Friday, November 16, 2007

Hillary Clinton - AGAIN! In Today's News

It happened again. This time it was John McCain who took heat for NOT chastising a woman who referred to Hillary Clinton as a bitch. Why?? Would they have expected him to chastise his questioner if she called one of McCain’s other competitors a bastard?

As women, we should be demanding that all this double standard and a notion of “kid glove” treatment for a woman in presidential politics stop now. It is the surest way to keep them male-dominated.

Mrs. Clinton herself said she gets why the men are going after her. It isn’t because she is a woman, but be cause she is in the lead in her party. She said that she isn’t going to play the gender card, but “the winning card.” Good for her!

That’s what victory is about for you and me…stretching ourselves past our current limits to be all that we want to and dream about being…whether winning means feeling respected in our marriage, getting that promotion…or running for president.

Victory is what we all need to focus on in our lives – and not allow anyone to demean or belittle our efforts.

NOTE: Before blogging was popular, I also had an opinion of Hillary Clinton. I was scathing in my criticism of her for getting sucked into the web of betrayal that her spouse, then President Clinton, wove for her. Though during his campaign she has insisted that she wasn’t “some Tammy Wynette Stand by Your Man” kind of woman, her behavior showed otherwise.


As much as I think her current step up into presidential politics is good for women, I think she hurt women badly by choosing to deny that she was married to a philandering spouse and choosing instead to blame the “vast right-wing conspiracy” for [what his spouse told her was] a fabrication. When Bill Clinton embarrassed her in pubic, she stood by him…and there are a lot of abused women who are doing the same and using Hillary Clinton as their model.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Hillary Clinton a Victim?? In Today's News

Last week’s Democratic debate was typical: the closer to primaries, the harder the candidates go after each other. Yet I keep hearing people, in the media and in person, say it wasn’t fair how all those mean guys ganged up on the solitary woman.

Here’s why every woman – including you – should be concerned with that attitude: this is an old, old message that’s designed to distort, distract and debilitate a woman’s worth and ability.

When you hear the “poor Hillary” message, listen carefully at what’s really being said. Consider the underlying message to Hillary and any other woman with enough guts to run for president: you just can’t compete with men.

For just a moment, close your eyes and picture John Wayne in one of his old movies. If you do, you might be able to hear some chauvinist voice saying, “sure, little woman, if you want to mess around with little bits of power or authority like in business or low level politics, then go ahead. But just be careful. Running for a big job like president will get rough and you’re gonna break a nail or somethin’. C’mon, you saw what happened when you tried to compete with the big boys in their game…they just chewed you up and spit you out, poor thing. You can’t win.”

It’s HOGWASH. Whether you like Hillary Clinton and her politics or not, refuse to let anyone let you think of any debate as though big, bad guys are ganging up on the little woman. Stop that kind of talk as soon as it gets started.

Here are two things you can tell anyone – man or woman – if they start making “poor Hillary” comments:

1 - Hillary Clinton is no victim. Like any woman with as much experience in her field as Hillary Clinton has, she knew what she was getting into when she got into the presidential race. As the first serious female presidential hopeful, she knows it is going to be tough. As former first lady, she knows it’s going to be rough. She was ready.

Granted, the debate may not have gone well for her, but it doesn’t always go well for every candidate every time. It won’t always go well for our new president either – especially when s/he is in the global wrestling ring with world leaders who disagree.

2 - Obama and Edwards went after Clinton. “The gloves were off,” nearly every news station announced. So what? The job of every one of those candidates was to showcase themselves and prove that they are better than any other candidate. There was no surprise that they went after the apparent frontrunner.

If a woman becomes president – at any future time - do you think an Ahmadinejad would go easier on her? Of course not. Every president needs to be tough…and standing up to the political rivals is just a first stage of being tough.

Whether she wins or loses, Hillary Clinton broke through a glass ceiling for every prospective female candidate. That alone is a victory for her…and for you and me. Don’t let anyone, including you, minimize that victory. If you let her become a “poor thing” you will be doing her – and yourself – a great disservice.