It’s time to be done with second-guessing personal decisions of those who have been wronged. That, of course, is almost impossible to do in today’s instant social media world where everyone feels they have a right to weigh in on anything and everything. If you watched the recent documentary "Weiner," you probably were not surprised [...]
The vitriol Hillary Clinton suffers on a personal level carries broader ramifications for women in politics. [divider] Republicans want to throw Hillary Clinton in jail or put her in front of a firing squad. Democrats who spoke positively about Clinton were booed during the first night of their convention. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' supporters stomped [...]
The historic nature of Clinton officially becoming the Democratic presidential nominee (barring something unforeseen) isn’t just about Hillary or my own dream of someone like her. Reports abound on social media that parents allowed their children to stay up past their bedtimes on a school night – as so many of us did in 1969 [...]
Of all the things I’ve learned researching what women voters really think about Hillary Clinton, and whether they love her or love her not as the possible first woman president of the United States, not once has anyone ever said, “You know, I’d really like her lot and she’d have my support, if only [...]
Hillary Clinton has been in the national spotlight since 1992, and has had more than her share of notoriety since her college days as the first woman commencement speaker at Wellesley College. So while I wasn’t sure exactly how the contributors to Love Her, Love Her Not: The Hillary Paradox would feel about HRC, as [...]
Hillary Clinton spent tons of time campaigning for many mid-term candidates in 2014 -- did 18 states signal her affection for the 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling? And no doubt she heard a variety of campaign songs chosen by those candidates to inspire the crowds that turned out at rallies. So now that [...]
When people describe German Chancellor Angela Merkel, plenty of phrases come to mind that have nothing to do with her personality. She's been a player on the global political stage for decades and Chancellor of Germany for ten years. Adjectives to describe her range from "prudent, pragmatic, and down to earth," to "resolutely dull." Merkel, [...]
Some say Hillary Clinton was too "hawkish" in 2008. Some say she is too warm and fuzzy for 2016. What's a girl got to do to convince voters she's ready for the White House? [divider] Hillary Rodham Clinton learned during her first presidential run that, at least until we elect the first female president, there [...]
[divider] Today, an appetizer from my essay, "I Don’t Need Hillary Clinton to Be Perfect," that was excerpted at US News & World Report: I confess that in 2008 I didn’t think we were a country that was ready for a woman president. Oh, how I wanted us to be! The 1970s feminist in [...]
How have we become so conflicted over one woman with the kind of goals and ambitions that most of us would encourage in our own mothers or daughters? To paraphrase Yoda, the force is strong in those who are both for and against Hillary. [divider] Our country has a very complicated relationship with Hillary Clinton. Some [...]
Being a wonky political follower, I thought I had a sense about where certain writers would come out on Hillary. But the contributors to Love Her, Love Her Not: The Hillary Paradox surprised me in a lot of ways. [divider] The first Democratic presidential debate for the 2016 election is almost upon us and cable [...]
Likability wasn’t just a side issue in this research; a whopping 90 percent of women who participated in a 2012 polling said that they had to like a female candidate before they could support her. [divider] Could an unlikable Donald Trump trump a likable Hillary Rodham Clinton for the White House? Hear me out when [...]
The White House just released the list of guests who will be joining Michelle Obama in the traditional First Lady's Seating Box for the State of the Union address. There are always some Americans invited whose stories are personally compelling and add something along the lines of what sportscasters call "color commentary" for an event. [...]
Hillary Clinton is now a retired woman. She has officially stepped down from her post as Secretary of State. She's no longer a U.S. Senator or First Lady. She's not waging a presidential campaign -- yet. And those pesky Benghazi hearings are over! What are we political women going to do without [...]
Like I alluded to yesterday, some things will never change for Hillary Clinton ... Image via The Newseum
Oh, neo-cons. What are you going to do in a few weeks when Hillary Clinton retires? For the past 20+ years, you have made Hillary-bashing an Olympic sport. No matter what Hillary does. No matter where she goes. No matter what her title or job description at any given moment, even when Hillary Clinton [...]
A good photo opp is worth a thousand words. And that's what we got as Nancy Pelosi announced she will stay in her leadership role in the Democratic Party, after speculation that she might step aside once President Obama was re-elected. As she put those rumors to rest, Pelosi surrounded herself with elected women in [...]
Predictions are always a dangerous thing, especially in an election that has been as contentious as the one between President Obama and Mitt Romney. While there is a feeling in the air that we are in a "perfect storm" set-up for a long election night as a result of self-appointed vigilante-like poll watchers, insufficient early [...]
Hurricane Sandy could not have had better timing for a country that has just about reached its limit on campaign fatigue. Not that I'm glad that the Frankenstorm with the friendly-sounding name has wreaked havoc on the entire Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. I wish there was something more than writing a check to the Red Cross [...]
"Binders full of women." That's what Mitt Romney says he asked for (though now we know that's not really true) when he shockingly, all of a sudden in 2003 had an epiphany that, GOSH! There are actually women who want to work outside the home and are qualified to be in high level leadership positions! [...]
U.S. Rep. Todd Akin says his Senate opponent Claire McCaskill was much more "ladylike" last time she ran for office. A Mitt Romney supporter recently told NPR that Michelle Obama isn't a good First Lady because she's not "ladylike" enough. The last time someone told me I wasn't being ladylike, it was one of [...]
Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Warren, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz each have two things in common. They were featured speakers at the Democratic National Convention and they're moms. I'm not bringing up their motherhood status because I think it's important. They did. I'm the first person to applaud women who are mothers who openly embrace their [...]
The 2012 election is about jobs. Jobs, jobs, jobs. And the economy. That's what everyone says, and that's what many convention speeches are about. But what jobs? For which segments of the population? Working parents? Kids just out of college? Students trying to work their way through college? Or high school grads just trying to [...]
Guess who's going to the Democratic National Convention? Yup! I'm super-excited that I'm going to be headed to Charlotte to experience my second presidential convention and my first one with the Democrats. (I covered a Republican Convention back in my broadcast journalism days, but I won't tell you which one, as it would totally [...]
