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Here Comes the Gender Post-Mortem

By Jeralyn

Now that the media has crowned Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee, it finally wants to talk about the sexism Hillary Clinton has faced in this campaign.

Along with the usual post-mortems about strategy, message and money, Mrs. Clinton’s all-but-certain defeat brings with it a reckoning about what her run represents for women: a historic if incomplete triumph or a depressing reminder of why few pursue high political office in the first place.

....Decades after the dissolution of movement feminism, Mrs. Clinton’s events and donor lists filled with women who had experienced insult or isolation on the job....

These women watched in disbelief as the media repeatedly provided sexist coverage of her campaign: [More...]

Mrs. Clinton’s supporters point to a nagging series of slights: the fixation on her clothes, even her cleavage; chronic criticism that her voice is shrill; calls for her to exit the race; and most of all, the male commentators in the news media who, they argue, were consistently tougher on her than on Mr. Obama.

As to what will be the cost:

If many of Mrs. Clinton’s legions of female supporters believe she was undone even in part by gender discrimination, how eagerly will they embrace Senator Barack Obama, the man who beat her?

“Women felt this was their time, and this has been stolen from them,” said Marilu Sochor, 48, a real estate agent in Columbus, Ohio, and a Clinton supporter. “Sexism has played a really big role in the race.”

There will also be women who won't vote for Barack Obama in part because at times he appeared chauvanistic himself:

Some even accuse Mr. Obama of chauvinism, pointing to the time he called Mrs. Clinton “likeable enough” as evidence of dismissiveness. Nancy Wait, 55, a social worker in Columbia City, Ind., said Mr. Obama was far less qualified than Mrs. Clinton and described as condescending his recent assurances that Mrs. Clinton should stay in the race as long as she liked. Ms. Wait said she would “absolutely, positively not” vote for him come fall.

Groups already are forming:

Cynthia Ruccia, 55, a sales director for Mary Kay cosmetics in Columbus, Ohio, is organizing a group, Clinton Supporters Count Too, of mostly women in swing states who plan to campaign against Mr. Obama in November. “We, the most loyal constituency, are being told to sit down, shut up and get to the back of the bus,” she said.

To be sure, many of those quoted in the Times article insist Hillary isn't the victim of sexism but an inept campaign -- and that her campaign failed due to her campaign management and a variety of other factors. They are in denial.

Sexism played a huge role in this campaign. That the media wants to discuss it now when it appears to be too late to do any good is almost as insulting as their coverage throughout the campaign.

The last thing Hillary Clinton would want is for her supporters to stay home or vote for John McCain. Like Hillary, I believe a Democrat is better than a Republican in November. Our President will have a say in legislative agendas Congress takes up, from health care to social security. She or he will nominate our judges and our Attorney General. We can't allow that person to be John McCain.

A candidate with an insubstantial track record who is long on vague rhetoric like promises of hope and change and short on substance is still better than a Republican.

That said, there are still five primaries left. The nomination won't be settled on May 20 no matter what the Obama campaign and the media say. The outcome of the nomination is not certain until either one candidate drops out or actual votes are taken at the convention.

Once it's settled, should the nominee not be Hillary Clinton, count me as one who will refuse to read a single article by the mainstream media on the effect of sexism in this campaign. That ship has sailed and the media failed spectacularly in its duty to fairly report on this primary race.

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Full post as published by TalkLeft on May 19, 2008 (boomark / email).