That video showed many examples of sexism, it's true...and it's not right. There's nothing to argue about.

I will say this, though. I think if it were another woman running for president, a different woman, I'd be a little more up in arms. Unfortunately, it's Hillary Clinton.

Dear Joan,

I really really understand why you want to respond to those who say thing like,

"Joan, sexism doesn't exist"

or who call you names. I get it.

I beg you to respond to those of us who you really respect (not saying I'm one) but who disagree with you. Are you only going to converse with silly stupidity all the time? Don't you think that there are real conversations to be had based on some of the questions and comments that Salon readers have posed?

thank you for being one of the very few people to point out how INSANELY sexist this country is. i started waging this war amongst my friends a couple of months ago because i couldn't believe how ridiculously afraid people were to be called racist but were totally fine being sexist and making sexist remarks about clinton.

this whole election was totally worthless except to find out how we're far from an egalitarian country.

Meanwhile in Iraq, 18 US soldiers dead since March 25th.

Re: "The idea that so many people are so incapable of admitting that blows my mind."

I agree. Please don't stop discussing sexism. If the topic makes people angry or uncomfortable--too bad. It needs to be discussed everyday. Who else is going to do it? Please don't be silenced!

Is there anyway you could force yourself ignore comments like that from Virgo and, instead, choose to respond to reasonable concerns/comments? My gut tells me you might be leaning towards the repugnant and ignorant conversations, but I'll be you are about to see some very thoughtful responses. You mention your surprise at how many people at Salon support or minimize sexism. Please help counter this by digging in with those of us who are wanting to go futher into the assumptions related to this issue!

"you're a racist"?

who's a racist?

Joan?

Thank you so much for posting this, Joan! I'm sending a link to both my daughters, who have been terribly depressed by the overt sexism in this year's election. I'm sure that the usual suspects will turn up to make excuses, but there is no denying the reality of this year's ugly, ugly campaign coverage. The public has been so ill-served by our media this year: the same couraeous folks who thought Al Gore was too nerdy, John Kerry funny-looking and a secret coward, and W the obvious choice, because anyone would rather have a beer with him.

Re: "I will say this, though. I think if it were another woman running for president, a different woman, I'd be a little more up in arms. Unfortunately, it's Hillary Clinton."

So it's OK to make sexist comments about women you don't like? Is it OK to make racist comments about blacks you don't like? Sexism and sexist comments are wrong, no matter who the woman is.

I mean, there are going to be those who think exactly like you on this topic and there will be those who "know" that your opinion proves you are a bad person (it is often awful and occasstionally almost funny to see how people treat you because of your opinion)...

but aren't you at all interested in that other rather large group who understand what you are pointing to here, but who disagree or have other ways of seeing it? Don't worry, I'm almost done writing for the day, but it's kinda fun being at the front of your post and seeing how it unfolds right at the beginning...

i'm up for a debate carol, what's the topic? how rigged the election has been in favor of obama?

I got it. HRC gets different rules, where she can be treated with great disrespect, because she's a Clinton.

Now we're getting somewhere.

Her treatment by the media is sexist *and* personally vindictive. And totally ok! Because you've swallowed all the other sexist/vindictive stuff spewed about her before.

Well, at least people are starting to admit it.

You are a victim of sexism, so's my mom it's bad it should be commented on. However what is more glaringly apparent is that Hillary Clinton is privledged because of her marriage to a prominent and powerful man and the last time I looked thats a form of sexism as well. I grant you she is a highly intelligent and acomplished person, but the rational of her candidacy is no better than that of the late Eva Perron: things were better when my husband ran the place.

Has it ever occured to you that Hillary Clinton is not the most qualified woman in the US. Senate. Neither is she most articulate nor the best liked.

As to whether Sexism hurts her sure, there is a portion of this country that does not respond to women in authority well, but that issue gets considered (especially by you)rather frequently while the obvious cronyism and nepotism is treated with a bored shrug.

So many of my friends and co-workers just don't seem to get it, and this really helps. I'll be sending it to my mom, too.

"As to whether Sexism hurts her sure, there is a portion of this country that does not respond to women in authority well, but that issue gets considered (especially by you)rather frequently while the obvious cronyism and nepotism is treated with a bored shrug."

you're not getting it. she's running against Obama. all politicians are privliged. we're talking about how everyone's fawing over obama because he's black and male and clinton gets nothing.

you're so whiny :- )

stop being so whiny.

do you have any idea how unattractive the victim-mentality is?

Obama's Rezko embroglio is certainly troublesome. But the splotches on Obama's record are few and relatively minor compared to the staggeringly copious chronicle of Clinton scandals, a mud mountain that the media have shown amazingly little interest in exploring during this campaign cycle. For all their grousing about media bias, the Clintons have gotten off scot-free over the past year from any kind of serious, systematic examination of their sleaze-a-thon history from Little Rock to Foggy Bottom.

Obama has actually served longer in public office than Hillary has. It's very true that he lacks executive experience, but so does she. Her bungling of healthcare reform, along with her inability to control the financial expenditures and internal wrangling of her campaign, does not bode well for a prospective chief executive. Beyond that, I'm not sure that your analogy to professionals like doctors, accountants and teachers entirely applies to presidents. There is no fixed system of credentialing for our highest office. On the contrary, the Founders envisioned the president as a person of unpretentious common sense and good character. Hillary may spout a populist line, but with her arrogant sense of dynastic entitlement, she's a royalist who, like Napoleon, wants to crown herself.