Although some people have said it would make more sense for Hillary Clinton to stay in the Senate and be powerful there for the next few decades (as opposed to be president for 8 years & then retire and do what?) I've had a feeling for quite a while that she was going to run, and today it's official.
I've been excited by the prospect of a Hillary Clinton candidacy for years - and I don't believe for a second that she "can't" win. As pollster Mark Penn said, "Of course she can."
I absolutely believe that the extent to which people support her is the extent to which they believe women are really equal to men. I will be very interested to see how this race shakes out generationally - will younger voters be more progressive, more willing to back a candidate with extensive experience, knowledge and skills, despite the fact that she's female? Or will the core of Hillary's support come from the generation that did the heavy lifting on women's rights in the 70's?
I don't think there will be a ton of people who will vote for her BECAUSE she's female, the way people will vote for Barak Obama because he's black. With Hillary, there is no "all other things being equal" comparison because no one else in the race comes close to her in terms of experience or expertise. It's not like there are 3 candidates who are all great, so then you pick the female just for progress.
Think about it - leaders around the globe know and respect her. No one else in the country - save Bill Clinton - could ascend to the presidency with as much global clout as she has right now, and we know that's something the presidency is desperately in need of. She is not one of the crowd in this race - there is Hillary, and then there is the crowd.
As she said in her announcement video: "I have a feeling it will be very interesting." No doubt! :)
Check it out: http://www.hillaryclinton.com
2 comments:
"I absolutely believe that the extent to which people support her is the extent to which they believe women are really equal to men."
I truly believe that the extent to which people support her should be to the extent that it is believed she can perform the duties of the office well; not whether women are equal to men. The idea that any election should "prove" that women are equal to men would show that progress hasn't been made in that area. If a woman is elected president, it would indicate that her qualifications and expertise bested that of her opponents. I'd hate to see the presidency go to a woman just so we could "prove" it could be done or that the genders are equal.
As for those wondering whether younger voters will back a qualified candidate "despite" the fact that she's a woman: asking the question that way assumes the mindset is one that places primary value on gender. I would think (hope)that the younger generation would be less-disposed to thinking of gender as a primary concern and more focused on how they want the world to be and who will be leading us.
Note "should be" vs "will be" - I agree that people "should" vote for the best candidate - my point is that I believe there will be many people who refuse to vote for the best candidate just because she is female.
I would also hope that the younger generation would be more focused on quality than gender... we'll see!
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