Fun With Play-Dough

“He’s young, and inexperienced and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black?”

So went the speech of Obama at a Jacksonville fundraiser. Okay, yes; he was a little flippant, but the real reason Republicans are shitting their panties is the truth of Obama’s words. Who are all those angry campaign advisors kidding with that fake righteous indignation? Of course they will come after Obama with everything they have, they’re just pissed he called them on it. First the denial of public funding, now this; Obama has thrown down the gauntlet, and the McCain campaign will need to come up with a better response. Or maybe not; maybe they can just sit back and slowly bleed to death; that would be nice. All the Republican commentators on television ever do is get pissy, and then deny, deny, deny. Although, of course they’d deny that too.

It’s quire a creepy story about those teenage pregnancies in Gloucester, Massachusetts. A Pregnancy Pact? Among sixteen-year-olds? Funny, how the school authorities admitted that over 100 pregnancy tests were handed out about 9 months ago, yet nobody thought that was a bit odd. Now, they say, they will discuss maybe adding some sex Ed; currently, it’s only taught to freshmen. Because, you know, sophomores, juniors, and seniors will behave without having to be reminded. Contraceptives aren’t popular anyway; the counselor who tried teaching the students about that option was fired. He must be rolling his eyes a lot these days. Meantime, the rest of us wonder: what do you tell these girls? How on earth do you explain to girls this stupid why they should not have done what they did? Where do you even start? I swear; sometimes all you can do is shake your head, sigh, and change the channel.

What can I say? It’s pretty damn hypnotizing. 

While John McCain is trying his hardest to find a balance between hitting the campaign trail, and avoiding Bush like he’s the plague, syphilis, and West Nile all rolled into one, his wife Cindy took another stab at Michelle Obama. Should we prepare for a catfight? Hardly; Cindy simply doesn’t have what it takes. Appearing on Good Morning America, she –again- pulled out the patriotism issue.
“I don’t know why she said what she said,” Cindy uttered, “I have always been proud of my country.”
Maybe someone should explain to her that, first of all, she needs an originality boost and come up with some new ammo; second, there have been plenty of times in the history of the US (including today) when pride’ was/is not appropriate. Acknowledging that doesn’t make anyone less patriotic; in fact, being able to admit your country isn’t always perfect is a sign you care enough to make it better. If Cindy is so proud, she must think there’s no need for any kind of change. That is an easy position if you have millions in the bank, but for those of us that cry a little on the inside each time we see the prices soar, things could definitely improve.
I am not proud of the economy. I am not proud of the fact that millions of children are uninsured. I am not proud of the 40 % of people in this country that are functionally illiterate. I am not proud of the Katrina victims that have been left to fend for themselves. I am not proud of the 1-in-5 Iraq veterans that suffer from brain injuries, PTSD, and depression. I am not proud of water boarding, the lackluster response of this administration to global warming, and the billions that we continue to spend on weapons. But then, I am of course a stinking Liberal who can’t find anything good about the current administration. Or about the man who tries to simultaneously distance himself from, and follow in the footsteps of, the lovely Mr. Bush.

With everyone distracted by flooding and tornadoes, the political race is slow to heat up. Ron Paul finally left the race, although he has announced some vague plans to build an organization to help recruit and elect “limited government Republicans”. His presidential bid, according to Paul, is making way for a larger campaign for freedom. He’s calling is “the Ron Paul Campaign for Liberty”. 
He’s apparently forgetting the only thing we want to be free from is him. That’s why you didn’t get the nomination, doofus.

