Hillary Clinton has become one of the most polarizing politicians in the U.S. Either you love her or you hate her, and some have gone so far as to say no one would motivate the Christian conservatives more than if Clinton won the democratic nomination. And that scares the living crap out of me.
But today, I am not examining how much America likes Hillary. Instead, I want to know how well Hillary is connecting with young female voters, a demographic that she should strike a chord with.
“I’m not planning on voting for Hillary, I’m planning on voting for Obama,” senior psychology major Amy Bretfelian said. “I admit that I should give Hillary more of a chance and try to listen more to what she has to say about her campaign, but there’s just something about her that doesn’t rub me the right way.”
While Hillary seems like a bit of an ice queen, could that hard exterior be deterring young women? Freshman political science major Marian Spack doesn’t think so. She said Clinton connects with women because of her universal health care plan.
“I think she relates to the young women well, she’s taking a stand and showing that a woman can do just as well as any man can, or do an even better job. With her taking this first step, it has taken some girls’ dreams of becoming a strong leader, and made them reality,” Spack said.
As for other young women, they would love to see a female president, but they don’t think Hillary is the woman for the job.
“I actually wish I liked her more,” Bretfelian said. “I’m not really sure if the U.S. is ready for a female president. I think we like to think that as a country we’ve overcome sexism and racism, but we still have a long way to go.”
“I just really can’t see her as our President and I feel that while she has been gaining more votes, in the end she will not be chosen for the nomination,” senior early childhood education major Hayley Facer said.
And what do I think? Since I fit very nicely into the category of being both young and female, I might as well weigh in. I do not plan on voting for Clinton in the primaries. Her attempts to relate to young women aren’t working. The best thing she has going for her is that we call her Hillary. We never used to refer to politicians by just their first names. The fact that we call Hillary and Obama by their first names shows both of them are easy to relate to in their own ways. Then again, in a perfect world, Hillary, Obama and I all go for out for lunch every Saturday. I can dream, can’t I?
Hillary walks a hard line, as do many female politicians. Policies that hit home with women like health care, education and social welfare programs, don’t always appeal to the masses. So the question really is how do you strike a balance between being feminine and being taken seriously on issues like foreign policy and war? That’s something women have been trying to figure out since they got the right to vote. I think Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi should write a book on the topic. She’s not afraid to wear a purple suit and most people know not to mess with her. However, even my beloved Madame Speaker has her problems.
-Jen Steer
2 Comments
February 5, 2008 at 4:24 am
Jen, I hear you. I’d like to think that I still qualify as a young woman (mid-thirties) and I can definitely identify w/Hilary. The ice queen thing is interesting. Hilary, like any other woman in her position, will NEVER be read for who she really is. She will be too cold, abrasive, stern and if she is warm and inviting, she is too “feminine” and those types of perception disqualify her from taking the job seriously. If you ever walk a mile in shoes like hers, you would understand. At 25 I sat in board rooms with way past retirement age White men who acted like I was there to empty the garbage. There is no win for the critics, she will never please the masses because of sexism. Visit me at http://www.mulloverthis.wordpress.com
February 27, 2008 at 10:06 pm
I’m neither young, nor woman, so I don’t qualify for your demographic, but I’d like to chime in anyway. I agree that our country has major problems to overcome in the sexism department, and I think that a serious candidacy by Clinton is part of the solution. In this election, however, my opinion is that two things are going to prevent Clinton from being nominated, even more than sexism. First is that Obama is a very likeable candidate, and destiny appears to be on his side. Second is that Clinton is married to Clinton and there seems to be such ambivalence in our country about the spouse of a former president being president. The fact that Bush II turned out to be such an unpopular sequel is hurting the chances for Clinton II. Not to mention your point about Hillary being a lightning rod for conservatives, largely because they hated Bill so much. I think many people doubt that Hillary can overcome the legacy of Bill enough to create her own distinct presidency.
But the great thing to me is that since BOTH Obama and Clinton are such important “firsts” in our election history, their mutual first-ness is cancelling itself out and becoming less of a novelty Therefore, it seems like voters are trying to decide who is actually a better candidate as a person. It feels like a double jump in checkers. Not only are we getting our first strong candidacy from an African American and a woman, we are even getting past that to the issues.