Because (Clinton) normalized the concept of a woman running for President, she made it easier for women to run for every office, including the White House. That is one reason women and men of every party and candidate preference, and every ethnicity too, owe Hillary Clinton a standing ovation, even if they can’t stand her.
Indeed.
Senator Clinton has helped to redefine our institutionalized notions of leadership. She has proven, once and for all, that Americans believe in the ability of a woman to lead our country. There will be a time and an opportunity to discuss how and why she could not capture the nomination, when, at first, she seemed “inevitable” to many in the punditocracy. But for now, we should be thankful, as a nation, for the historic implications of her candidacy. We should recognize the profound, ground-shifting effects of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, and we should all- Republican, Democrat, or Independent- appreciate and acknowledge the more than 17.5 million people who cast their votes for Mrs. Clinton.
It’s a reflection of how far we have come in our democracy.
I know many of my closest and most brilliant friends are disappointed that Mrs. Clinton did not secure the nomination. Some of them worked tirelessly on her behalf, and at least one of them picked up and moved to another state in order to help her organize a ground operation there. (Two of my good friends went to her concession speech yesterday in D.C., and if they’re reading this, yes, they cut away to your smiling faces at least once on CSPAN). She has a committed, determined, and fiercely intelligent group of core supporters and advocates, people who deeply care for this country and who understand the nuances of policy and politics. And ultimately, Mrs. Clinton’s supporters are not simply expressing their support for her; they’re expressing their support for a series of policies and ideas, practically all of which are shared by Mr. Obama and his supporters.
I, for one, do not believe the protracted primary process has divided the Democratic Party; I believe it has actually strengthened the entire country. It has forced us, at times, to openly confront and discuss the issues of gender and race in a way we have not done before. It has opened the hearts and minds of many people who previously believed that the Presidency was an office only reserved for white men, and in doing so, it has made us a better and more equal country. To be sure, there are hurdles we must still jump through, but we are now more prepared than ever to finish the task at hand.
Katha Pollitt continues:
Now those women (who supported Clinton), not all white and not all working class, are on the political map, and so are the issues that made them identify with Clinton: the glass ceiling and the sticky floor, the inequality built into marriage and family life, sexual harassment and assault, lack of support for caring work–paid or unpaid–and, underlying them all, a fundamental lack of respect that over the years can make a woman feel fed up to here. It’s an irony of this campaign that Clinton was seen by the pundit class as a kind of über-diva whose attempts to reach out were transparently phony (beer and Canadian Club, anyone?) and yet millions of ordinary women–white, Latino and black–saw their struggles mirrored in hers. I won’t deny that there’s racism and xenophobia in the mix for some–hatred of Obama as affirmative action trickster and secret Muslim. It’s incredibly important for Clinton to do the right thing and rally these women to Obama, and I wish I felt surer that she would rise to the occasion.
And indeed, she did rise to the occasion, delivering one of the most remarkable and gracious concession speeches in recent American history.
Just as Mrs. Clinton had to charter new territory during her campaign, so has Mr. Obama. For many on the right, their mere presence in the election has become cause for hyperbolic fear as well as race and gender-baiting. (After Obama secured the nomination, Fox News pondered whether or not his dabs with his wife was somehow a “terrorist fist jab,” and here in Central Louisiana, one local blogger asked whether or not this display of — and I am quoting here– “typical Negro behavior will cost them the election,” whatever the hell that means).
Regardless, both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama have demonstrated the capacity of the American people to look beyond race and gender, which has made those who continue to resort to race and gender-baiting appear all the more out-of-touch and ignorant.
Kudos to Senator Clinton and to all of her supporters for an exceptional and historic campaign.
There’s still even more history to be made.
CenLamar 