Legalities

Hillary deserves every negative comment she gets. She won Texas by running an ad that basically said "Vote for Obama and your children will die". She talks about 35 years of experience (somehow 8 years in the senate equals 35 years of experience, but an impartial review will show it has been 35 years of political scheming and lying. Say anything to get ahead. Tell the country that you will fix health care, even though when you had the chance, you did nothing.

Another Republican shilling for Hillary.

I have heard sexist language all year concerning Hillary. Meanwhile, nobody
with an ounce of humanity has (or should) use similar racist language toward Obama. I care less about 3 AM and more about how weak he is on No Child Left Behind - stop testing my kids and start teaching them!

A very interesting, thoughtful piece (as usual). What you say about Clinton could be said about Obama, too, don't you think.

One of them will face the old guard, and he or she will need all the support they can get. One assumes that vitriol directed at either is a vote for the status quo.

Hillary is a sign of "we can". We can what? Ride our husbands coattails? How about a woman who has done it on her own. There are plenty of women to choose from from Diane Feinstein on the left to Kay Bailey Hutchison on the right. I am amazed that "feminists" are so taken with HRC. She seems to be a weak example to follow.

francofou

What do you mean one of them will face the "old guard" she is the oldest of the old guard - big money, big machine old time politics

OBAMA 08

Jan Crawford Greenburg really understands the history and today's political landscape. All the lovely women chatterers on CNN, MSNBC, and FOX should read this, as well as the working women supporting Obama. It goes without saying, the men definitely need to read it.

Your article resonates with so many women out here - including me. Looking at the nastiness aimed at Clinton, and women in general, in many of the responses to your piece only reinforces what you have written. Thank you for expressing an opinion that represents those of us who are often overlooked, or worse, denigrated in the media simply for working hard to make life better for everyone in our lives - including ourselves. Hillary Clinton's run for the presidency has shown many of us that we can stand up to the scrutiny, we can win through the biased comments we regularly endure, and that we will succeed in providing our country with a future to look forward to by voting for Hillary Clinton.

Race and Gender Should not be playing a role in the run for the Presidency.

I do not think Hillary is running to prove anything for woman, Or to make history on being a woman. She is not directing her campaign at woman. She is Directing it to All americans.

She Does have the Best resume for the job, between the two candidates.

On the other hand, Mr Obama is running to make history, expecting the black vote. Evident by what he says, his actions. With his speeches he has won hearts, Promised hope, telling people what they want, and blaming everything on the government and others. he directs his campaign to the blacks, minorities, and the poor.

I am a 21 year old woman and I would never vote for Hilary.

I would rather have a woman president that believees she must vs. a male president that hopes he can.

Your article is thoughtful and right on. I have wondered the same thing about Hillary's treatment by the press. It is outrageous. I hope your article will sensitize many to the double standard. Thanks.

I think that the question of Hillary Clinton as a model for women is a hard one because much of her present success is attributable to her husband. I'm not implying that Clinton isn't incredibly smart and capable in her own right, because she is. But you can't deny that even much of the "White House" experience that she touts came because she happened to be married to the President.

"...work at the highest levels of government, hold partnerships in major law firms, direct leading corporations..." All nice jobs, sure, but also very limited opportunities (openings) to get to those levels, regardless of gender. How about women's choices now that include software engineer, commercial pilot, soldier, physician, etc.?

I've yet to understand why so many media outlets are so quick to abuse every movement and sentence Hillary utters. I feel empowered as a woman to see another woman, especially Hillary Clinton, fighting so valiantly despite the media's preoccupation with advancing Obama's campaign. For me it is about this woman -- Go Hillary 08! Florida is behind you!!!

A very insightful piece. I admire Hillary for what she stands for, what she has accomplished, and how far she has gone. But your article is not really about her, as much as it is about women who are against her because they lack the confidence to believe that a woman can do the job; and they cover this sense of inferiority by hiding behind a more particular veil: not THIS woman. Even if they do not like her, their silence when she is attacked as a woman e.g, that she advanced beause of her husband's philandering; that she is pimping her daughter; that her tears betray fake, contrived emotions; that her laugh is a noisy annoyance... is disturing. That can happen only because women in this country have a faint memory of how it was to have very little choice. There is price to be paid for that amnesia.

WOW! By far one of the best written pieces I've read in a long time. It's amazing how far women have come in such a short amount of time. I'm a teacher, I see it in the classroom everyday. Girls excelling academically above boys. I think this is just the beginning. This election is truly phenominal. Great article!

In my opinion, without her husband's name, his political past and present, and money, HRC is no more "qualified" for the job she seeks than any other legislator in the US. Too bad Justice O'Connor did not have a wealthy, successful spouse to hire her upon graduation, but one would not expect an individual with such integrity to take that route. As a woman, I am offended at the implication I should vote for HRC simply because sexism exists, as if there is some antidote. Supporting her because she is female only reinforces the sexist behavior we say we abhor. Please be assured, I do not want HRC to speak for me in the Oval Office. I am not powerless. Remember all the choices I have?

More of the "woe is me" vein of women today. No one truly believes sexism or racism is gone in our country, but as a man, the concept that she appears as like a "shrewish ex-wife' is more real than you might expect. Men nowadays are expected to do just as much as women do at home and with their kids (and that should be expected, it is a partnership, after all), yet, we're supposed to sit down and shut up if we have any complaints. We're not allowed to have any. Believe me when I say this; hen-pecked middle clas white males will have a WHOLE LOT to do with this Democratic nomination that most might think. And it counts against Hilary, I'm sorry to say.....

This is a very thoughful piece, and puts front and center an issue that I (and I suspect many other democratic women) have been struggling with this primary season. Every time I hear the biased language and vitriol that is so often aimed at Hillary (some right here in the comments to your posting), I am outraged. I admire Hillary for perservering, and succeeding, in the face of it and her ability to do so can only help pave the way for future generations of women. But I also admire many things about Obama. Not only do I want to see our national politics more focused on the kind of principled debate I believe he envisions, I want my children to grow up in a country that is capable of that kind of dialoge. Given than I agree with most of both candidates' policy positions and believe they would both be fine presidents, the question becomes do I sublimate my strong feelings of gender identity (and pride) to that optimistic vision? It is a question that I answer differently almost every day, and one that I think may be playing a role in the varying results Clinton has had with women voters throughout the primaries.