JUST THE FACTS, MAM
It is interesting how many people, men and women alike, blame Hilary Clinton’s problems on one of two issues: woman bias or being a “strong” woman.
The first issue blamed is an overall “woman bias” But looking closely, Hillary has not achieved anything extraordinary except to be a woman in the running for President. Her record as First Lady and as a Senator is acceptable but certainly not outstanding. She is intelligent but not brilliant and sometimes seems lacking in discernment and judgment. So what, other than her gender and the “it’s time for a woman“ climate, has brought her to this position? It appears that perhaps Christine Ferraro’s chain of thought applies more to Hillary than Barack Obama
The second often blamed issue is resentment of Hillary because she is a “strong” woman. But what do people mean when they say that? Could they be confusing ambition with strength? Are they just parroting something they’ve heard? What are the signs of her strength? There has been evidence of whining more than once during her campaign and strong women don’t whine. She stood by her man when his philandering became public but that was simply a choice, not proof or disproof of strength. Many strong women would have felt they deserved better and said bye, bye.
As a woman of an age that placed me squarely in the middle of the fight for equal rights in the business world, I am fully aware of the problems of woman bias and have suffered my share of consequences for being considered a strong woman. But rather than bringing me to agreement, my experience causes me to dismiss these issues as the explanation for Hillary’s lack of popularity.
It seems more likely that Hillary’s problems lie with her personality and character. Bill Clinton has skated through many situations because he has a winning personality – lots of charm and a warm and personable appearance. Unfortunately, Hillary doesn’t have this advantage. She comes across as stiff, and has a tendency to sound abrasive when trying to appear tough. In the character department, both the Clintons seem wanting. But in a sad commentary on our society, people seem more inclined to overlook that lack in Bill because of his personality.
Hillary Clinton may be the first viable woman presidential candidate but she will not be the last. To support her just because she is a woman is a disservice to women everywhere. There have been female leaders in other countries - women of character and strength. We can afford to wait until we are sure we have found a woman with those qualities. It seems prudent to leave Hillary’s gender out of the equation and pay more attention to her character and past record when considering her qualifications for president.
When we inaugurate our next president, we will have lived through 20 years of administrations that did not value truth and did not work for the common good. This time let’s choose a leader we can trust.