I did not vote for Hillary Clinton for two reasons: I don't think that she will make a particularly strong general election candidate, and I'm uncomfortable with the dynastic overtones of putting an ex-president's spouse in the Oval Office (not as bad as installing an ex-president's son, to be sure, but still not completely democratically kosher, either). My only concern is for a Democrat to capture the presidency; my intuition tells me that Obama has a better chance of winning in November, and so I've thrown my support (read: vote) behind him. It's pragmatic choice, and it's largely dispassionate. Much as I'd like to be excited about a politician for a change, my cynicism is just so well lived in and it and I are such old friends that I'm loathe to change it for any sort of genuine enthusiasm. And then there's the fact that, far from being the savior of anything, our next president will inherit a world so mired in the consequences of George Bush's ineptitude that it will be a minor miracle if he or she can salvage anything positive from their first term, which may in turn ensure that they never get a second one once the Right Wing's 'Who lost Iraq?' Dolchstoßlegende reaches its inevitable full fury. So I'm afraid I hardly fit the stereotype of the glassy-eyed, cultish Obama supporter.

Now that we've gotten that little bit of self-justification out of the way, allow me to observe the old adage that 'the plural of "anecdote" is not "data" '. While I accept that some degree of sexism has almost certainly been a factor in this race, I am highly skeptical that it is as epidemic or intense (and yet curiously subtle) as Rebecca Traister's article makes it out to be. Perhaps I travel in the wrong circles (I am not, I must admit, a young white professional), but most of the people I know are not nearly as, dare I say 'religious', in their opinions of either Clinton or Obama—the creepy mania that so many of the women in Traister's article seem to have experieinced is certainly absent. So straight off, this makes me suspect that there's a certain amount of hyping going on.

Now, before I continue, I have to add a caveat to my above statement: while I have not experienced any of the virulent sexism outlined in the article in the real world, I have found it to be rampant on the internet. In fact, I would go so far as to describe a significant portion of all internet commentary on this primary season as 'vile', and that includes both candidates' supporters. Of course, whether the internet brings out a person's true feelings or just turns him or her into a drooling, invective-spewing moron is open for debate, but either way, it's probably not relevant to Traister's argument. Perhaps I just brought it up to take a dig at every primary season troll who seems to have made it their personal mission to induce bouts of screaming, keyboard-smashing frustration in me these past few months.

I'd also question whether or not it's possible to separate the legitimate sexism from run-of-the-mill distaste for Clinton. For example, I've personally never been able to forgive Clinton for the Flag Protection Act of 2005 or the Family Entertainment Protection Act. Not reasons to hate her, true, but they've certainly colored my perception of her. And then there's the fact that after sixteen plus years on the national stage, Clinton has had ample time to breed familiarity with the voting populace, as well as its corollary, contempt. I'm sure there are other people out there who, without getting all glassy-eyed over Obama, could flat out say that they don't particularly care for Clinton. Basically, my point is that if you're trying to establish a baseline for sexist opposition to a female presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton is a poor choice.

In the end, I just can't help but feel that this article is just another of the primary season's many storylines: Obama followers fanatical, Clinton maligned by closet misogynists. There's probably some truth to it, inasmuch as you can always turn up at least a few people to fit any stereotype, but not as much as those playing it up would like us to believe. Really, I just want all this rubbish to be over, regardless of who wins the nomination. I think it's killing us, personally—far more so than picking the 'wrong' candidate would.

My rallying cry: Anyone (Democratic) for President!