Letters to the Editor
-
Kos post, Update II
Color me a tad skeptical, although it's at least partially true. It seems clear to me that, on balance, the abusive treatment given to Hillary by the media has harmed her substantially.
My own experiences with others' attitudes reflect the surveys that show she has very high "negatives." Certain acquaintances of mine, when the subject or image of Hillary appears, erupt into the most absurd, juvenile, and irrational vitriol against her -- much of it highly, highly sexist. Grown adults who should know better.
This effect has much to do with not only a default chauvinism, but no doubt also the tireless right wing campaign to sully her image and get the media to join the chorus. Then, the pattern develops into a positive feedback loop, where the higher the number of prominent people that scorn her begets the perception that she is disliked, which begets a grudging avoidance by some of her would-be supporters who fear the baggage of a candidate that is so widely disdained.
I agree with Markos in the following, more limited regard. Isolated incidents such as her tearing up in New Hampshire can tilt the scales of outrage against her attackers. If coincidentally occurring just before an election, it can indeed produce a backlash. In the usual course, however, particularly where Hillary has ignored the attacks or sternly faced them down, all the bile just accumulates and eventually weighs her down by sheer attrition. In spite of her merit and resolve not to succumb to the unfairness, the additional constant force of societal sexism partially isolates her and compounds the relentlessness of the attacks.
Also, whereas similar biases against racial minorities have become taboo (at least in the open), the animus against women still retains enough societal legitimacy to operate with relative freedom. I won't venture to postulate here why open expressions of sexism, in my opinion, have been able to survive more than open racism.
At any rate, Hillary is indeed tough as nails, and I mean this in the best way. Every bit as resilient as her husband, if not moreso due to the added social forces working against her. Count me admittedly among those who emotionally sympathized with her in that vulnerable moment. Also, even though my first choice is Obama, if she does win the nomination, I would love nothing more than for her to have 8 years of magnanimous success as President in the face of all this blind hate.