Clinton's struggle vexes feminists

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Author Message   Tonya "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Tonya Post Number: 6696 Registered: 07-2006 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 - 03:23 pm:        Clinton's struggle vexes feminists By Susan Milligan The Boston Globe Tuesday, February 19, 2008 WASHINGTON: As Hillary Clinton struggles to regain her momentum in the presidential race, frustrated feminists are looking at what they see as the ultimate glass ceiling: A female candidate with a hyper-substantive career is now threatened with losing the nomination to a man whose charismatic style and powerful rhetoric are trumping her decades of experience. The style-vs.-substance clash is common to presidential contests, and has hurt wonky male candidates as well, women's leaders say. But they argue that Clinton has a peculiar burden in this year's contest because she never would have been able to reach the final stages of the nomination process unless she had spent her life emphasizing her professional record over stylistic abilities. "I do think at some level there is a Catch-22 for women" running for president, said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women and a Clinton supporter. "Showing your heart has never been a plus for high-achieving women." Martha Burk, chairwoman of the National Council of Women's Organizations, said the senator from New York is being hurt because she is not the "glamour" candidate. "She characterizes herself as being a workhorse and not a show horse," said Burk, who has endorsed Clinton. "She is being punished in a certain way for being competent and not jazzy. If he were female, with his credentials, age, and track record, I don't think he'd be anywhere near the presidency of the United States," Burk said. Many feminist leaders were careful to say that they do not think Clinton lacks the ability to connect with voters or that Senator Barack Obama is without substance. And despite Obama's recent spate of victories, they insist Clinton will prevail as the nominee. But having backed the best-prepared female candidate in recent history for president, women's activists are maddened and baffled that Clinton's policy-heavy message - "solutions for America" - has not eclipsed a candidate whose central themes are hope and change. "All of the substance, all of the work, all of the policies, all of the accomplishments probably don't come off as flashy," said Ramona Oliver, communications director for EMILY's List, which raises funds for female Democratic candidates. Comparing Obama with Clinton, Oliver said: "There's inspiration, and there's effectiveness." Female candidates for all elective offices face the conundrum of having to appear strong and confident without looking unfeminine, according to specialists on women and politics. But the dilemma is more pronounced at the presidential election level, they say, because voters are more likely to be guided by their gut reactions to candidates rather than comparisons of the contenders' records. Choosing a president is the most personal vote most Americans will cast, said Democratic consultant Peter Fenn, and voters often will be attracted to a candidate's general vision and leadership style more than to his or her specific policy agenda. Democratic presidential contenders Michael Dukakis, Al Gore, and John F. Kerry, for example, suffered from the perception that they were less personable than their GOP opponents, several political analysts observed. The 2000 election had voters asking "who would you want to have a beer with?" said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. "Al Gore was the guy who knew everything about every issue and was the policy wonk, but they liked George Bush. They felt like he was one of them," she said. But female candidates have an added burden, say women's leaders and political specialists not associated with the Clinton campaign. "This whole thing, that women have to be smarter than men, more articulate than men, better on foreign policy, less emotional, all those crazy things. Finally you have a candidate who's basically done that," Fenn said, and yet Obama's sizzle is competing mightily with her steak. "It has to be depressing" for her, said Fenn, who is not associated with either Democratic candidate. On the campaign trail, Democratic voters across the country have said in interviews that they respected Clinton's experience and ability, while Obama voters have countered that they believed he could unite the country. "That is what we've seen for women candidates, that they have to know everything about every issue" to be politically viable, Walsh said. "But that's not what seems to be, at this moment, what's capturing a large part of the electorate. It's certainly not what's capturing the imaginations of young people right now." Carol Hardy-Fanta, director of the Center for Women in Politics & Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, said that "charisma does play a big part in a campaign," forcing Clinton to prove not only that she is serious and tough but also likable. "I think to some extent, it's true that women are called on the carpet for these qualities after they've had to become smart and commanding to get ahead," Hardy-Fanta said. "It's a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation." But Obama's message of change - dismissed by Clinton on the campaign trail as "rhetorical flourish" - is helping the Illinois lawmaker gain ground among voters in several groups normally sympathetic to Clinton, including women. For most of the primary season, female voters favored Clinton, who owed her critical victory in New Hampshire in large part to female voters, and who went on to capture a majority of the women's vote in nearly every contest through Feb. 5. The gender gap is particularly critical in Democratic primaries and caucuses, in which female voters consistently outnumber their male counterparts. For example, Clinton beat Obama among women by a 12-point margin in New Hampshire, while Obama bested Clinton among men by an 11-point margin. But since women made up 57 percent of the New Hampshire Democratic vote, Clinton benefited much more from the gender gap, and won the state by two percentage points. But recently, Obama has made inroads among female voters, winning 60 percent of the women's vote in Virginia and 55 percent of female voters in Maryland. Clinton has stepped up her focus on her policy proposals recently, frequently repeating that she is in the "solutions business" instead of "the promises business." Her campaign hopes that the issue-heavy message will resonate in Ohio and Pennsylvania and turn out the low-income voters who have largely favored the New York lawmaker over Obama. Obama, meanwhile, is emphasizing his policy proposals more, while continuing the message of hope and change that has drawn many voters to his side. "Political analysts always say that personality trumps issues nine times out of 10" in a presidential race, said Jon Delano, an adjunct professor of politics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University. "But the bar for women is much higher - sad but true." http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/19/america/19feminist.php   Nels AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Nels Post Number: 1054 Registered: 07-2005 Rating:  Votes: 1 (Vote!) Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 - 08:59 pm:        It's not the woman, it's this particular woman that's the issue.   Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 11577 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - 12:05 pm:        And speaking of particular women, looks like Michelle Obama has provided Republicans with a good sound byte when she publicly declared in a speech that for the first time in her adult life, she was proud of her country. A remark to which McCain's patriotic wife crowed, "I don't know about her, but I've always been proud of America!"   Chrishayden "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 6324 Registered: 03-2004 Rating:  Votes: 1 (Vote!) Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - 02:45 pm:        This is what I have been trying to get through to these banshees It's not the woman It's THIS woman!!   Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 11578 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - 03:35 pm:        Oh stuff it, chrishayden and Nels.No woman could run for POTUS without being abrasive, because male chauvinists would criticize her for being weak if she isn't tough. Hillary Clinton is no worse than any other politician except that Republicans hated her spouse and their hate tarnished her and infected the rest of the country. HRC is a woman who is capable and smart and - imperfect. Just like all of the other candidates running. She will never be given a chance to prove her critics wrong and when she loses the nomination, the chances of a woman becoming president will fade. A charming, smiling, charismatic woman spinning dreams will not be elected to this office. Why? Because she will be perceived as someone too vulnerable. I think ol Hil has been unfairly treated and I have no problem admitting that I admire how she's withstood the vicious attacks and sexism that held her to a different standard. She has gone from heroine to tragedienne. But for her, it was not meant to be. And so it goes.