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While, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I have both giving’s and misgiving’s about both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton… And I’m in no place to vote for either in the primary anyway… I feel like either one of them could be quite good possibilities for President. Sure, in an ideal world, Gravel, Nader, Kucinich or (my favorite) Peter DeFazio would be front runners, as they have ideals far beyond anything realistic for a national politician, and far beyond anything felt by Clinton or Obama… But in terms of realistic candidates, it is shockingly great that the two front runners are beyond the pale of what is expected from a population living under this contrived umbrella of racial and sexual bias that one expects to permeate our national dialogue… But, aside from the vast amount of political experience held by Clinton (which I can handily see how it an be perceived as both a positive and negative aspect), I honestly don’t know how any woman, republicrat, independent or otherwise, could rightfully do anything but vote for Hillary Clinton. Yes, Obama is a man of high ideals and great charisma and could be a breath of fresh air and, quite possibly, help to break down the facade of lies that is the concept of “race”, and yes may drag us even quicker out of that facade of greed that is the Iraq situation… But he is yet another confident and persuasive male politician in a stream of a quarter of a millennium of American presidential candidates.
Hillary Clinton winning the presidential election would be (bar none, I think) the greatest event in the cause of equality for women since Sufferage and, in fact, would be the culmination of all of the great struggle that was Sufferage and the work leading up to it. For any woman to not vote for Hillary, regardless of ones personal feelings about her or ones political beliefs, would seem to me to be a denial of the suffering, discrimination and marginalization that has been forced upon women in American history, and of their relegation to the sidelines the history of national and social dialog.
What I also view harshly is that, while Hillary is ahead in the battle for the Democratic Nomination, the media are treating her as if she is behind and is struggling to catch up… It seems to me that to have a woman as the front-runner (by however a small margin) for the white house should be something to be applauded and honored by all women, instead of being treated as if she’s barely holding on. I mean, sure Obama is gaining on her but it is unfair (and sexist) for the media to be writing her off as if she’s a has-been when she is actually in the lead. Plus, she does stand for (at least currently) some very good things. She has been one of the most vocal proponents of health care reform and she does claim that she is for the withdrawal (I think she said “in 60 days” on 60 Minutes) of our Iraq Invasion forces. Neither one of these will ever be done to my satisfaction, but she does publicly support the right ideals.
5 Responses to “six of one?”
I totally get what you are saying. And I struggle with this. But I have to say, as a woman, in a long line of women who fought for many rights, I have to say that voting for someone solely on the basis that they are a woman would feel disingenuous.
I choose to use both my heart AND my mind, and given the choices, unless something drastically shifts, so far Mr. Obama’s got my vote. Yes, he is a man, but it’s no small thing that he from a minority subset. And what then, of black women?
I dunno. I get what you’re saying, but I am not convinced. I would love to see a female president one day, and if it is Hillary, I will be pretty darned happy. She DOES stand for much of what I believe in. (And I do appreciate your thoughts on how the media is portraying her.) But for me, it doesn’t really come down to black/white, man/woman. As a human, a female human, I am thankful to have that right to choose.
I don’t feel that it is my duty to choose a woman. I feel it is my duty to choose the person I think is best for the role.
I think that a lot of women may find themselves in the same boat, feeling sort of the same reasoning about voting for a woman, but just plain preferring Obama. As a matter of principle, I would always recommend voting ones political conscience. And though I would love to see either one of them as president, I think that if ones intentions were what mattered as president, Obama is probably the better choice. But than I always fall back into the idealistic mode where I think it is very exciting that a woman is the front-runner for president, and I get a bit ticked off of how the media is covering her. It makes me think that she is being almost dismissed already as a candidate and I start feeling like it’s that same old marginalization of women again. I may be exaggerating the situation though, as I don’t really pay much attention.
But of course, as a non-woman, my perception of the struggle for women’s rights and the current state of that is probably much different than a woman’s view, so I’m not exactly expressing an opinion backed up with experience. I do realize that, if every woman felt obliged to vote for Hillary and every black person felt obliged to vote for Obama, it would leave black women in quite a quandary… But it certainly is a refreshing quandary!
True dat, fine sir! I totally agree that there is plenty of misogynistic talk going around. It’s truly disheartening. Downright maddening. I think she IS being almost dismissed which is very sad. As it stands today, she HAS the lead. Despite that, they are making it out like she has already lost. A complete shame.
It’s all quite telling. And exciting.
Hmm…you make some fine arguments, Penguindevil.
While I too abhor the way she’s being portrayed in the media (my consistent pet peeve is how she’s spoken of in the familiar sense, while other candidates aren’t. That is, “Hillary trails Obama by blah-blah-blah…” How about “Clinton” or “Senator Clinton”?), I have to follow my political conscience on this one. To me, she represents old, staid, stuffy politics.
I would still be happier to have her in office than McCain or **shudder** Huckabee. But my vote’s going to Obama. Now that Gravel and Kucinich are done.
Yes, I would gladly vote for Mr. Obama. Or Hil’.. Whichever one the Demos pick. I do agree that she would be less of a switch, politically. I think she has been aiming at the presidency since her college days, at least, and it shows. Which is why I consider her experience to be both a curse and a blessing.