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And we're rolling... - 06.05.2008
I loved Nancy Pelosi's graceful comments towards Hillary Clinton who, one feels, would not have done the same in Pelosi's position. That's the point I hope we can boil the angst of primary season down to: that the success of BOTH Obama and Hillary means America continues to grow up, and that Hillary herself has achieved something remarkable, breaking through a very significant glass ceiling--what Pelosi refers to as the marble ceiling.
But you know what, imagine if Hillary had just walked away when it first became obvious that she could not finish ahead of Obama in terms of pledged delegates--which was actually a couple of months ago. Imagine how America would have reacted?
She would have proven definitively that not only CAN a woman compete for the top job in the land--something she showed anyway--but that in that position can comport herself with at LEAST as much dignity and respect as any male candidate. You know that scene in all those movies where the hero walks away and, spontaneously, everyone starts clapping? That's Hillary Clinton, two months ago. She'd have been a hero.
In my eyes, in the eyes of many, she threw it all away. Her graceless squabbling, her ridiculous justifications---I won the popular vote if you count only the states I nominate to be counted and discount Obama's not actually being included in one of the larger contests, etc.--the way she sunk from delusion to desperation, blatantly and brutally twisting every event that occurred till it no longer resembled itself but a tortured explanation of why she still had a chance, why everything everyone else was saying was lies. In some ways she did strike a blow for equality: she proved that there's no reason a woman can't be as crummy and sleazy a candidate as any man.
Frankly, however, I'd like to just forget that part. Truth is, Hillary Clinton is no better than she should be. She was so close to something she's probably been dreaming of all her life, and something that is some ways became more a cause celebre than simple ambition... probably most of us would have given it up with as little grace. If your hope is to be the Jackie Robinson of anything, you do have to be superhuman and you will be held to a higher standard than your opponents. I obviously will not suggest whether I think it would be tougher for America to vote for an African-American or a woman because I don't hate myself and enjoy not getting hatemail. I'd like to think both candidates proved the nation a little bit blinder to prejudice than we had, perhaps, thought. This blog post is about Hillary though, and darn you all I'm staying on task.
As Nancy Pelosi said, she DID show that even in this game, a woman can hang with the men. She could certainly have been a better example, no question. But we really don't have to remember that, and I don't expect to the next time there's a woman candidate---which, if it's soon will in all probability have to do with Hillary Clinton. That's how I'll remember it, anyway. Hillary's failings are personal, we all have them. Even with them, her successes reverberate for everyone who's ever wished for a country more equal.
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