The Choice of a Woman
As I was reading all this stuff about McCain’s choice of Palin as his VP I started to get increasingly offended. The statement I kept reading over and over again was something to the extent of, “McCain’s choice of Palin is an effort to woo women who were pro-Hillary.” What I wasn’t reading, from either left or right leaning media, was just how sexist a statement like this was. Do we really believe that there is this giant pocket of women out there who are all of a sudden going to turn their backs on what they believe in and vote for someone just because they have some chromosomes in common?
In my bit of bubbling rage, I ran across this entry from Danah Boyd where she echoes my sentiments exactly (or as close to exactly as possible since I wasn’t speaking as a woman obviously). In her entry she writes:
“As a woman, I’m offended. I’m offended that McCain is choosing a woman who is clearly ill-equipped to be the president of this country in an effort to woo over Hillary’s supporters. I’m offended because McCain’s decision is one of the most misogynist ones I’ve seen in recent history. Does he honestly believe that women in this country are so stupid as to believe that any woman is a substitute for another woman? That all that us women boil down to is our XX chromosomes and estrogen? C’mon now.”
Hi, I'm 
initial caps? bold.
Huh?
As a long time Hillary supporter, I too am deeply offended by McCain’s premise and fully agree with Danah Boyd, but as a life-long, committed and addicted Democrat, I believe McCain’s error in judgement will take us to victory – so I am exhilarated by the Republican ticket and completely willing to be dissed.
As Bill Clinton said – Obama’s first presidential decision was to select a running mate and he hit it out of the ballpark. McCain clearly threw a gutter ball. (forgive the mixed sports metaphor )
It is something to be offended about, however McCain wouldn’t have done it if there wasn’t a good reason for it.
According to a CNN poll, taken 23-24 August, before Palin was announced as McCain’s running mate, twenty-seven percent of registered Democrat Clinton supporters were supporting McCain. To those Hillary/McCain supporters the choice of Palin can be seen as a recognition that the McCain camp hears them and embraces them. Palin may also bring to McCain Hillary supporters who were on the fence between supporting Obama, McCain or not voting at all.
There already was this giant pocket of women out there who were all of a sudden going to turn their backs on what they believe, and that was before they they had chromosomes in common.
Wow! I am little late on this one but I now have to comment.
As a life long supporter of people in general and a woman, I am pretty much distressed about most of the comments on this. Although I think Noah is a bit more balanced, even if I don’t completely agree.
Danah Boyd’s comment is the very sort of thing intelligent women should be offended by.
She doesn’t know for a fact that being a woman is the one and only reason McCain chose Palin. They do have other political issues in common, including not being afraid to call out their own party members if they are wrong.
In reference to this one “Does he honestly believe that women in this country are so stupid as to believe that any woman is a substitute for another woman?”
Well, that is Danah saying he thinks we (women) are stupid, he didn’t say that, and I am sure he wouldn’t want anyone to confuse Palin with Hillary. I know I wouldn’t. I am not fully on the Palin band wagon, and I would never vote for Hillary, but then again as a an intelligent woman I want to vote for a candidate that will represent issues most important to me no matter what their gender, and if a woman supports another woman simply because she is one, that is silly. Yet, from what I have seen, many Hillary supporters supported her for that reason. But isn’t it nice to be in a country where not only can women vote and run the race for the president, but we won’t be shot for this conversation of conflicting thoughts.
Whew! now I feel a little better :)
You are my inhalation , I have few blogs and occasionally run out from to post : (.