The Great Vaginal Hope

Tag : Teflon Brush

Stop the vagina monologues! Gender was not the reason Sen. HillaryClinton is not the Democratic presidential nominee. Simply, Clintonwas not the best nominee for our country at this time. Still,Hillary Rodham Clinton's gender, the fact that she was a womanrunning for president, was the best show of unapologetic resolve,ambition, and yes, ruthlessness, demonstrated in a woman going forthe highest office in the land in America, ever! I have always beenfor Obama, but I do recognize the historical force of Hillary.
Clinton built her campaign on entitlement, not feminism. As we allknow regarding the black struggle in America, entitlement does notsit well with the majority of Americans, as it smacks ofsomething-for-nothing regardless of truth and history. She is notentitled to win the nomination nor to become the first womanpresident simply because she slept in the White House and was privyto White House business. She was a good candidate, but she was notthe best candidate.
Sen. Clinton made the critical mistake of running a campaign forgedfrom the political manifesto of Bill Clinton. In a very real sense,Hillary, an ephemeral vanguard of feminism, did not define herselffully outside of the boundaries and shadows of being the formerfirst lady and the cheated-upon spouse of Bill. She allowed herselfto be merely a familiar reflection of Clintonism. The "newkids" of the younger voting demographic were not impressed.Some women and older feminists who ascribed their feminism andtheir feminist ideals to Hillary overlooked her flaws in the fervorto make her the first woman president. Is this the new feminism?Yet, when Hillary dared to be herself, she was frightening and notentirely likable! What was with her subliminal (and not so) callfor a "hit" on Obama in March and recently with herreferencing Bobby Kennedy's June assassination?!
Hillary embraced feminism. Yet, with closer observation, sheessentially used women and gender when it suited her presidentialaspirations and campaign (like any good politician). Would a realfeminist have voted for the Iraq war? While intellectually she isfor the empowerment of women and women's rights, her campaign wasnot feminist or strictly for feminism, nor should it be.
Without a doubt, President Bill Clinton, in his day, was abrilliant political strategist. He is clever, polished andpossesses the political currency of being likable. In his day, hisskills were admirable and his Teflon style quite necessary indealing with vengeful Republicans. Yet, what was slick in the '90sappears greasy in this new atmosphere and age of politicalcampaigning. Especially with the new generation of voters.Especially as Sen. Clinton executed some of the same maneuvers.
Hillary Clinton, with the aura of entitlement all about her, dissedus, the public, and some of her loyal women voters. You see, Sen.Clinton assumed that the possession of a vagina was nine-tenths ofthis presidency.
Perhaps she would have been correct, had not Barack Obama, in allhis righteousness, freshness and inspiring hopefulness, not comealong. The brightness of Obama's aura (ironically, a black man)illuminated brightly the flaws and failings of the Clintonpolitical machine. The Clintons (and McCain) looked old, passe anddisgruntled.
Howard Sackler, who wrote the play The Great White Hope, stated thefollowing about his play which, if we use poetic license andsubstitute the term "woman" and the overarching theme ofsexism as opposed to racism, becomes Sen. Clinton's story:"What interested me was not the topicality but the combinationof circumstances, the destiny of man pitted against society. It's ametaphor of struggle between man and the outside world."
Talk about not getting the signals correct between generations. OnMay 20, 2008, Geraldine Ferraro was a guest on The Today Show, withMeredith Viera attempting to conduct an interview yet givingsurrogate Ferraro a platform to spew Clinton's campaign rhetoric.The other guest, Rachel Maddow (who barely got to speak),represented the type of young voter who sides with Obama. Theschism between the Clinton demographic and Obama's could not havebeen made clearer (especially since the interview became a YouTubemoment). Ferraro spoke of Obama's alleged disrespect for HillaryClinton with his supposed dismissive "brush of theshoulders" gesture. Maddow stated she did not see the gestureas dismissive but a type of cool hip-hop mannerism. Ferraro pressedon with some other alleged sexist slight at which point Maddowlooked at Ferraro as if she were from another planet.
Clinton and Ferraro fought with old methods and old politicalammunition. The support that Clinton marshaled did not allow thatperhaps she is not the best person for the job. They just want herto get the job because she is a woman! That type of myopic thinkingand voting is not fair to all women or to our country. These womenstate, "It's our time!" As a woman, I beg to differ.Clearly, these times are fertile for a woman to be president. Butnot this woman.
Anais Nin once wrote, "Life shrinks or expands in proportionto one's courage." For this campaign, Hillary needed to havethe courage to expose herself and not conceal who and what she isbehind the shroud of her husband. Not to diminish heraccomplishments because it takes courage to run for president. Yet,it takes less courage when you may think your ascendancy isguaranteed.
When you really examine it, Hillary at times used gender as a meansto an end. She used the power of pussy (much as her husband did) toamass her constituency. She pushed some deceit, a chameleon-likeattitude, and the lame attempt to be what we and the country needher to be at any given moment. That is not the quality ofleadership. It is unfortunate that some women who so desperately(and righteously) want to see sexism, gender-pay disparities andother social slights addressed, have laid their collective burdensand hopes upon the shoulders of Hillary. It is unfortunate that thesurrogate Geraldine Ferraro with her pitbull divisive politicsrepresented exactly what is wrong with the Clinton campaign, amethodology that is passe.