Letters to the Editor
weeping for brunnhilde
Published Letters: 1150 Editor's Choice: 3
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@ Celia
[Read the article: My last word (for now) on sexism]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hear, hear.
Such an opportunity lost, indeed.
Her problem is that she wants to be president. She really, really wants to be president.
And she's terrified of failure.
One of the things that made me take notice of Obama came during one of his speeches back in December or whenever it was.
There was something he exuded, a sense of calm, inner peace.
That, and my own cognizance that he's literally putting his life on the line led me to the following epiphany: "He doesn't have to be doing this."
It just struck me, like lightning. He's prepared to lose.
He has perspective.
It's why he doesn't go into panic mode. He's just not afraid to fail. And not in a cocky or hubristic way, so far as I can discern, but he genuinely seems to be a well-adjusted person.
Pretty extraordinary, if you ask me.
I say all this realizing fully that it's the kind of thing people point to as evidence of Kool Aid drinking, and are generally inclined to ridicule with cynicism, but damned if it isn't true.
I could be entirely duped, of course, that's possible, but I really, really don't think I am.
I tend to trust my own judgments about such things.
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@ David
[Read the article: My last word (for now) on sexism]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thanks for the assurances, David! It sure would be great if he won PA, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up.
I do think he'll make it close enough to demoralize Clinton, though whatever happens, she won't withdraw, so it doesn't much matter.
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@ lateagain
[Read the article: My last word (for now) on sexism]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"1. My own reaction. My letters thread here shows that every time the deal has been about to be closed against her, I feel some sort of regret. When she is really down in the polls or momentum, I get a rush of sisterhood with her and feel that she's worked damn hard and doesn't deserve to grovel."
I feel it too, though since I'm a guy, I'd call it compassion (pity, even?) instead of sisterhood. Same point, though, which is that my long-accumulated contempt for her melts away and I start to think maybe I've misjudged her, she's not so bad, hath not Hillary Clinton eyes, hath she not hands, tickle her does she not laugh, prick her, does she not bleed?
She softens me up just enough so my outrage can come back in a torrent the next time, only the outrage is directed at much at myself as at her: fool me once, shame on you...
But as you say, I don't know if she's being phony or not, nor do I care. Whatever she's being, I find it unattractive, in the neutral sense of the word.
The way she swings from magnanimous "I am honored to be on this stage with Barack Obama" to cutthroat ("It's three AM, do you know where your white daughter is?) in a matter of days is profoundly unsettling.
She really does stir up a lot of hostility within me. I can't lie and say my dislike of her is garden-variety, because it's not.
Maybe because, as a woman, I want to be able to expect more from her?
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@ lateagain
[Read the article: My last word (for now) on sexism]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Oh, man, you crack me up!
:)
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@ lateagain
[Read the article: My last word (for now) on sexism]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Poor kid.
God help him.
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@ Reality Counts
[Read the article: My last word (for now) on sexism]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Be that as it may, RC, be that as it may.
I'm not afraid. Obama's entire premise is that the country's ready to get beyond such meanspirited, troglodyte nonsense.
He knows what he's in for and I know he's prepared. Doesn't mean he'll be able to prevail, but I do think that if anyone can, it's him.
He's too original a figure for that kind of stuff to be as effective as it's been in the past. He's also not afraid to address such concerns head on, as with Wright. If people still think he's a commie after that, then we just don't deserve him as a president and we all sink together.
But even if he loses, we all win, because whatever happens, he's laying groundwork (as did Dean before him and Nader before that) that will be in place for the next "alternative" candidate.
I'm sick of losing with Gore, Kerry, Clinton. At least if "we" lose this time, let it be behind a candidate who's actually taking risks.
Of course they'll slime him, bring it on, I say. It's what they do. Enough of the "I know that he knows that Clinton knows that the Republicans know that the independents know..." He actually has a game plan. Rather than fight slime with slime (the Clinton way) or with passive indifference (the Kerry and Gore way), he'll take it head on with his wonted dignity. If dignity can't prevail, then truly, our problems are far deeper than who becomes the next president.
(Mind you, as an historian, I tend to take a long view of things, so that's where I'm coming from. It might not resonate with you, and that's ok. Just my point of view.)
That way madness lies.
No more fear.
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@ aka
[Read the article: My last word (for now) on sexism]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Just wanted to express my sympathies regarding your struggles and my admiration for how you conduct yourself here, especially your openness.
It's far more important that we establish connections with one another than that we agree politically about everything or that our interpretations of reality line up just so. If we keep struggling to connect, though, I suspect those moments of intersection will increase, which is in all our best interests.
Thanks for making the effort.