On Clinton bashing

by: Jay Stevens

Wed Nov 21, 2007 at 21:28:01 PM MST

Bitch is a word I use culturally to describe any woman who is strong, angry, uncompromising and, often, uninterested in pleasing men. I use it for the woman who has a better job than a man and doesn't apologise for it. I use it for the woman who doesn't back down from a confrontation.

So let's not be disingenuous. Of course it's a bad word. As a culture, we've done everything possible to make sure of that, starting with a mindset that deems powerful women to be scary, angry and unfeminine - and sees uncompromising speech from women as anathema to a tidy, well-run world.

[snip]

When people call Clinton a bitch, it's an expression of pure sexism - a hope that they can shut up not only one woman but every woman who dares to be assertive. Simply put: if you don't like Clinton 's stance on healthcare, there are plenty of ways to say so without invoking her gender.

[snip]

My own definition of the term being what it is, I can confidently say that I want my next president to be a bitch, and that goes for men and women. Outspoken? Check. Commanding? Indeed. Unworried about pleasing everybody? Sure. And guess what? I'm not even sure that person is Hillary Clinton.

Zeisler is co-founder of the magazine, "Bitch." Here's a short, and good, interview.

Her Democratic rivals had meekly gone along, accepting her self-portrait as a former co-president who gets to take credit for everything important Bill Clinton did in the 90s. But she was not elected or appointed to a position that needed Senate confirmation. And the part of the Clinton administration that worked best -- the economy, stupid -- was run by Robert Rubin. Hillary did not show good judgment in her areas of influence -- the legal fiefdom, health care and running oppo-campaigns against Bill's galpals.

She went on some first lady jaunts and made a good speech at a U.N. women's conference in Beijing . But she was certainly not, as her top Iowa supporter, former governor Tom Vilsack claimed yesterday on MSNBC, "the face of the administration in foreign affairs."

She was a top adviser who had a Nixonian bent for secrecy and a knack for hard-core politicking. But if running a great war room qualified you for president, Carville and Stephanopoulos would be leading the pack.

There's a valid point in the hit, that Clinton isn't as "experienced" as we think she is. But this all ignores the fact that Clinton was in the White House, presumably had at least an interest in what was going on, knows all the players, witnessed first-hand how to do the job, and then subsequently got herself elected U.S. Senator -- no easy feat, as we saw here in the summer of 2006. She certainly has more "experience" than Obama -- but arguably about the same as Edwards, and far less than Biden or Dodd or even Richardson, in elected office. But White House experience? Please. These other guys didnt sleep there for eight years.

But, wait! Clinton's feminist credentials are at stake over this!

Obama's one-liner evoked something that rubs some people the wrong way about Hillary. Getting ahead through connections is common in life. But Hillary cloaks her nepotism in feminism.

"She hasn't accomplished anything on her own since getting admitted to Yale Law," wrote Joan Di Cola, a Boston lawyer, in a letter to The Wall Street Journal this week, adding: "She isn't Dianne Feinstein, who spent years as mayor of San Francisco before becoming a senator, or Nancy Pelosi, who became Madam Speaker on the strength of her political abilities. All Hillary is, is Mrs. Clinton. She became a partner at the Rose Law Firm because of that, senator of New York because of that, and (heaven help us) she could become president because of that."

Look, Clinton is no Bush, Jr. She's positioned herself beautifully for this campaign; there's no rumor that she's just some Ivy-League legacy dimwit being herded around by a bunch of "smart" people. Whatever you want to say about Hillary Clinton, this is disingenuous at best. She's very competent and obviously a skilled politician. Ask John McCain. How are his poll numbers doing?

It's hard to wiggle out of the context of "woman" with Hillary Clinton, isn't it? If she wins this thing, at least we'll get that monkey off our backs, right?

Right?