Letters to the Editor
-
the mere FACT of a woman president says what desperately needs to be said
What does the mere FACT of a woman president say? Nothing terribly useful to the nation.
Let's work to make the best person wins, regardless of race, creed, color, or gender. I think that's what my daughters deserve from me. They're the ones that will inherit the Bush mess. They're the ones that will pay for Iraq and may end up serving in Iran.
I would hope the logic would speak for itself that electing a president because she has a magical vagina doesn't mean squat if she can't lead, or leads us in the wrong direction.
-
RebeccaT
"She is a shrewish, overemotional female whose path to success is via a man."
Feminist antimanifesto? That is the most anti-feminist biased and bigoted stereotypical statement I've heard here. What a bunch of tripe. (Hmmm...Is that you, Rebecca T?)
And good luck getting a woman elected "in spite of her gender, because what she stood for was so wonderful that her gender was irrelevant". What fantasy land do you live in? Because in your wildest dreams, that ain't going to happen. Good God, look at what's been happening here. Look at the craziness and sheer bile that's being hurled around here. Why? Because a woman is running for president, you dolt! Wake up and smell the garbage because your stepping in it. Gender is NOT irrelevant here.
-
THANK YOU
Yes, we can.
-
Dear Anonymous
Barack Obama's empty rhetoric is not comparable to Bill Clinton's in at least one important aspect. Bill Clinton is one of the most thoughtful, wonkish, intelligent leaders that we have seen who understands policy options and their potential impact better than any other president in the last 30 years. In one word, he has depth. he connects on both an intellectual and an emotional level. Barack Obama by comparison is a light weight. The good part is that Hillary Clinton shares some of Bill's depth of understanding, and is quite good at expressing it on an intellectual level. Admittedly she is not a superstar at stirring the emotions, but I believe that she can be convincing.
I agree that both Bill & Hillary are a bit too politically calculating at times, but that is part of what makes them effective. My fear is that even if Barack Obama is truly more liberal and I have found little evidence to support that. By the way, Mr. Obama is not beyond political calculations himself (See his penchant for voting "present," or just being out-of-town.) he's just not as good at it.
I too would prefer someone more consistently and demonstrably liberal than the Clinton's, but Barack Obama has not shown that he is. Furthermore, I doubt his ability and strength in being effective. If there is someone who is demonstrably more liberal and demonstrably more effective than Hillary Clinton, who also has a chance at the Democratic presidential nomination show him or her to me. It is not Barack Obama on either count.
-
Hillare really is yesterday
We definitely need a new chapter, or we are doomed! The co-dependent, co-presidency of the Clintons brought us NAFTA and a corrupted China trade policy, both of which have bled our jobs and provided a bonus tax-break to the corporations who benefited on the front end. The only reason the Clinton economy enjoyed that bump was that we were realizing the initial benefit from selling our assets. And we are now at a point in that cycle were we are losing our asses.
No, Hillary will not make the right choices in the majority of issues if she is elected; she will repeat history and do what aggrandizes herself and protects her co-president. With the Clintons, it really all about them, and we can't afford that for one more term.
-
Answer this question, and you'll know why I support Obama
if being elected president came with this rumpelstiltskin requirement, who do you think would really want the job?
let's pretend for a moment that the "real" president, once chosen, is magically erased from everyone's collective memory and a "pretend" president is put in place. the pretend president gets to wield the scepter of power in public, but the "real" president makes all decisions behind the scenes ... to no one else's knowledge or awareness. they lead with no recognition or glory. no one but the real and pretend presidents know of this secret, and they have a spell of silence placed on them. any efforts that the real president makes to influence, manipulate, or alter this spell or corral benefit to a special group ahead of the country as a whole would cause a proportionate amount of misfortune on the people dear to the real president. The real president is compelled to lead in a truly just, and unnoticed way.
Who, of these candidates, would want this job? if they didn’t get to make millions of dollars in speeches? or help out their pals in the oil business?
this is my evaluation for picking a candidate. you don't have to adopt it ... but all this stuff about "electability" or "experience" is bullshit compared to this. for me.
if you buy this rationale ... which probably means that you think this country is in a crisis that most won't even admit to ... please research your candidate's positions, please research how they respond to power ... or the loss of power, how they are reactive/calm in crisis, how they clearly express who they are and what they stand for.
i cannot fathom how anyone who desires change would want clinton as their president. i cannot fathom how anyone who has been paying attention to the corruption rampant in government ... repub AND democrat ... wouldn't want change.
-
You and Molly Ivins
That great political observer and conscience, Molly Ivins, wrote shortly before her untimely death that she would never support Hillary, for all reasons you've enumerated. Fellow Texan, Jim Hightower had a phrase for what aptly describes Hillary's problem: it's that skunk she's dragging along beside her. (And it's her pet!!!)
-
Good Grief!
You can rationalize your disdain for Senator Clinton from now till next Wednesday, but the truth is that it is purists like you who hold back the progress of women in this country. The perfect is the enemy of the good. Until a woman sits in the oval office the mindset of this country will remain that women are not to be taken as seriously as men. Hillary Clinton is not perfect, buy she certainly has earned high marks for many battles for women's rights and children's rights, and human rights. She has withstood vicious, undeserved attacks from Republicans and Democrats alike,and she has the courage to keep on going, knowing she faces more of the same. How dare you dismiss her so casually as not quite measuring up to your lofty standards. Hillary Clinton has the celebrity, the intellect, the courage, the political and international connections to make a serious run for the presidency in a year where Democrats have a great chance to win. If elitists like you cost her the nomination, women may not have the opportunity again for 50 or 100 years. What a loss for every woman and girl, white and black, in this country.