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IF HILLARY WAS A MAN AND OBAMA WAS THE WOMAN: DOES GENDER EXCUSE BEHAVIOR?
Hillary Clinton has relentlessly attacked Barack Obama with a whole
range of attacks, questioning his competence, his patriotism, his
ability to lead. False charges have been leveled. Pictures leaked.
Rumors spread, his record constantly distorted. Hillary's supporters on her website have gone much further. They have used racist remarks,
they openly call Obama a Muslim, they refer to him by his middle name,
they attack his wife. They have even made references to Obama being gay
and have suggested that he still uses drugs. etc etc etc. Really vile,
negative stuff.
Obama,
to his credit, has not responded in kind. He has maintained a position
of focusing on Sen. Clinton's record. He does not make any personal
attacks.
My question is, if Hillary was the man, and Obama were
the woman, would this country sit still? Or would there be an absolute
uproar over the maliciousness and malevolence of these attacks?
Would
the man in that case, Hillary, be widely condemned for employing vile
and dirty politics? Yes, he would. Everyone would see it for what it
is. Especially if the victim of "his" sordid campaign was a woman
candidate.
But because Hillary is a woman, she can employ these despicable tactics, and GET AWAY WITH IT!
Feminists really need to take note of this. Hillary is not acting honorably, it spite of her gender.
The
bottom line is, her gender does not excuse her behavior in this
campaign. And much of the behavior has been deplorable. Deep in your
heart, you know this is true.
Comments (3)
I agree there is a difference in tone between the campaigns, and it is one of the reasons I am happy to support Obama. But it is a little unfair to lump supporters on her website with her campaign without giving the same privilege to Obama. I have seen stuff from supporters on both sides that would lose my vote if it came from the mouth of a candidate.
March 2, 2008 10:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
Did someone attack his wife for much more than having the most bone-headed comment of the campaign season - and not impromptu, but in a stump speech?
I missed the "Obama is gay" bit - certainly not up there in the top complaints about Obama I've seen.
What was the one questioning his patriotism?
Who leaked the pictures? You're taking Drudge's word, or someone not know for being a full-bore liar?
Who suggested he still uses drugs? (a rather hard to believe idea that any candidate would be using drugs aside from prescriptions to keep them awake)
And are you saying Hillary did all this, or only her supporters, and are you saying Obama's supporters had nothing negative to say?
March 2, 2008 10:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't know what it says about Obama that someone like me is drawn to support his campaign--not only financially, but to the extent that I'm giving money and am on the ballot as a delgate.
I'm not his fault, truthfully, and in general, I don't automatically fault the candidates for the various wingnuttery and flapjaws that flutter around the flame and fame.
But if you go by the more general assumption that poor quality attracts poor quality, and excellence in both intellect and character is uplifting and brings out a better class of supporter, I think that me and the other Obama supporters are clear evidence that you ought to vote for him! :-)
March 2, 2008 12:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
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