Obama, Are You Listening? This One's for Your Girls
Below the Belt: A Biweekly Column by NOW President Kim Gandy
July 31, 2008
It's hard to believe, but the Democratic National Convention is now less than a month away, and following right on its heels comes the Republican National Convention. This means the media are obsessing, as they love to do, about the presidential candidates' potential running mates.
Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee, appeared on Meet the Press on July 27 and was pressed by Tom Brokaw to discuss the criteria, timing and prospects for his selection for vice president. Obama refused to name any names, but he did offer this insight: "I want somebody who I'm compatible with, who I can work with, who has a shared vision..."
Well, I hope that shared vision includes full equality for women, because some of the names that have been floated recently aren't particularly reassuring.
We just had one of the closest primary contests I can recall -- with every last state and territory seriously in play, and 18 million votes cast for Sen. Hillary Clinton. Feminist voters, women and men alike, backed Clinton because they believed she would have their backs if she reached the White House. They were confident that her VP, Cabinet and federal court selections would reflect the equality principles she espoused. Some of these voters almost immediately transitioned to Obama once Clinton threw her support behind the senator from Illinois. But other voters are still grieving the loss of a dream. Others are taking a wait and see approach, and one of the things they are waiting on is Obama's VP pick.
One longtime NOW activist puts it this way, "I have my fingers crossed that Barack Obama picks a running mate who is a partner, who is capable of stepping in, and who is dedicated to the principles of equality."
Read More...
Posts
1 comment:
I'm not entirely sure that Obama's running mate is relevant to how well he does in this particular election - (McCain's for that matter) - Historically speaking, the second banana does little in the long run - in the general election - they possibly bring a state or two with them - what the point should be is that the "boys" in the party (and one power crazed Nancy Pelosi hating to share any spotlight), sandbagged Hillary Clinton - it was so obvious and blatently sexist that conservatives who would never have given Hillary Clinton a kind word, were now looking at her in a new light - (think Ann Coulter - even she was outraged.) They missed the boat, Clinton was one candidate who would have pulled women from both sides of the aisle:
1) conservatives are not entirely comfortable with McCain, but he is "not Obama" - (which by the way, was the way Bush won the last election - he was "not Kerry")
2) She was the only candidate out there with viable plans.
It was an historic moment that slipped away - if Democrats are looking to cast blame come November 5th - here is the list: Dean, Carter, Gore, Kennedy, Kerry, Reid, Pelosi
Post a Comment