Yesterday I was part of an interesting discussion thread over at Shakespeare's Sister. The topic of discussion was, basically, whether Hillary Clinton has had the same opportunities as her male counterparts (Bill Clinton included). Most commenters agreed that, no matter what you think of Hillary's Clinton's politics, she is breaking new ground for women as the first "electable" female presidential candidate. There was, however, one commenter who was determined to yank everyone's chain. He certainly yanked mine, and I thought about the discussion for most of last evening.In retrospect, I think Mr Negative, as I shall call him, served a purpose. He argued that Hillary Clinton, although a woman, comes from a comfortable background and was able to attend law school and work for organizations because she was a woman in the sixties. He said: "Bull@#&!, Hillary came into law and politics when political correctness was at a high point ... Look at her resume, everything she got was handed to her on a silver platter..."
Is that why some people have such a gut reaction to Hillary Clinton -- they view her as privileged? If that is the case, I am even more astonished at the double standards of this country than ever before. Compare Hillary's Clinton's resume to, oh I don't know, let's say the current president, George W. Bush.
Hillary Clinton
1947, born Chicago, Illinois, grew up in Park Ridge, Illinois, attended public schools
(father operated a small textile business, mother was a homemaker)
1965 National Merit Scholar Finalist
1969, graduated from Wellesley College with departmental honors
1973, graduated from Yale University with Law Degree
(worked on the Yale Review of Law and Social Action)
She began a year of post-graduate study on children and medicine at the Yale Child Study Center.[45] Her first scholarly paper, "Children Under the Law", was published in the Harvard Educational Review in late 1973[46] and became frequently cited in the field." wk1973 Staff attorney for Children's Defense Fund
During 1974 she was a member of the impeachment inquiry staff in Washington, D.C., advising the House Committee on the Judiciary during the Watergate scandal.[49][50] Under the guidance of Chief Counsel John Doar and senior member Bernard Nussbaum,[32] Rodham helped research procedures of impeachment and the historical grounds and standards for impeachment.[50] The committee's work culminated in the resignation of President Richard Nixon in August 1974.[50] wk1974, became faculty member at University of Arkansas, Fayetteville School of Law
1977, co-founded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families
1977, became the first woman to be made a full partner of Rose Law Firm
George W. Bush
1946, born in New Haven Conn., grew up in Midland and Houston Texas
(grandfather was a U.S. senator from Connecticut, father oil executive in Texas, mother a homemaker)
Attended private school, Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts
1968 graduated from Yale University (his grandfather's and father's alma mater)
(was president of secret Skulls & Bones Society)
1968 accepted in Air National Guard
(despite scoring in the 25th percentile[21][22] on the pilot's written aptitude test, which was the lowest acceptable passing grade.[23]) wk1970 applied to Univ. of Texas Law school, was rejected
1972 transfered to Alabama Air Guard to work on a Republican campaign
1973 left Texas National Guard 8 months early to attend Harvard Business School
1975 graduated Harvard with MBA
1976 arrested for DUI
1977 began career in the Texas oil industry
Compare where these two individuals came from, what they did during these crucial years in their lives, and where they are at this point in their lives. It seems clear to me who has had a privileged life and who has had to work for their successes in life. I have not heard Hillary Clinton "play the sexism card" as Mr. Negative claimed. I have only seen her working forward on social issues important to her.
Say what you will about her stands on the issues, but Hillary Rodham Clinton will probably be the first woman president of the United States of America, and she will have earned every right to that title.
2 comments:
You think the comparison to George is something? Check out Mike Huckabee's background! - Or I should say, lack of it! His resume was maybe four lines before he became the Lt. Gov. of Arkansas. Fate catapulted him into the Gov's office where a smooth tongue and use of the Gov's podium as a preacher's bully pulpit kept him for 12 long, slow years for the state. Hopefully, some folks out there will wake up to his complete lack of qualification to lead this nation and stop his campaign before it gains any more momentum! You think George promised much, delivered little and lied/lies about it all the way home? Try Hucklebee on for size! He's an ignorant elitest in sheep's clothing with virtually no understanding of how the world actually works. He just thinks that being able to 'relate to people' is all that's required. But even at that, his history is one of failure. He and the former "Queen of Arkansas" had a nice time telling everyone else what to do and how to do it while not adhering to the same principles themselves. And their lack of subtlety was remarkable, to say the least!
I didn't list Huckabee's shining (snark) resume because I've already given him too much space on this blog. Plus, I wanted to highlight the difference between Hillary Clinton's experience and that of someone who is in the office she's running for.
If I have time, I'll try to continue to list the "accomplishments" of our many candidates. Some, of course, will take much less time than others. (double snark)
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