Voting For Hillary “Because I Want The Girl To Win.”

From: Wendy Shanker

To: Courtney E. Martin; Tedra Osell

I’m an Entertainment Tonight feminist. I’m a read-the-arts-section-first feminist. I’m an “I-LIKED-Jennifer-Garner’s-hair-at-the-Oscars” feminist. It doesn’t mean I’m foolish or uninformed; it’s just that much of my feminist sensibility is shaped by pop culture. A lot of the news I get and opinions I follow shoot through the filter of TV and film, magazines and Madonna.com. I like stories, I like characters, and all of silly, larger-than-life celebu-stars seem to be players in some national soap opera that has a 24-hour news cycle.

I see the presidential race as Dallas in Washington, a nightly drama set in D.C. starring a spurned matriarch (Hillary), a…patriarchal patriarch (McCain), and a sexy young upstart who throws everyone into a tizzy (Obama). Huckabee? Well, he’s the kooky neighbor down the street. What makes Hillary different than, say, Joan Collins (thank goodness) is that she killed all of her sex appeal. No flirting, no dripping in diamonds. Like feminism itself, Hillary can’t win when it comes to womanhood; we still can’t figure out how to wrangle our sexuality. The election echoes the movement itself. We still haven’t figured out how to say to other women that your choice is a good choice — as long as you have the legal right to make one.

The animosity towards Hillary throughout this race has shocked me, especially when it's animosity in the guise of civil rights. It’s no surprise that Americans support a guy of any color before we support the white woman; non-white men got the vote in the U.S. a full fifty years before women did. As a nation we are historically more open to color when it comes with a Y chromosome.

I like Obama. I think he’s done a great service for our country by calling for a new attitude and new policy, inspiring those who have held back from civic duty in past elections. But I’m voting for Hillary. Not voting AGAINST Obama; I’m voting FOR Hillary. I like her voting record and support for women’s rights. I have no doubt she will fight for reproductive choice while she’s in office. I think her universal health care plan is do-able and I’m glad she wants to see the end to this war. But most of all, yeah, I like Hillary because she’s a girl. I want a lady to run this show. It’s not feminism (although it is). And it’s not gender-based affirmative action. If she’s a girl, and she’s got the goods, that’s where my vote, feminist or humanist is gonna go. I haven’t wavered on my Hillary support at any point during the campaign. I knew the lady had certain baggage that would drag behind her, but I honestly believe that she’s the best man/woman for the job.

The knocks against her that I keep hearing again and again:

“She voted for the war”
“She should have left her husband”
“I just don’t LIKE her”

As far as voting for the war…well, I’m not too thrilled about that either. But when I was living here in New York in the days/weeks/months after 9/11, it was hard envision a peaceful solution to terrorism. Hillary was voting on behalf of her constituents, and a good number of her constituents (like me) were pissed off and vengeful. Our current president refuses to admit the war was an error in judgment. At least Hillary has a plan (I know, Barack does too) to bring this disaster to a close.

Okay, the Hill and Bill drama. I can’t quite figure this “love him, leave him” thing
out. I don’t know that divorce is a feminist issue. My sense is that you don’t end a marriage for feminism’s sake. It’s a personal issue for the couple. So I’m not quite sure why this has become an issue on the campaign. Besides, back in the impeachment days I recall lots of liberals looking back at the Clinton administration with fondness. Can’t happy days be here again? Isn’t the amorphous “change” we’re looking for a change from the Republican Party? Both Democratic candidates are senators. Their votes are equal on the floor.

As far as not liking the lady: You’d think that by this point Hillary and her handlers would have gone the Al Gore route and realized it’s a lot more fun (and maybe more effective) to screw politics and go for the Oscar. Red carpet beats White House. I hear over and over again how she’s so warm, and personable, and funny, and what a dern shame it is that the public rarely gets to that side of her.

It is a shame. But I keep thinking: I’m not looking for a best friend; I’m looking for a president. We all know who Hillary is in the days of our lives: She’s the mom. She’s the math teacher. She’s the chagrined principal. I’m not the first one to point out the similarities between this election and Election, starring Hillary as Tracy Flick, her eyes on the prize, while Barack is the object of accidental political adoration. She’s the yearbook editor. He’s the quarterback. How important is personality? Everyone says George W. is very charismatic and affable; look where that got us.

I know we dream of a Clooney-esque president. Well, maybe Pitt for president while Angelina runs the U.N. Hillary, like so many women of her generation, doesn’t seem fun or glamorous. These women have to-do lists. They drive SUVs and join book clubs. They wear tan nail polish. They’re on diets. Women “of a certain age” aren’t seen and heard. They birth us, they raise us, and they support our anxieties but still we like the cute boy better. If not Hillary, then what kind of woman are we supposed to vote for? Britney Spears?

My feminist contention with Hillary is her refusal to use the f-word — her inability to say “Vote for me because of my gender” just as Obama has never said, “Vote for me because of the color of my skin.” Once again, fear seems to have trumped feminism.

A lot of ladies were on the Hillary bandwagon until Obama came to town. I see exactly what they like in him. He’s our national crush object. If Obama is the guy you date, then Hillary is the guy you marry. So, (almost) all things being equal, I’m voting for Hillary. Because I like her policies. Because I like her track record. And most of all, because I want the girl to win.