Gloria Steinem Complicates Clinton Campaign with Attacks on McCain

Hillary Clinton's campaign, in holding a "Women for Hillary" event in Austin, Texas, apparently thought that Gloria Steinem would be a logical speaker for the event. Steinem's comments, according to the New York Post and many other news sources and blogs, were anything but logical, and Hillary's campaign was "red faced" and backing away from Ms. Steinem as quickly as they could. What could the feminist icon say that would embarrass Hillary Clinton in front of an audience of women?

The words are hard to summarize, involving anti-military sentiments in a state with several large military bases, and a convoluted dismissal of Senator John McCain's years as a prisoner of war as not relevant to the office of President of the United States and somehow yet another source of male privilege in the Presidential race. Besides embarrassing Hillary Clinton, Steinem's remarks provided a platform on which to explain how Sen. McCain's POW experience showed his dedication to his country, ability to handle extreme pressure, and other important Presidential attributes, which his campaign quickly used to advantage.

This writer is a liberal-minded person who has tended to align with conservative thought because of the more positive views of individual possibilities and dignity some conservatives hold. Reactionary, combative liberal thought and behavior from the 1960's has spawned positive change, but itself produces destructive, adversarial politics. Steinem's attempts to invoke raw emotion from her heyday backfired in the more complex 21^st century. Our diverse set of candidates for the country's highest office makes her black-and-white arguments of privilege and prejudice more likely to offend those like Hillary who no longer need to be portrayed as victims, but successful in their own right. Each candidate appears to be fully capable of being promoted on their own merits without attempting to tear down the accomplishments of others as merely examples of privilege.

Steinem, in attempting to twist the image of McCain suffering the undignified life of a prisoner of war into some form of gender advantage, forced much of the American public including myself to reevaluate McCain in a more positive light. Meanwhile, as she was speaking at a Hillary Clinton rally supposedly in support of the candidate, Steinem raised the question of whether the Clinton has really evolved into a true leader, or is merely rebelling against "the system" of which she has been a part her entire adult life. It's like Gloria didn't know Hillary at all, and her presence at the rally was an anachronism intended to be symbolic rather than material in its support of the Clinton campaign.

In hearing Gloria Steinem's remarks, my image of the well-spoken Hillary Clinton, no matter what her ideology, became mixed with those characters of the 1960's who have not evolved and embraced the successes of who came later, and I became concerned about her ability to lead our country into the future. With Texas a critical state for her to win at this point, I hope that Steinem's remarks will be seen in context, and Hillary will receive votes based on her own merits. I still am looking to the general election to decide my vote, though McCain did gain a bit in my esteem in reaction to Steinem's words.

Not only will Steinem's remarks likely have a negative effect on Clinton's campaign at a critical point, the United States' first truly diverse Presidential election will risk being thrown back into the dark ages of anger, envy and negativity, and the new ideas and voices for change might be drowned by those who miss the 60's and would rather return to their heyday and recreate youthful rebellion than take advantage of the country's evolution since then to elect a leader based on qualifications, no matter what race or gender. Ironically, Steinem's focus on privilege could cause the country to lose its enthusiasm for new ideas and return to election patterns of the past, electing (and privileging) the familiar.

"Steinem Mocks Mac's POW Ordeal", Charles Hurt and Carl Campanile, http://www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/03032008/news/nationalnews/steinem_mocks_macs_pow_ordeal_100254.htm