Ex-Clinton aide on politics and sexism

When historians write about the 2008 election, it may be remembered as the year of the woman.

The candidacies of Hillary Clinton, and now of John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, have opened a national dialogue on a subject long ignored: The role of women in politics and the sexism some believe they still face.

It's a topic Dee Dee Myers, former press secretary to Bill Clinton, will take up next week in Tucson at the 20th Annual YWCA Women's Leadership Conference. Myers, the keynote speaker and author of "Why Women Should Rule the World," talked to the Star about the role of gender in politics, but much of the discussion naturally turned to Palin.

"Well, my title is intentionally a bit provocative to make people think about what that might be like, but my point is that women should rule the world alongside men because, in many ways, men and women are different. Women bring a different life experience. We bring, sometimes, a different perspective on problems . . . different ways of solving conflict.

"So we take all those qualities that women have, and we put them on the table next to all the qualities that men have, and I think we get a different look at our problems and we come up with better solutions."

Arizona has a long record of electing women to office. Why haven't we seen that on the national stage?

"The reasons are complicated. I think there are still a lot of obstacles to women's achievement. There are stereotypes that hold women back, and there are double standards.

"But I think one of the things that's really important is role models for women. Nothing succeeds like success. Once people get used to seeing a woman as governor it's much easier to elect another woman, and I think Arizona is case in point. . . . Hillary Clinton made Sarah Palin possible and Sarah Palin will make a lot more women around the country possible.

Do you think Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin have been treated differently by the media because they are women? "Yeah. And I think what's interesting is people like me complained about sexist coverage of Hillary Clinton. It took Sarah Palin for people on the right to say the same thing. When I hear Pat Buchanan and Dick Morris and Rush Limbaugh complaining about sexist coverage in the media, I don't know whether to laugh or to rejoice."

Is it fair to ask whether Sarah Palin can balance motherhood and the vice presidency?

"You know, I really don't think it is. I trust women and families to make those decisions. I trusted the Clintons to balance their choices when they had a child at home. And I trust the Obamas to do the same thing. And I trust the Palins. I mean, Sarah Palin has an extended family. She has a husband who is very involved. She's sort of figured out how to do it. We trust men to work it out with their families, even when their wives work."

Gov. Palin's candidacy has created an interesting discussion about identity politics. Here you have a conservative woman who in many ways is living a progressive lifestyle — not having to choose between work and family. What does this tell us about traditional gender roles?

"The women's movement historically has been a progressive movement. But the movement has been so successful that now even women from the conservative movement — who were against everything these progressive women were for 30 years ago — have embraced the reality. "And I think that really rubs a lot of progressive women the wrong way. . . . But I think it's an incredible good thing. . . . I think the response to Sarah Palin says that a lot of women — and men — identify with her life story. . . . But it also says there is a hunger for a different kind of leadership. Not only does she come from outside of Washington, but she's a woman. She embraces change in a way we haven't seen on a national ticket in 24 years."

But what would a conservative woman bring to the table that we wouldn't just get with a conservative man? "She brings a completely different biography and life story. . . . (Texas Sen.) Kay Bailey Hutchison, who I interview for my book, a quite conservative woman, said when she was young, she was working, she was paying into her (individual retirement account). And she got married and temporarily stopped working and found out she could no longer pay into her IRA, and it infuriated her. "So, one of the first things she did when she was elected was got together with other women . . . and created the Homemaker IRA. She brought that problem to Washington, and she solved it."

During the 1984 election, when Walter Mondale picked Geraldine Ferraro, was that thought to be a significant moment for women?

"Yeah, and I think in some ways the result of that was disappointing. I think it did change things, but not as much as people would have hoped." So do you think we'll look back on this election as a real turning point for women?

"I do think it's a major turning point, and I think one of the reasons is Hillary Clinton ran on her own. She was the first woman to win a presidential primary. She ended up winning 20. . . . I think Sarah Palin is a direct descendant of Hillary Clinton. If the McCain campaign hadn't recognized there was something to this, they wouldn't have picked her. And kudos to Sarah Palin for acknowledging both Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton, even in front of audiences that don't necessary want to hear it. I give her great credit for that."

Oh yes....and by the way....Palin isn’t a direct decendant of Hillary because Hillary isn’t on the ticket at all. Hillary is not a “first” for doing anything. Hillary is not even her own woman because she slept her way to the top. Were she not Bubba’s wife, she might be a law firm partner - the kind that Governors of states like Alaska call on for advice on contract disputes.

“”The women’s movement historically has been a progressive movement. But the movement has been so successful that now even women from the conservative movement — who were against everything these progressive women were for 30 years ago — have embraced the reality.”

I’m sorry, I can’t let this go. First, it’s not “PROGRESSIVE” (e.g., Socialist) it’s Democrats (some of which, but not all may be Socialists or Marxists), and it’s not “now even women from the conservative movement”. Conservative women have always been involved, they just didn’t feel the need to a) burn their bras in public, b) sign up for NOW (or NAGs per Rush), and/or c)have a physical appearance as if we’d been camping in the woods for 2 weeks. And, there are plenty of Conservative, Repbulican women out there that have families and have suceeded in business and the world without succumbing to the Dims and NAGs world and role of what a ‘progressive’ woman should be or look like and running into the streets and businesses shouting ‘I am woman here me roar’. We did it on our own, maintaining our feminity, working hard, and maintaining our dignity and values, and, maintaining the respect of our families and co-workers. Some chose to be at-home Mom’s and I say Good on Them! - they contributed to their kids, families and society in inmeasurable ways!

>End of Rant

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