Comments on Clinton's Gender Politics

Playing the victim card is better than running on things like qualifications, ideas to help the country and the like. If that were the case then she would not stand a chance. It would go to Kucinich or Edwards.

But she is rolling in that millitary contractor money right now. MORE WAR WAR WAR with Hillary!!!

I don't see a contradiction. If a our hero takes on six bad guys in a fight, our hero looks strong. If you are one of the six bad guys, you look weak for ganging up. I refer you to about six thousand cheesy movies for evidence.

So putting herself in this role is fairly shrewd. The fact that this narrative can be cast in two different ways to appeal to both women who feel outnumbered and anyone looking for a tough leader makes it all the more politically useful.

We will indeed see, but I expect a bounce in the polls. Which is too bad since so many of Hillary's are wrong.

She'll make a great Ambassador to Japan in the Gore-Obama administration.

I think Dodd will get the nod for Ambassador to Iraq. Hope he remembers how to pilot a chopper when the pilot gets shot landing on the embassy roof.

The response to Clinton's comments about Spitzer's effort to give drivers licenses to illegal immigrants is mystifying to me. She didn't say anything that was worthy of this level of response. As I understood her, she understands Spitzer's desire to license drivers as a reasonable response to Congress' and Bush's failure to pass immigration reform. It's not a Yes or No answer to the question, but a complicated issue is worthy of a sophisticated answer.

Obama's response is pretty simple though. He's playing "Get Hillary" and trying to turn this into an issue when it's really not. She's justified in complaining about the pile-on. This effort to beat on Hillary seems to be a tacit admission that she's pulling ahead and they want to drag her down. That's fair enough, but it doesn't make the criticisms valid.

[...] Hillary's [policies] are wrong, I should have said.

Eli-

Your conflation of feminism and victimhood is bizarre to me. I'm a guy, but pointing out "the all-boys’ club of presidential politics” doesn't seem like victimhood, it seems like "now is finally our time." Strength, not weakness.

Also, the "Politics of Pile On" has NOTHING to do with her being female and EVERYTHING to do with her being the FRONTRUNNER.

Eli-
Grow a vagina and then talk about the "gender card". Your whole white-boy rant is taking a very complicated experience and trying to sum it up into some sort of cliff-notes version of real women's lives. Lives you obviously know nothing about.

God, Eli, SHUT UP.

um @ #7: That's funny, I was amused by how hard Eli was trying to explain himself without sounding like he was being anti-feminist. Part of the reason it brought a smile to my face is because I knew from experience that no matter how diplomatically he phrased his point, somebody would respond with some version of "shut up, you couldn't possibly understand!" to tell him he was wrong.

Which kind of makes his point for him, if you think about it.

my moms hates hildog.

she'd vote for larry craig before hillary clinton.

Politics is ALWAYS about card-playing! How is this any different, except that it's the first time a woman has had a chance to play?

Damn it, elenchos, how do you so consistently beat me to posting the same point?

Will, are you being snarky, or do you really believe that?

Well. A bit snarky.

She's most likely going to get the VP nod, but I'd rather have a Gore-Obama ticket.

The question is, who gets the Iraqi Ambassador position? Have to be one hell of a masochist, IMHO.

I'd agree, Mr. Sanders, if Hillary had given HERSELF a pair of boxing gloves... (or muskrat-lined numchuks... whatever) ^..^

It's one thing to appeal to women voters and speak from her experience growing up female in America--those things are perfectly legitimate, AND she has done those things without anone complaining.

It's another thing entirely to play the victim card as a means to excuse away a poor debate performance. That's what she did.

And she did it to such an extent it's hard to imagine she thought she would get away with it... unless she thought she would get away with it because of her gender. That's the only explanation that even seems to make sense.

Some women know how to use the fact of this phenomenon to their advantage?

Oh really Eli? You think sexism is a phenomenon? Like crop circles or something?

And please DO share your knowledge further as to how I can take advantage of the sexism around me to affect a positive outcome.

It would be great if I could make my salary equitable.

Eli - show me the 'Hillary Way.'