof is in her lack of ability to raise the $20M she needs to retire her debt. If all or even half of those people were really her loyal minions, that debt would be long gone. If just 4 million of them sent in $5, it would be gone.
End of discussion.
Clearly its not over yet, as you can see by the comments there are still people bleeting on and on about Senator Obama being inexperienced. Of course, if years of service are so important presumably they were going to vote for Senator McCain no matter what sense he has 235 years in the Senate compared to Senator Clinton's 7?
i can't contribute because i already contributed the max $2300 to her campaign.
Fair enough. I wish I could have given that much to O but I couldn't give anything near that.
Ready -
I've been saying this for weeks now and I'm yet to get an answer.
Let's assume that $5 is a large sum. Why not contribute just $1 each and generate $18M? Hill will surely manage to pay off the rest. But NO. What you'll see here are some suggesting that $500K contribution from B O's supporters is an insult to Hill.
Which makes me believe that a great deal of those mouthing off here are Repugs pretending to be Democrats. The best thing is to ignore them completely.
This is my last comment on this phantom issue.
It's pretty simple. A vote for the Democrat means I get to keep control over my own body.
Republicans think women are nothing more than incubators for the cannon fodder for their future wars. A vote for the Republicans means I can't take birth control anymore and when I get knocked up I have to have the baby whether I want to or not. (after they change the definition of abortion and stack the Supreme Court deck.)
How any thinking, autonomous woman can vote Republican is beyond me.
It may well have been "obvious" to you that Hillary Clinton "had the right stuff to be president", but many fellow democrats didn't agree.
~~
It might also be true that it's not fair to Hillary or to women that she had to shelve her own political ambitions in favor of her husbands, but lots of things in this universe aren't fair, and the bald fact is that the universe has been MUCH kinder to Hillary Clinton than to the vast run of people, male or female, whom Hillary's supporters think owe her the presidency.
In any case, the villian in this piece is Bill, not Barack. He's the man whom she ceded her own ambitions to; her time to have been president, or not, was his time. They're members of the same family and the same generation. Ceding her place to Bill didn't earn Hillary the right to go next; that right belonged to the next generation. It's not a right that Bill or Hillary ever had to bestow.
You've missed the spirit of this piece.
I'm of the opinion that Obama will be the best choice. That doesn't mean I don't think Hillary Clinton highly qualified to be President. We simply had 2 amazing candidates (which is evident in the prolonged & close race). Obama in the end ran a better campaign & that's why he won. The point of this article is to once again remind us all that Hillary & Barack are so close on the issues (you know the things that count???) that either staying home or voting McCain (as some sort of protest) are completely counter productive options. Let's take the personalities out of it & simply pay attention to what matters. Peace.
Speaking as a woman, what fails to make any type of sense to me is the fact that HRC, at the beginning of her campaign, could not see any beneficial significance in running her campaign as a female candidate.
She was more than happy to dismiss femininity and throw back whiskey shots with the boys, until she realized (too late, of course) with the exception of the faux tears in NH, being a woman was her greatest strength.
Yet, women feel sorry for her! It just boggles my mind.
I agree with you totally.
WHAT?
What does that even mean?
sounds like piunditry parroting to me.
Well, nothing changes.
Not run her campaign as a woman?
How does "a female candidate" run her campaign?
Completely illogical statement with no critical thinking behind it.
A + B = C
Hillary ran a campaign, Hillary is a female candidate, therefore Hillary ran her campaign as THIS female candidate would run her campaign. THIS woman. Sheesh.
Is there some manual telling women candidates how they should run a "feminine campaign?"
Dear God, how simple and narrow minded.
Let me make something very clear, ohmercy - I loved the Clintons. And I loved Hillary Clinton - LOVED her. I thought, and still, really, continue to think that she is an absolutely amazing woman and she has my eternal gratitude for what she has, and tried, to accomplished. I enthusiastically voted for Bill twice - my first vote as a newly minted 18 yo voter was for Bill in 1992. I gave a considerable amount of my time, money and energy to her primary campaign and voted for her in my CO caucus.
That said, I was appalled by her post-Super-Tuesday campaign. That was about the time it came leaking out that Penn had thought CA was winner take all and that they could, and should, afford to ignore all of the caucus states. Although it sounds like many of Clinton's advisors worked to disabuse both Penn and Clinton of this mindset, they continued on with this fatally flawed strategy. Yes, I was completely insulted by the MSM's sexist treatment of Hillary as the primary continued to wear on, although up until IA, they all hailed her as the "inevitable" nominee and told all of the other candidates not to even bother competing. But I was also insulted by many of the racially-tinged comments that were IN FACT coming from the Clinton camp. It worked - it rallied their blue-collar, white, and yes, sometimes racist base in the rust belt and Appalacian chain. I left Clinton for Obama, and I have never regretted it for a second. Clinton is an immeasurably incredibly woman. Her campaign, however, was an unmitagated disaster that my conscience would not allow.
