Geraldine Ferraro, a Clinton supporter who in 1984 became the first woman on a major party presidential ticket, said Obama should be “gracious” enough to offer Clinton the vice presidency, considering how narrow the race was....
“If he picked Claire McCaskill or [Janet] Napolitano [or Kathleen] Sebelius, I think it would annoy women,” Ferraro said.
Ferraro added that “those are women who we spent our lifetime helping run for office” and that “a lot of us are not happy with these women for not supporting Hillary because they came to us for help based in large part on their gender.”
Let the Cult of Personality continue. At one point I thought sexism referred to discriminatory attitudes or holding stereotypical views on the basis of sex or gender. But thanks to Ferraro, I now know that women are the same, especially in their support of Hillary Clinton. If Obama were to pick Sebelius it would not be seen as an advancement for women or breaking ceilings but demeaning to one woman and most women would feel that way.
If there were other explanations, I would like to know. Her first reason may be valid as Clinton received the second highest number of votes in a Democratic primary. But noting that the selection of another woman would reinforce the notion that an "experienced" woman was passed over makes sense if Senator Clinton possesses the necessary experience in the first place.
And yet, Ferraro perpetuates what she is against...
2 comments:
I would urge you not to assume that Ferraro speaks for all women--she most certainly doesn't speak for me. I haven't had a lot of time lately to read this things, so I can't comment on this specifically. I can, however, say that most of the women I know would be quite happy to see Obama pick a woman candidate, and any of the women Ferraro named are good choices. But then, I'd be happy to see Obama pick a VP candidate who is articulate, thoughtful, and experienced. It doesn't have to be about personality, at least not for me.
And your first definition of sexism is the correct one.
I know that Ferraro does not speak for all women but I find that in her comments, when she speaks of most women, it is quote ironic that she makes her argument.
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