The Age of Woman

The current race inside the Democratic party, and the upcoming presidential campaign is being toted as "history making." Why? Because the assumption, on the liberal mind, and in the popular sentiment, is that the next President of the United States is going to be either a woman or a black man. As long as the next president is a Democrat, the United States is going to make the history books for finally doing something progressive in the Oval Office. Many countries have a thousand year lead on us in that race. Really, it's about time. America wants to position itself as a modern leader in world politics, but it can't give up its love of rich white men. That is about to change.

But, in spite of this, both democratic front runners are trying to downplay the race and gender issue. But are they? Hillary Clinton is counting on the women to support her, and Obama is enjoying what are being called "lopsided" victories because of the huge surge in African-American votes. Then, they start going after each other's base: the charismatic and handsome Obama is drawing votes from women, and Clinton is pulling support from black political heavy-weights, in spite of one highly visible African-American defector to the Obama camp. They've both grabbed a big name endorsement from the African-American pop culture: Oprah Winfrey weighing in (excuse the pun) for Obama and Maya Angelou for Clinton. We see the race polarization in campaign strategy as well: Obama has remained steady with campaign manager David Plouffe, a white man, and Clinton has replaced her campaign manager with a black woman and long-time Clinton supporter, Maggie Williams. The Clinton campaign can also boast historic first for women, harking back to Bill's presidency in the form of Madeline Albright and Janet Reno. Obama has wisely left the Woman Issue alone for the most part, as Clinton can easily trump him in that area a hundred times over. Regardless of this, feminists are abandoning Clinton left and right. Obama doesn't need to go there, as women are sliding his way readily. But what if Hillary did? She probably won't, though. I believe she is holding the feminist slant for the general election, when she will be up against (likely) McCain who is the poster boy for White Man Regime.

For the record, I personally believe that the 21st Century is the Era of Woman. Here's a short list of "firsts" for women worldwide:

*President of the Republic of Chile - Michelle Bachelet - March 2006

*Prime Minister of Jamaica - Portia Simpson-Miller - 2006

*Speaker of the House of Representatives: Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi: 2007

*Secretary of State: Madeleine Korbel Albright: January 23, 1997 – January 19, 2001

*President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Borjana Krišto 2007

*Finland President - Tarja Halonen - 2000

*Finland Prime Minister - Anneli Jäätteenmäki - 2003

*Country of Georgia President - Nino Burjanadze (acting) - 2003

*Macedonia Prime Minister - Radmila Šekerinska (acting) - 2004

*Serbia Acting President - Nataša Mićić - 2002

*Ukraine Prime Minister - Yulia Tymoshenko - 2005

*Independent India President-Pratibha Patil - 2007

*Israel Acting President - Dalia Itzik - 2007

*South Korea Prime Minister - Han Myung-Sook - 2006

*Premier of Queensland - Anna Bligh - 2007

*Liberia President - Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf - 2006

*Mozambique Prime Minister - Luisa Diogo - 2004

I find it very alarming that there is any sort of call for feminists (female or male) to support Obama over Clinton. I believe it shows a very short sighted view, and that allowing the African-American equality agenda to upstage women's rights again is a bad move. With a few notable exceptions, the black agenda is a uniquely American problem, whereas women have thousands of years of prejudice and oppression and violence to overcome. Why do feminists fear Hillary? Is she too much like a man? Third Wave Feminists seem to think so. The nurturing stay-home mom who counts on her husband to tell her the news still supports Hillary, whereas the cutting edge feminists who defy categorization of any kind are coming out for Obama. It's a strange contrast. Regardless, the real sledgehammers, the feminist old school is still crying out for Hillary. Dolores Huerta, Maya Angelou, Gloria Feldt, Gloria Steinem and Madeleine Albright are saying, "We need a woman now."

Two years ago Hillary Clinton looked like The Answer to American politics. Why? Because she was respected Democrat, she had the experience, she was a vocal anti-Bush voice, and mostly because she is a woman. Then, enter Obama. Suddenly the Democratic race was polarized by the appearance an a black man who actually stands a chance to grab the Presidency. Like it or not, race and gender defined the campaign a long time ago, and still is. If Barack Obama was a white man his campaign would have folded a long time ago. It was the downfall of John Edwards, who publicly stated he was "getting out of history's way."

I believe both candidates have been smart to downplay the race and gender issue now. They need that kind of focus for the General Election where either one of them will have "making history" on their side. However, the race really has been defined by it. As I have said, I feel that the Age of Woman has come, and it it time for a woman to lead this country. I feel that the glass ceiling of the White House is really for women, and if Hillary Clinton can punch through it, we will see real change. A victory for women in this arena will be the true polarization. If a woman can win the Presidency, they can win in every other arena too.

Vote Hillary!