We've Come a Long Way, by Kate Michelman

Remember the commercial:

We've come a long way baby.

Well, have we? That's the question American women need to ask themselves.

We earn 77 cents for every dollar a man makes.

We are 48% more likely to live in poverty than men.

17 million adult women lack health insurance.

Millions of us struggle to balance jobs and the needs of our families.

A long way? Not nearly long enough.

snip

It's a political strategy, no doubt focus grouped and poll tested: make it look unseemly that this group of men would question her and hold her accountable for her record.

It's trying to have it both ways; walk the fence, something Senator Clinton's good at. At one minute the strong woman ready to lead, the next, she's the woman under attack, disingenuously playing the victim card as a means of trying to avoid giving honest, direct answers to legitimate questions.

As a woman who's been in the public eye and experienced scrutiny, as a woman who knows how hard it can be for women to earn their seat at the leadership table, how hard women have to work just to get the same opportunities, this distresses me.

Kate is right!

Great diary.

Well said MEAE and Kate.

Hopefully Clinton will cease with using the gender card in this race.  As a female, I was appalled by the misstep, but even worse, the campaign using this pile on BS and sez she needs more money.  Last time I checked, $80M buys quite a few ads already to state her case.

illuminating how truly disappointing the Clinton's campaigns use of gender to distract from a poor debate and issue waffling really is.

She gives straight answers- the other candidates refuse to listen and twist and misrepresent the things she says because they know they can't win on their own merit or proposals.

Given Edwards own history of playing the race and gender cards, Michelman's argument has no credibility.

When Elizabeth Edwards blamed the media for their campaigns poor press, she said; ""We can't make John black, we can't make him a woman".

Further, on his recent "Bubba" tour with Mudcat and Cooter, Edwards said:

"If you're running in a tough congressional district somewhere in America, anywhere in America, and I'm in one right now, okay...You gotta ask yourself would you rather have Senator Obama at the top of the ticket to help, Senator Clinton at the top of the ticket to help, or John Edwards at the top of the ticket to help. ... .. You got to have someone who is strong in all those places and who is not a drag on candidates who are trying to win in those places. ... .. The easiest way to do it, honestly, is to picture in your head each of us running in a tough place -- we're in one right now -- and which one's going to be more helpful and which one's not, because I think that does matter."

Finally, while we're being honest, let's not forget the cancer card that Edward played in his "Heros" ad.

If it's OK for Edwards to play these race, gender, and cancer cards, then it's OK for everyone else!

When Obama isn't consistant HAMMER him.  He wants to be "different" then hold him to his word.  No attacks from Obama .. just his "hope" that he goes on and on and on about, and the bipartisanship he claims he can deliver.  When he acts the same and attacks HAMMER him.

Make Edwards be consistant too.  Don't let Edwards get away with railing against corporations when he was a member of the DLC's 'New Democrats' in when he served in the Senate.  He was a corporate Democrat himself.  Now he is just a hypocrit.

Don't let Edwards get away with scoring points by bashing hedge funds when he made large cash working for a hedge fund just over a year ago.  Make Edwards be honest for a change.

I hate to break the news to you, but gender is the dominant subtext of the 2008 Presidential election. I know it is a subtext that is disturbing to the boys club who see their 230 year stranglehold on Presidential politics threatened. I know it is daunting for the boys club to realize that 60% of the primary electorate and 54% of the general electorate is female. I know it is daunting for the boys club to realize that unmarried women are 25% of the eligible voters and the fastest growing segment of the electorate.

But, I assure you, Senator Clinton has absolutely no intention of backing off on her appeal to women voters in this election. Don't talk to me about "fair". Don't talk to me about how the members of the boys club want the women candidate to conform to their rules and not use gender as an issue. Screw that. If the boys club wanted fair, maybe they shouldn't have prevented women from voting for the first 150 years of our so-called democracy. The boys club didn't seem to have any problem when their rules unfairly favored them.

Hillary isn't concerned about other women.

Men have run on their gender for 230 years of Presidential politics. Run on their gender completely that women weren't even allowed to compete.

Now, you want to take gender out of the equation?

So sorry, too bad.

Im sure that has nothing to do with your general loathing of all things Hillary.