Posted on 02/22/2014 6:34:16 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
The Congresswoman from Loonyville says Americans can’t handle a woman in the Oval Office—never mind her own presidential run.
As the only woman to win a delegate to the Republican convention in almost forty years, Michele Bachmann now says many Americans “aren’t ready” for a female president. “I don’t think there is a pent-up desire,” she told syndicated columnist Cal Thomas last week.
I’ve been in Washington a long time, and I’m accustomed to hypocrisy, mendacity, and good old-fashioned flip-flopping. What I don’t understand is a woman who ran for president, who asked people to give her substantial sums of money to advance her campaign, who now says the country isn’t ready.
The most charitable explanation for Bachmann’s assertion is that the voters rejected her, she’s a woman, and she now thinks any female contender is likely to meet the same fate. It’s a pretty big leap from a single data point, but Bachmann’s remarks, whether well-intended or a partisan jab, do force into the open an ongoing discussion about Hillary Clinton, and the extent to which gender will influence her expected bid for the presidency in 2016.
Bachmann’s suggests that Clinton will be at a loss because electing a woman doesn’t achieve the historical stature of electing the first black president. “I think there was a cachet about having an African-American president because of guilt,” she said. “People don’t hold guilt for a woman.”
Bachmann could use a refresher course on the 2008 election, and the circumstances that helped elect Barack Obama. It was not because of liberal guilt, but because the country—or a broad swath of the country—was looking for hope and change. He’s not been as successful as many would like, in large part because of GOP intransigence that has turned an opposition party into an enemy camp.
So her hypothesis is wrong. The people who made up the coalition that voted for Obama were pleased to demonstrate they could vote for a black man, and that their country would elect a black man, but they would have voted for almost any Democrat. Obama was not elected on the strength of crossover votes from Republicans seeking to assuage their guilt. Sorry, Michele.
The other point to make is that elections are not comparable. These candidates exist in relationship to each other. Hillary Clinton will be running, if she does, as a completely unique figure—a former First Lady, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State—a high-profile woman with a really strong brand. Obama in ’08 was a blank slate; he could be whatever the voters imagined. He was a Rorschach test, vaulted into the presidency by positive perceptions and unrealistic expectations.
Clinton occupies a space in everyone’s brain. We all know what we think about her, and whether we like her or not. Even those who dislike her, some intensely, concede she’s qualified to be president. Her challenge is to position herself as an agent of change, not an easy thing to do when you were last in the White House two decades ago. “It’s like turning Old Coke into New Coke,” says Paul Equale, a lawyer and longtime Democratic activist.
The extent to which Clinton’s campaign will excite and energize the Democratic base is unknowable. That’s the challenge she faces. The historic nature of her candidacy will help; it’s a foundation to build on, but ultimately the ideas and the vision she advances will speak to the voters most clearly.
Some women of a certain age were disappointed and angry over Obama getting ahead of Clinton in ’08, a frustration that you could say had its roots in the suffrage movement when Lincoln advocated for the 13th amendment giving black men the right to vote while telling women they had to wait. It took another 55 years or so for the suffragists to push their right to vote over the finish line. Clinton’s supporters have waited four years, and there’s no indication their loyalty and zeal have diminished.
Lastly, Clinton won’t be running in isolation. As the Democratic nominee, she will face the nominee of a Republican Party whose brand has been tarnished by a parade of politicians who don’t know how to speak to women, or how to grasp the magnitude of the demographic change in America. Bachmann got attention for some of the wacky things she said during her short-lived run for the presidency, but she did help make the GOP more comfortable with women as leaders and qualified to president. Oh, the irony.
Obama was marketed as 'the great uniter'.
Is it possible someone lied?
Ummm - no.
“He’s not been as successful as many would like, in large part because of GOP intransigence that has turned an opposition party into an enemy camp.”
Yeah, that’s right Eleanor, It’s all the Republicans fault. The party that rolls over at every turn.
This witch is delusional like most fossilized liberals.
I watched you for over ten years on PBS. You rarely had an appropriate viewpoint. It never made sense that people paid for your cr@&.
You aren't worthy enough to even breathe the same air as Michelle, you witch.
Eleanor Clift is an insentient 40 IQ ape. And I’m being kind in my description of that thing.
A female in the White House?
As long as it is someone who can do the job and accept responsibilities.
That leaves out weasly, socialist, one-worlders with no record of accomplishments or proven ability.
God I hope Governor Palin runs in 2016.
That's rude! Everyone knows that she is just one member of the liberal press that makes up the human centipede attached to nobamas butt.
What difference does it make!!!!
If we e-mail her and tell her that, maybe she will.
She is a natural born citizen of the United States who is over age 35 so yes she qualifies to be President.
Now if you are asking if she has the qualities and skill set to be a good or even a reasonable President, oh my, no.
This is what I imagine was the conversation:
Zer0: "Hillary, that was a pretty nasty fall in the State Department garage. Do we have to send you off to detox from the booze?"
The Beast: "Don't talk to me about my drinking! I'll have you exposed for your drug use! I'll haul you out of the closet for your sexual activities! Don't you dare push me!"
Zer0: "Remember Benghazi? You told me to get some sleep and you would handle it. I have a file a mile long on you. And, Oh yes! You do have a lesbian streak in you, Hillary dear. And,I heard you are suffering from a concussion. I suggest you step down from Secretary of State and, as you say, "Get some sleep." You'll need the rest if you plan on running for President!"
Yeah, I didn’t even get past the byline that said ‘Elenor Clift’.
It may as well have said written by a stupid leftist shithead.
She's qualified for Leavonworth prison and that's about all.
People like Eleanor Clift are the reason Salem started burning witches.
This is the silly assertion I've seen all month. And there's been a ton of em.
If I could I'd like to ask Ms Clift to back it up.
Because as far as I can see Hillary has not done a damn thing on her own, and where she's been in a position to accomplish something on her own she's effed things up and gotten people killed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.