i know you have a lot of strength left
such a bittersweet feeling. part of me is thrilled the democratic nomination process is over, and my candidate of choice won.
the other part of me is genuinely sad that there won’t be a female president this time around. i’ve often said i thought there would be a black president before there was a female president… but boy, would i have loved to be proven wrong.
there’s a lot of analysis about what happened, and i tend to agree with those that say she had an opportunity to be a fresh-faced historic first… and she blew it because she insisted on painting herself as the experienced, hardened old guard instead. when stacked up against a campaign emphasising hope and idealism, anything else can only look depressing and cynical.
but what i don’t understand is this massive animosity towards her. or the idea that her female supporters won’t vote for obama unless she’s his vice presidential nominee. it implies a level of crab-in-the-pot syndrome and blind, bitter loyalty that’s downright nasty. it’s been said there are some Hillary supporters who would vote for *any* woman. and sure, there are some women who would vote for Hillary as a preferred qualified candidate, all other things being equal, because she’s a woman. that’s called affirmative action. but to suggest that people would vote for her without any regard for her ability to *do the job* is just insulting to women voters. and the idea that those same supporters are so rabidly hysterical that they would cut off their nose to spite their face by voting against obama, is just ludicrous. when it comes down to it, being a sore loser doesn’t help anyone’s cause – and definitely not the cause of women’s rights. you only have to have a quick look at mccain’s voting record to realise that.
has she been strategising and scheming and spinning? of course. but she’s behaved no worse than hundreds of other *male* candidates who came before her – and probably better than many. yet when people discuss her candidacy, they do so with a kind of venom i’ve never heard before.
the invisible undercurrent to this entire primary season has been a sotto voce “bitch“ . i think our national reaction to her campaign says much more about us, than it does about Hillary Clinton as a person and a woman politician. and frankly, it’s really disgusted me. you don’t have to be a Hillary supporter to feel outraged at the treatment she’s received. you don’t have to be a woman to be outraged at the treatment she’s received.
win or lose, she deserved so much better. she may not have broken through that glass ceiling completely, but she managed to put a big ol’ crack in it.
so here’s to you, Hillary. i may not have always agreed with your politics, but i damn sure admired you as a fearless groundbreaker, a fierce competitor who could stand toe-to-toe with any of the “old boys club”… and as a woman i would have been proud to call my commander-in-chief.
because of you, a few more little girls today believe they can grow up to be some of the most powerful and important leaders of the world.
and i have no doubt that one of them will most definitely be a future president of the united states of america.
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Comment by noble savage
4.06.2008 @ 20:17 pm
thank you for saying this.
very appropriate song, btw.
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4.06.2008 @ 21:07 pm
[...] I know you have a lot of strength left — Jen’s Den of Iniquity [...]
Comment by Sarah
5.06.2008 @ 01:01 am
I completely agree with you. However, I am still perplexed by the high percentage number of her supporters who have said they will not vote for Obama. Clinton and Obama are so very close in their goals for our country, especially when compared to McCain, so I don’t understand why the reluctance to vote for Obama. I *want* to believe that her supporters care about issues first and foremost before gender, but then why avoid voting for someone so close to her agenda?
Comment by Charlotte
5.06.2008 @ 05:02 am
I’ve been shocked at the venom leveled at her, and it made me feel there was still a long, long way to go in changing attitudes towards women. I mean, how dare she? Even presume she could be president?
As you say, there is a little girl somewhere in the US who, thanks to Hillary’s work now, one day will be president. And that is good.
Comment by nikoline
5.06.2008 @ 15:16 pm
well said.
Comment by Jen
5.06.2008 @ 19:27 pm
“However, I am still perplexed by the high percentage number of her supporters who have said they will not vote for Obama.
yeah. i have to wonder if this will really come to pass.
“I’ve been shocked at the venom leveled at her”
same here. so very depressing
Comment by vanessa
6.06.2008 @ 13:55 pm
nice post. nice jjob.
I fucking love that song and will now play it.
I miss you. Wish we could hang, get a drink and talk.
love you
V
Comment by D_Arte
6.06.2008 @ 16:56 pm
Thank you! Well said, Vanessa’s friend.
Comment by d_arte
6.06.2008 @ 17:02 pm
btw, I’d like to link to this on my lj. If you mind, I’ll take it down.
(I’m a mama-friend of Vanessa’s.)
Comment by Jen
6.06.2008 @ 17:09 pm
welcome d_arte – by all means, link away! thanks for the comments
miss you too v. hopefully we’ll get to see each other soon.
Comment by noble savage
6.06.2008 @ 21:38 pm
However, I am still perplexed by the high percentage number of her supporters who have said they will not vote for Obama
Have they? See, I’ve heard way more Obama supporters say they wouldn’t vote for Hillary if she got the nomination than I have the other way round.
I think it’s natural for the losing ’side’ to be a little bitter and say things they don’t mean so soon after the defeat. Give them time, they’ll come around!
Comment by maureen
8.06.2008 @ 04:11 am
Thanks for this. I agree completely, and I’m going to post it on my blog, too.
(yet another friend of Vanessa’s)