2 posts tagged “democrats '08”

I've had a lot of trouble knowing where to lend my support for this election, mostly due to hype and media coverage. It's been obvious to me that much of the negative air around Clinton is inspired by the stereotype of a power-hungry bitch, using her husband's career as a stepping stone -- this stereotype is propagated largely by the media and voters who fail to recognize the sexist slant ingrained into where we get our information. Obama I've had issues with because of his obvious marketing toward the youth and speeches that seem to pray on emotional appeal. At a glance, it's hard to see past the two Democrats' outer-images, and I refuse to have my vote swayed by either of these.

The Daily Kos has this in common with me. In her blog entry, she decides where to place her vote based on senate voting records, meticulously going through the Library of Congress's website and reading each one. If you don't feel like doing the same, she summarizes the key points quite well.

I suggest all undecided voters check this out.

To make it perfectly clear, I have not yet personally endorsed any candidate yet for the 2008 presidential election. The only candidate that I feel speaks my views is Mike Gravel, but he is the absolute least popular contender for the Democratic nomination. Being a Democrat myself, I've been trying to figure out whom I'd rather have in office -- Barak or Hillary -- but haven't devoted myself to either yet. I find it exciting that the top two contenders for the nom represent minority demographics that many people believe will never hold office in the United States. I find it even more interesting that, although black men constantly portrayed by the media as gang members and uneducated lowlifes, Obama undoubtedly gets the better press over Clinton.

Why do people hate Hillary so much? I've been trying to wrap my brain around it for months now, and, despite her supposed flaws, I have to believe that the bad press is 90% due to the media and society's interpretations of  something, not purely policy.

In a recent speech, Obama mentioned something that I think might contribute a lot to the media's distrust of Hillary: "I know it is tempting — after another presidency by a man named George Bush — to simply turn back the clock, and to build a bridge back to the 20th century,"

But perhaps this is exactly it. It's no debate that G. W. is unpopular, and it's not much of a question of whether or not he would have a career in politics were it not for daddy. And now that Obama mentions it, Hillary is much in the same position. Although she had a career and aspirations separate from her husband's (in fact, that is how they met), I also have little question as to whether or not she would have become senator were she not first First Lady. Much like Bush, her popularity without a doubt hinges on someone else's career.

Would she have accomplished much without her marriage to provide her with such connections? Who knows. But the point is that she definitely, undoubtedly has a career today because of it.

Maybe the idea of the family dynasty is what is subconsciously playing into many Democrats' lack of support for Hillary. After all, seeing as how our current president is in office largely due to his father, it doesn't seem out-of-line to question someone's experience if a former president is legally related to them.

But Bush still got into office with not nearly as much bad press as Hillary. I don't think it's unfair to cite sexism as a contributed to Hillary's poor media image. Women who pursue high positions are often dismissed as bitchy and power-hungry, and you'd have to be kidding if you said the negative media surrounding Hillary wasn't making her out to be just that.

But there is opposition to this: Well, if the media is being blatantly sexist, where's the racism against Obama?

This is where my point comes in -- perhaps Hillary is more succeptible to being labeled as power-hungry because of the similarity between the Bush dynasty and the Clinton dynasty. Both let two terms pass before the family re-entered the presidential scene. It's also easy to call a woman power-hungry when she's running for office as the wife of a former very successful president.

Would I vote for Hillary? I have no idea. I'm merely trying to differentiate bad press from sexist press and still waiting for Obama to say something to make me believe he has the experience necessary for being a president. The fact is, I like neither Clinton nor Obama, and am greatly disheartened to learn that the other, safer looking hopefuls Kucinich and Edwards have both dropped out. My lack of certainty with either of the candidates has led me to even start considering those on the Republican bench -- McCain has some solid ideas, I hear.

Since Michigan fucked itself out of the primaries, I didn't vote, and now I suppose I resign for the rest of the public to make the decision for me. Hopefully I'll have waded through this all by election day.