In the New York Times today, there were a few examples of the way sexism has reared its ugly head during Clinton’s run for the nomination. It doesn’t matter much, now that all is said and done, but it makes for interesting reading:

Whenever she raises her voice, there’s a danger that she starts to sound a little bit shrill.
(John Neffinger, on Hardball with Chris Matthews)

You all saw the famous photo of Hilary from the weekend and what, looking like 92 years old. If that’s the face of experience, I think it’s going to scare away a lot of the independent voters that are on the fence. (Michelle Malkin)

When Barack Obama speaks, men hear “Take off for the future”. And when Hillary Clinton speaks, men hear: “Take out the garbage.” (Mark Rudov)

The reason she’s a U.S. senator, the reason she’s a candidate for president, the reason she may be a frontrunner is her husband messed around. That’s how she got to be senator from New York. She won because everybody felt: ‘My God, this woman stood up under humiliation.’ (Chris Matthews)

…looking like everyone’s first wife, standing outside a probate court..(Mike Barnicle, talking about how Hillary looks at Obama)

I could, in addition, whine a little bit about all the nagging about her pantsuits, but to be honest, she did wear that orange one quite often. Besides, I think it kind of evens things out with the bitching about Obama’s lapel pin- or lack thereof.

So what petty things will we be hearing about now that the nomination is cinched, and it’s only McCain and Obama we can focus on? Obama’s bike helmet? McCain’s thinning hair and bad teeth? Whatever it is, I’m sure we’ll find out soon.

When the media complains about Big Bad Hillary, questions why she stayed in the race so long, and why it’s taking her all the way into Saturday to deliver her concession speech, there is only one answer: because she has no choice.

Louisa May Alcott, Eleanor Roosevelt, Marie Curie; we only remember them because they were exceptions to the rule. Although women nowadays can and do more than ever before, we still reel at the thought of an independent, strong woman sitting her posterior down in the Oval Office. Is Hillary out because of sexism? Partially, yes. Certainly there are people out there that wouldn’t dream of voting for her, because of her gender. Like the woman in Kentucky, who was interviewed by CNN and claimed “a woman’s place is in the home”, thereby embarrassing many Kentuckians (Kentuckynese, Kentucks) who can’t all be that out of touch. And Hillary wasn’t even the first female candidate to go after the nomination- that questionable honor goes to Victoria Woodhull.

Questionable, because if Hillary thought at times the press treated her unfairly, Woodhull had it much worse. Woodhull, born in 1838, owned her own newspaper and was the first female stockbroker on Wall Street. We have her to thank for the 8-hour workday; she was the first person to have the Communist Manifesto translated into English. She ran for President in 1872, after being nominated by the Equal Rights Party. This was incidentally also the first political party to nominate an African American for Vice President, in the person of Frederick Douglass. Needless to say, Woodhull’s attempts caused an uproar during a time when women did not yet have the right to vote. The press swallowed her whole and then spat her out; accusations of adultery with married men began to surface. When ignoring the bad press didn’t work, she turned to Reverend Ward Beecher, the father of Harriet Beecher-Stowe. He refused to come to her aid, and a nasty back and forth ensued, with Woodhull (justly) accusing Beecher of sleeping around, and Woodhull’s name being dragged through the mud. The government chose sides, and “Wicked Woodhull” spent Election Day in prison. It wasn’t a matter of Victoria not knowing her place; it was the rest of the world that was confused about the capabilities of women. Unfortunately, the website dedicated to her hits the nail on the head when it states:

“It’s been nearly 128 years, and still no woman has made it to the White House. No person of color has even made it to the Vice Presidency. Money is still a major obstacle for candidates. The private lives of public figures are still an issue. The people still feel the politicians aren’t representing them. It seems little has changed in politics in the past century”. (Source: http://www.victoria-woodhull.com/index.htm)

Let’s hope that, with Obama as the presumptive nominee, we can at least break part of that cycle. An even more wonderful development would be if he did choose Hillary as his running mate. Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman on the US Supreme Court, and she paved the way. Sally Ride was the first woman in space, and she paved the way. Maya Lin designed the Vietnam memorial in Washington DC, as well as the Civil Rights Monument in Montgomery, Alabama. Clara Barton founded the Red Cross. Susan B. Anthony gave us women the right to vote, Pearl S. Buck was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, and Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize period, and she won it twice. Esther Peterson fought for equal pay for women. Helen Keller needs no introduction. Hillary Clinton belongs in that list, as the first Female Vice President of the United States. Once that so important “first” is out of the way, the field will be wide open. The women back in 1872 may have been ahead of their time, but they already knew: it is time for a woman in the White House.