Letters to the Editor
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We have a right to feel bitter. We have a right to feel hope.
We have a right to mourn our brothers and sisters dead in the Bush-Clinton war.
We have a right to speak truth to the power.
We have a right to express our feelings even if some feminists say that we do not.
We have a right to vote our consciences.
We have a right to reject bullshit, no matter the gender or race of those who lie.
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The gender or the person?
I haven't waded through the hundreds of the other letters but I'll guess many have said something like the following: Traister is seriously underestimating the degree to which attacks on HRC relate to her actual character and actions, regardless of her gender.
Consistently, when presented the choice between the high road and cynicism, she has chosen cynicism. Take the sudden interest in duck hunting she's adopted right now to jab at Obama. Or lying (no other word for it) at length about Bosnia. Or this: "I believe that I've (passed the Commander-in-Chief threshold). Certainly, Sen. McCain has done that and you'll have to ask Sen. Obama with respect to his candidacy." Revolting. Combine these campaigning tactics with similar behaviour in the Senate (e.g., supporting the Iran resolution) and I see a person deficient in principles.
Hillary's cynicism has been amplified by the petulance of her oddly out-of-touch husband. (His attempts to racialize the early contests were astounding for a man so admired in the black community.) So why do I have far greater respect for Obama? Because he's right: they'll say anything to win.
None of this means that sexism isn't in play. Even if we agree that HRC has deserved some attacks the form they have taken has had a mysogynistic character. No disputing that. But in admitting this, we should not forget the deep character flaws that have turned people off both of the Clintons.
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Speaking of sexism
I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard a female Clinton supporter say that other women are obligated to support her. That isn't subtle sexism -- it's blatant.
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It's all about gende and race!
If you are a moron who just can't wait to vote for another war candidate in the pockets of the corporations.
Three stooges:
ObaMOE
HiLARRY
McCURLY
At least the MSM has a sense of humor.
It had to be hard to find three pols who match the orginal three stooges.
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This says it all
Kiss my tush, all you boys who 'dislike' Hillary.
I am bailing on this society's niceness requirement for women.
Screw you. I am SICK of you.
Did I say it? Oh, yes: SCREW YOU.
Imagine similarly abusive language flung at "all you girls" who defend Clinton, posted and passing without notice. Then you just might get a glimmer of how insanely skewed this has become.
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'Gleeful Bashing'?
I'm really tired of the supporters of Hillary Clinton who claim that anyone who isn't supporting HRC is "bashing." There are a lot of us who strongly believe Obama would make a better president. That doesn't mean we're sexist... in fact, the sexist ones would be the one who are supporting HRC based on the fact that she's a woman rather than that she's the best person for the job.
That said, Salon is doing a really poor job here; alternately running anti-Clinton , then anti-Obama articles. This serves neither candidate well. Can't we focus on who is the best person for the country rather than trotting out supposed gotcha arguments? It's not a slam-dunk on either side.. both candidates have strengths, and both have flaws.
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Sexism and misogyny
involve disliking a person BECAUSE she is a woman.
Responsible political thinking requires that you make a choice. I for one refuse to allow the feminists and others to debase my thoughtful and well-reasoned dislike of Hillary. I don't dislike her because she's a woman.
I dislike her and her policies because she is just Bill's third leg. Bill is using Hillary to get back to the honey pot, and I think it's shameful.
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What has happened to Salon?
Reading this article reminded me why there are so many columnists at Salon that I have very little time for. I have been reading Salon since its inception and have noticed a very definite trend. Salon is no longer a balanced (if left-leaning) source of information. It seems to have degraded into something that resembles a collection of feminist bloggers.
Using the purely anicdotal evidence that seems to be increasingly common on Salon, I would like to report that most of the men I know who read this webzine have noticed a very strong tendency to view the world through a feminist lens rather than approaching the articles with an open mind.
Now, on to the story at hand. Of particular interest is the section about how things would be perceived if Bill rather than Hillary was the candidate. This seems to confuse two separate people from what a lot of Clinton (the couple) supporters seem to have forgotten - they are vastly different people. I grew up in Arkansas while Clinton was Governor and it is apparent to me that Bill is much more outgoing and much more of a people-person. Hillary is quite nice in a small group setting but just does not have Bill's charisma.
This lack of charisma, more than anything else makes it easy to pillary her and makes it much easier to like Obama at a gut level. This lack of charisma should not be underestimated as charisma goes a long way in a presidential election - as the last two elections have demonstrated. (I know most of the Salon readership do not find Bush charismatic, but a large portion, as of the last two presidential elections, does find him a likeable person.) This lack of charisma is Hillary's biggest problem and, Republican-like campaign tactics aside, will be the main reason she will not be the Democratic Candidate.
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It's Hard
It's hard not to be filled with glee and mirth when you have an opportunity to ridicule the most corrupt politician of your lifetime, AKA Hillary Clinton, NAFTA Queen, union buster for Rose Law, WalMart board member, friend of Rupert Murdoch, enabler of GW Bush and his Iraqi invasion and pin-up girl of lobbyists everywhere.
The scorn is so deserved that it just makes you feel good all over to be able to participate. That doesn't even take into account the bonus prize of bashing that traitor to the working class American she married. Bill is the disgrace of our age which helped to usher in Bush, not only with his philandering and perjury but also by not supporting Al Gore or John Kerry.
The Clintons make the Bush family appear upright and virtuous by comparison. Just how craven do you have to be to merit that judgement?