Boy, those Clintonites are bitter. I can't imagine Obama supporters summoning up such rancor if our guy lost (and the polls back me up on that). Wait, which campaign's supporters are supposed to be die-hard kool-aid drinkers? I forget sometimes.
Seriously, I don't get it. A lot of these Clinton supporters seem to think that the only reason that Hillary Clinton lost is because she happened to be a woman in a mean-old sexist country. I just don't see it. She did extremely well among the groups (seniors, low-income voters) that one would presume have the most sexism, and though there has been a fair amount of sexism in the coverage of Clinton's campaign, I find it difficult to believe that she lost the election because Chris Matthews made a boneheaded comment in January. Some of Clinton's feminist supporters might think that America needs a lot more work--I tend to think it shows that feminism needs a lot more work if it's going to survive, because just waving your arms and shouting "sexism" hearkens back to the days when the Democrats' response to any argument against affirmative action, welfare, etc., was "racism." It's a cop-out, not an argument.
And I just don't buy the argument that the failure of Clinton's campaign was a referendum on the idea of a woman political leader. I think it was a referendum on Hillary Clinton. It's not the same. Hillary Clinton has quite a bit of baggage and is one of the least sincere people I've ever seen. She's like Richard Nixon without the charm. Had someone like Kathleen Sebelius or Nancy Pelosi run for president I would have probably supported one of them--Sebelius is a talented executive and Pelosi is a humane, principled liberal. I still like the idea of a woman president and I hope one happens in my lifetime. I'm beginning to think that an Obama/Sebelius ticket makes sense from this angle--it lets women know that there will be another shot in 4-8 years by making a woman the heir apparent, and Sebelius is a plausible president.
So, basically, despite what Gloria Steinem might say, I don't think I'm sexist for not supporting (and, indeed, not liking) Hillary Clinton. I just don't much care for the Clintons to begin with--their pliable relationship with the truth and with morality, their willingness to throw their allies off the train if it becomes convenient, the lack of some sort of continuity of political style or issue positions. Clinton supporters who have made her campaign into something bigger will someday, I hope, realize that this decision was best for our party and best for the country.
