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January 07, 2008

Go Iron Your Own Damned Shirt

All day I've been wondering what was up with this emphasis on the fact that Hillary Clinton got a little teary over the setbacks in her campaign. It certainly seems like an effort to make her look like a weak female who falls apart under pressure. Obviously, Hillary is tough as nails and not about to start crying when the going gets tough. So the fact that she did tear up makes me wonder whether she's trying to turn the debate away from substance and toward equality for women. Then I read about some asshole at an event today who interrupted her and held up a sign reading, "Iron my shirt." What a chauvenistic jerk. If I had been in Hillary's position, I'd have told him to go iron his own damned shirt. Which is why I'd never be in Hillary's position.

Now the cynical side of me can't help but wonder, with all the extreme level of security, whether the chauvenist was actually a plant by the Clinton campaign, strategically placed to try to offset the effect - or augment it - of this morning's crying story. And maybe he was. Right now, though, I'm too upset at the message to care. Because we all know there are an awful lot of men out there who think precisely that. And unfortunately, their wives are probably all going to secretly vote for Hillary just to get even with them. No matter how it all came about, the events of this stupid day are going to make this campaign even more about girl power and less about policy than it already is.

Posted by Becky at January 7, 2008 06:54 PM