Hillary Supporters Key to a McCain Victory?

Most of us have seen the video of "screaming woman" at the RBC meeting saying that if Obama is the nominee, all of Hillary's supporters will go over to McCain. I have been reading several left-wing bloggers and they seem equally split between those who decry the sentiment because McCain is Pro-life and those who support the sentiment because... well... their priority is getting a woman - any woman - elected.

This makes me wonder if it is possible to find a GOP woman to serve as McCain's VP who can both be enough of a feminist to please Hillary Clinton supporters, and Pro-Life enough to satisfy (please note I did not say "please") Conservatives. I could not think of anyone offhand - most of the likely suspects are too tightly linked to GWB - but if so, this could be the key to a McCain win.

Is Hillary facing a glass ceiling?

It has been interesting to be an observer of the Democratic nominating process from the outside. You have in Hillary Clinton a woman who desperately desires to be the first female president, and you have in Barack Obama a man who desperately desires to be the first "black" president. The former hardly has a speech without mentioning her gender, the latter seems to go to all lengths to DEFUSE race as an issue. And Obama is clearly in the lead. This has lead feminists to ask whether there is still a glass ceiling for women in politics, despite so many gains in business and elsewhere.

My own feeling is Hillary's biggest weakness is America's sense of historical order. Americans are ready for a female president, a black president, a latino president, etc. But they feel that the color barrier should be broken before the gender barrier. I suspect if Obama is the nominee in 2008, that another woman will have NO problem becoming the nominee in 2012 or 2016. But at the moment, Hillary is facing a barrier in voter attitudes who first want to see Martin Luther King Jr's dream realized, before they see the dreams of the Feminist movement realized.

But, as always, it is hard to be patient and let history play itself out.

Is America ready for a President who is not a White Male?

For years, common wisdom has held that the last "White Men Only" club in America has been the presidency. This year, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are trying to challenge that assumption. But is America ready for the change?

...the CNN poll today shows that 72% of whites and 61% of blacks believe the country is ready for a black president. That's up from 65% and 54%, respectively, two years ago. (Both polls have a margin of error of +/-4.5%.)

But asked if the country is ready for a female president, blacks and whites both are in agreement; they're less sure -- only 63% of both whites and blacks answer yes. That's up slightly (from 58%) for whites but down among blacks from 67% since December, 2006.

Interestingly, men and women remain in agreement on this issue, too. In 2006, 60% of both genders said yes and this time it's 65% female and 64% male.

My own guess has been for a while that America wants a black president before a female president.

Are women to blame for the sexism of men?

The Guardian has up an interesting (warning, non-family-friendly topics mentioned) on what they call "Lad Magazines" - the British equivilents of Magnum - and accusations from feminists that they are unacceptably sexist and proof that men have not learned anything from the Feminism. The problem now, the author argues, is not men who are trying to be better, but women who encourage boorish and sexist behavior!

It is hard to see how men can be expected to notice a distinction between professional sex objects and the vast majority of women if we can't tell the difference ourselves.

I can't really post more of the article here, because of non-family-friendly topics, but if you are a parent I encourage you to click over. It argues convincingly that before any more progress is likely to be made on male culture to cut down on demand for girly shows and the like, women need to change their own behaviors which seem to encourage their objectification.

I am not arguing - nor is the author - that men do not need to control themselves and fight against other men who would treat women as objects. But I have to agree with her when she says it is inconsistent to teach your son to respect women, and then let your daughter wear clothes with words like "Too Sexy" and "Booty Call" on them.