I have begun, very slowly, to fall back in love with Hillary Clinton, but have found it harder to do with some of her lingering supporters promoting such devisive agendas.
This was all Mark Penn's idea and Clinton went along with it. Sorry, but I have no respect for a woman who does not take responsibility for her own career, her own political destiny, and instead just goes along without question with whatever the white, overfed, overpaid, male in the room tells her. I desperately want a strong, powerful woman in the White House, not one who has a history of constantly deferring to men (Bill, Mark Penn, etc).
Hillaryland at War in Vanity Fair: http://www
This article pretty much sums up why, brokenheartedly, I left Clinton for Obama in February. Sorry, if you can't even run a campaign, you can't run my country.
On a lighter note, I applaud Swanee Hunt. As this thread clearly indicates, this thoughtful, intelligent post will change no minds, Ms. Hunt , however, always fights the good fight. I am a supporter of her organization, the Women's Foundation of CO, and look very forward to attending the Unconventional Women event that her other organization, the Hunt Alternative Fund, is hosting here in Denver at the start of the convention. Hooray for women like Swanee Hunt!
See Swanee Hunt's Profile
Whoever you are, many thanks. I was just reading along, feeling not nearly as smart as I was before I started reading, when I came across your kind words.
See you August 25th in Denver. Hope other readers can join you. See unconventi
I've read every post here and am just filled with incredible sorrow.
These are desperate times, people. We are at war, justified or not, our economy is slowly slnking into the ground, our educational system is in shambles, people are hungry, and our energy policies are antediluvian at best, and all too soon we will be able to see the air we are expected to breathe.
And still we bicker and sulk and deny the urgency of our problems.
Pretty soon I expect my sorrow to mutate into anger...an
I pray to all that is Holy that the time will NOT come when my grandchildren and your children are standing in a world beyond hope all because their parents chose to support a person rather than a cause.
So give Sen McC and his cronies the WH...go ahead. Turn back the civil liberties clock to the dark ages, continue this evil war and prepare for the next one, and watch our economy, once the envy of the world, crumble and return us to the desperation of the 1930s.
Go ahead... sulk... Go ahead... throw your vote away just Go ahead, wallow in your bitterness and make the rest of us pay the price.
Just go ahead.....
Right now, the threat to sit out the GE or vote McCain is a scare-tactic intended to produce a Cl*nton nomination in Denver.
When that doesn't happen, I wonder how many of these folks will actually be willing to "jump off the bridge" in November.
..."Her success would have been vindication of gender-based power struggles throughout our lives -- with fathers, bosses, brothers, colleagues
You see this was the problem going in for many of Clinton's female voters. Those who did not come in with this unjustifiable projection onto the male candidates have moved on. If you really want to grow beyond the moment you're frozen in, confront the men that have caused you to express such blatant misandry towards Senator Obama. Then, maybe you can stand side-by-side with us women who will, with or without you, stand strong, and remain steadfast in our commitment to protect your rights.
See Swanee Hunt's Profile
Well, I see your point. But it's not quite that simple. I'm sure we're never 100% free of our pasts. Don't you ever find yourself feeling/thinking something you're not proud of -- then say to yourself, "Good, lord, I thought I was long past that experience?"
So I don't think it's about being frozen. We're all works in progress.
So Obama did not earn the votes cast for him, more votes than Clinton earned? And he did not earn his delegates, more delegates than Clinton earned? He did not earn this nomination, but it was given to him because he is a man? That is utterly disrespectful.
You say that Clinton "obviously had the right stuff." Prove it. What are her qualifications? How are Clinton's qualifications, in quality or quantity, better than Obama's? Give us something beyond mere personal opinion.
The hurt that you feel is not understandable. What happened to your candidate is that she lost, fair and square, plain and simple. She lost because she received fewer delegates. Your pain may be real and deep, but it does not justify spewing anger and resentment on the candidate that won.
"Recrimination is a strong temptation," and one that you could not resist. The subtext of this essay is subtle but real. Clinton's supporters are justified in feeling that her campaign was victimized and that Obama won only because he is a man. Clinton is more qualified than Obama, so his voters only chose him because he is a man. Clinton's campaign was about vindicating some universal gender-based power struggle. Voting for Obama in the GE is acceptable only because McCain is worse. Please, do yourself a favor, do us all a favor, and vote for McCain.
Clinton Inc. (and their fusion w/McCain/Lieberman) have no respect for Senator Obama or those who voted for him. Nor, do they have respect for the Democratic Party that hosts them.
They do respect our money, however. As long as we pay their bills. Nice to know there is a way for us to earn their respect. Hope our money holds out.
From Hillary Clinton (and Bill) -- It's all about "ME!" -- to their fat cat friends and dealmakers and the NY establishment -- (not New Yorkers, of course)
http://www
Good points, NovaBoy, it is beyond me how anyone can still suggest that somehow Obama had some unfair advantage over Clinton. It's simply asinine. And quite frankly, I have had enough of the ridiculous comparison between Clinton's run and women suffrage. Similarly, I would like for everyone to acknowledge the historical event that is "Barack Obama, Democratic Presidential Nominee". Should we start comparing that accomplishment to the suffering of African Americans or Apartheid?
