Hillary in 2008 - Would the First Woman President Change the Course of Feminism in America?

Hillary Clinton was recently dubbed *Nixon in a pantsuit.* Statements like this, and other (not so subtle) misogynistic references to powerful women may be an easy way to take a cheap shot, but are attitudes changing on this issue? If Alice Paul knew that her tireless efforts to ensure women's right to vote would end in the first woman candidate for President of the United States would be mocked in such an obvious way, would anything have changed?

When you turn on your television at night and you see endless *Girls Gone Wild* commercials, what does it say about the Feminist movement in our country? After the democratic debates last week, Hillary was attacked in almost every way. First, by candidates from her own party, then by jackasses on the internet, then, unfortunately, by feminists.

Kate Michelman, a self-described feminist, recently referred to Clinton's *willingness to play the gender card* as a response to Hillary's references to the *Boys Club* of politics. Granted, Michelman is associated with the Edwards campaign, and this statement is likely to have been aimed at discrediting Clinton in ANY way, however, most American women on both sides of the aisle would likely agree that politics have been long dominated by men. This isn't the opinion of some militant feminist, statistically, gender has had a MAJOR effect on the outcome of elections, both national and local.

The statements were (apparently) made to describe Hillary's performance on an (admittedly) not so great performance on that night. What's being suggested is that, instead of answering questions in the way that a *President* would, Clinton answered the way a *woman* would, by directing the blame of her less than desirable appearance to *being picked on*. Personally, I did not see this. I saw a bad night. Campaigning is no easy job. I've seen many other candidates say some pretty stupid shit, and yet BY FAR, none are attacked in the way that Hillary is.

Many pundits seem to agree that the current attacks on Clinton are easily traced back to haters of the Bill Clinton administration. Your Matt Drudges, Rush Limbaughs, Bill O'Reillys trying to even out a decade old score with the President they loathed so much. Also, it should be mentioned that clearly Hillary is cashing in on the *Strong Woman* vote, as a pollster recently predicted that even 1 in 4 Republican women will vote for Hillary based on gender alone.

These same pundits are angry, disgusted, and sickened by the fact that issues are pushed to the back burner when women are looking at the first possible woman President. Poll predictions are also suggesting that Clinton will almost exclusively nail down the vote of black women in the US, which is likely more related to the fact that President Bill Clinton was nicknamed *The First Black President* during his own term.

I recently visited the website ProBush.com, and there, I found a Tshirt for sale that proclaimed *Hillary for President, War once a Month*. We certainly cannot say to ourselves that gender is not going to be an issue on this race, on both sides. How is it that Clinton is unable to defend herself from sexist attacks without being the *oh, poor me* woman? Oftentimes I have heard her referred to as a lesbian, a robot, and recently a *crazed feminazi* (on a Dittohead message board, naturally), and somehow, even liberal feminists feel that she should not be able to defend herself on this level?

Which brings me to, where is this going? President Bush proudly introduced House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after the midterms as if to say, *Great job America!*, however, the same GOP incarnates trashed Madeleine Albright, the first woman Secretary of State (ironically, under the Bill Clinton administration).

The tone seems to be in direct opposition, feminists will ALL vote for Clinton based on the fact that we could score the first female President, or, that she herself is exploiting the ideals of millions of strong independent women by positioning herself AS a feminist.

Everyone knows all about the Bill Clinton scandal, it's played out and nobody seems to care anymore. When comments like *How can she run the country when she can't run her own household?* are made, it makes us all, men and women collectively, appear to think that personal marriage issues are somehow directly related to Hillary as a person. Where are the *family values* people, or the *Christian Conservative* people running to her defense for keeping her family together or forgiving her husband for indiscretions?

This has been the problem for feminists since the beginning, women cannot realistically be expected to be everything all the time. To this day the attitude that women should be *good little housewives* is quite prevalent, and also the attitude that *working wives and mothers* are neglecting their families for personal glory is just as clear.

I consider myself to be a feminist, and I am not the biggest fan of Hillary. However, I'm pretty sure that myself, and a few other women are seeing this attitude and deciding that she may get our vote, not because she IS a woman, but because women in this country are tired of seeing another woman blasted for not being the impossible. Every time I hear her called a sexist name, she scores one more point in my book. I don't agree with all of her politics, and although I am a big fan of Bill Clinton, it angers me to see a woman treated this way for being a woman.

This week Kathleen Willey's book was quoted as suggesting that the Clintons were suspect in the suicide of her husband. Perfect timing, huh?

Until attitudes about women are adjusted, any female candidate will be vilified in the same way. *What is she wearing*, then *She's not attractive*, then *She's flip-floppy because of PMS*...it goes on and on. Women are sick of being objectified and judged on appearance, and when presented with a MORE than qualified candidate (who else can say they spent 8 years in the White House?) YES, we might vote based on gender.