Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Hillary's Just Wrong for the Job

why is it that hillary waited until a couple of days ago to cry sexism?
probably just more of the same from hillary. she'll just do whatever it takes. she doesn't really believe it but will exploit those who do. when there have been sexists in her way (her very own "hard working white Americans), she just rolled out bill.
but her supporters have been serious about the sexism claims. and they probably have seen incidents of sexism. who doesn't? but that's not why some women are choosing to back obama and not her. unfortunately, hillary's supporters have put her gender first. that's just so wrong. they see everything as an attack against the "strong woman." hillary is an idol, a symbol. she's not even who she is anymore.
she's the wrong person for the job. if i had to put it in a sentence: in contrast to obama, she's too old school with her politics. she would've won if she had been a different candidate -- not a different gender.
latimes: The main grievance against Obama is that political pundits are saying the race is over and Clinton should quit. (I plead guilty.) Clinton's supporters are defining this as a form of sexism. Ellen Malcolm, founder of the liberal feminist group Emily's List, recently noted with bitter sarcasm, "The first woman ever to win a presidential primary is supposed to stop competing, to curtsy and exit stage right." And Clinton's race for the White House is in large part a campaign against sexism, so of course she must resist these calls. ("She's shown us over and over that winners never quit and that quitters never win," Malcolm writes.) Thus, the circular rationale for Clinton's candidacy is: Because people are calling for her to leave the race, she must stay in.

It's highly unusual for a mainstream presidential campaign to persist for so long with no purpose except self-perpetuation. But many people don't think of Clinton in normal political terms. She is viewed not as a politician, or even a person, but as a symbol of the strong woman.

The rise of women in the workplace over the last few decades is one of the most sweeping social transformations any society has undertaken. In the midst of this shift, Clinton entered the political scene as the first first lady to offer herself up as a co-equal partner to the presidency. Initially, this made her the focal point for a massive backlash by misogynists, or anybody who simply felt uneasy with changing gender relationships. Tens of millions of Americans, mostly men, developed an irrational hatred for her. It had little or nothing to do with Clinton or anything she had done. She simply represented the strong woman to them, and they hated her for it.

Likewise, tens of millions of feminists see Clinton as a stand-in for their own lives. Any setback to her is a setback for women. Her supporters frequently describe her campaign as a metaphor for women's struggle against the glass ceiling -- Clinton as the older woman written off or disdained for her abilities, Obama as a younger man who takes a job that should be hers.