I don't think that the theme of this was really to imply that Obama only won because he is a man (or that Clinton lost solely because she was a woman) but to reiterate how similar they actually are on the issues. Yes this is a dream deferred, but what is important is not the person, but the ideas they both stand for. To throw that all away because of identity politics is patently ridiculous.
In any case, this isn't the time to point fingers or say "I told you so." Now is the time we join together to fight for the ideals we believe in and for the person most likely to uphold them for the next 4 years.
See Swanee Hunt's Profile
Thanks for saying it better than I could.
I have enormous respect for Senator Obama. You have no idea. What I've tried to do is explore a different dynamic -- not sexism, or racism, but projection. Maybe I wasn't clear enough.
By the time Senator Clinton's handlers figured out that running her as a feminist was a winning strategy, rather than as the months-long bizarre hawkish "testicular fortitude" male they felt would win her votes, it was too late for her to overtake Senator Obama's lead.
It was a flawed campaign, and that is what lost her the nomination. All her positives, from name recognition to experience, could not overcome that. Senator Obama's superior campaign staff, his Hillary-like intellect, sense of historical context, and professional ability to retain every piece of legislative data of the past half century, that allowed him to discourse with insight into every aspect of American domestic and foreign policy, and his ease and equanimity with every constituency were the qualities that won voters. He also offered a political landscape without drama, something Senator Clinton's campaign seemed to thrive on.
Senator McCain also seems to be running a flawed campaign, with numerous staff leaving, an inconsistent message, and a love of drama. We'll see if Senator Obama's tempered congenial campaign staff can once again be the winning behind-the-scenes factor in the presidential election.
After 16 years of presidential drama, those younger than 55 seem to want to take a serious look at a candidate who has given voters public viewing that he uses his wisdom wisely and calmly.
There are those of us OVER 55 who are also looking seriously at a candidate that "uses his wisom wisely and calmly." We're voting for Obama!
After seeing the DNC and various Democratic leaders try to push her out early, mislead the public regarding SD decision making, ignore sexism, I simply don't feel as connected to the party any longer.
So I don't see that loyalty has its rewards.
Perhaps it's time to think outside the Democratic box. That was the lesson of the primaries for me.
Send us a postcard when you get where you're going.
PumaAnn, please send $1.11 to Hillary Clinton to clear up her debt. And I implore you to request that the additional 17,999,999 supporters do the same. Once this has been accomplished, you may have a valid opinion on Democrats and the Presidential race. Until then, you are a non-participant in the selection for President of the United States, so you are irrelevant to any discussion on said subject.
I thank you, A loyal Democrat!
I've voted straight Democrat for 35 years, been a precinct captain, worked on behalf of many Dem candidates, worked the polls, and contributed financially to pay down the debt as well as to Hill's campaign.
I have earned the right to my opinion about the Democratic Party.
You may not agree with me, and that's OK.
However, I absolutely have a right to speak my mind.
I no longer am interested in my own brand of party loyalty. It was obviously misplaced. When I hear Pelosi claim there's no sexism, I feel slightly ill.
What I have determined is that character counts. I'll support good candidates for government whether they are Dem or Rep or Independent.
I'm not going to be a blind follower of partisanship ever again.
I personally think that was probably quite careless of me in the past as a voter. It was the easy way out.
Today, I*'ll listen to the candidates, how they handle situations, how often they flip-flop.
I believe firmly we get the government we deserve. Party loyalty is not required to be a good citizen.
Right, because voting Green will SURELY cause McCain to loose the election.
Yes, think outside the box. Start the Clinton party and you can all blog all day about the wonderful Clintons. Look at Hillary's and Bill's brothers. Perhaps they can both run for office someday too.
Loyalty will have it's reward if you quit moping about and get on the stick and work your ass off for an Obama victory. We can argue about the DNC rulings and party leader point you make, but at this point it is a waste of energy that could be better spent working towards an Obama victory. It has been 2 months now since the last primaries and Clinton's concession, it is time to let it go.
It's the DEMOCRATIC PARTY, not the Clinton party!!!
Important reminder but I doubt HRC's support realize it!
This article was wonderful because it shows how this woman realized that her choice did not win, but she dealt with it. John McSame will not only destroy all of the issues we believe in, but he will destroy this whole country. Ms Hunt is more proof that we as Democratic women need to get past all of the hurt and frustration and vote with our brains and not with broken hearts because our candidate didn't win. In my city we have big gettogethers and wholeheartedly welcome Hillary supporters, we know that they are disappointed and we don't try to force Obama on them. We get to know eachother and we sit down and go over the FACTS and the ISSUES pertaining to each candidate and it is plain to see that Barack Obama is the best choice. Of course not all of the HRC supporters return, but most of them do and it's impressive to see them out there at voter registration drives and participating in other Democratic projects. You know...all of them aren't there just for Obama...th
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