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The First Woman President?

Obama's campaign bends gender conventions

Special Guest Columnist
Feb 26, 2008 | Updated: 11:49  a.m. ET Feb 26, 2008

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  • Posted By: glimps @ 05/05/2008 12:59:25 PM

    the Media has already turned on Obama....
    H.C. is trying to push a gas tax Holiday & she is not even in the White House.... does she think Bush is going to sign that bill? LOL !! idiots believe that she is going to lower & save them money over the summer & Bush is the President.... this stuff getts better & better.. The Media is acting like Obama is being an Elistist because he thinks this is a gimmic... IT IS !!!!

  • Posted By: glimps @ 05/05/2008 12:58:58 PM

    the Media has already turned on Obama....
    H.C. is trying to push a gas tax Holiday & she is not even in the White House.... does she think Bush is going to sign that bill? LOL !! idiots believe that she is going to lower & save them money over the summer & Bush is the President.... this stuff getts better & better.. The Media is acting like Obama is being an Elistist because he thinks this is a gimmic... IT IS !!!!

  • Posted By: T dough @ 03/04/2008 9:12:08 AM

    The press will turn on Obama, and then blame America for putting him in office. Basically, we are all a bunch of sheep searching always for that guy we can have a beer with -- evidently that's the only qualification for becoming the Leader of the Fee World.

  • Posted By: moto53 @ 03/03/2008 9:02:01 AM

    As an over age 50 woman, I have been fighting my whole adult life for
    equality, fairness and the rights of the ordinary people. I for one was
    a pioneer in the field of police officers. When I became a patrol
    officer in the 1970's they still refer to me as a policeman. Most women
    in my age group have made a change in the United States to turn back

    discrimination in all areas of the work force. I felt bad after not

    being able to vote by my party in the primary, but was hopeful I could

    vote for Hillary Clinton in the main election. The speech by Senator

    Kennedy excluded me completely. If this had been a fair fight, I might

    have voted for Senator Obama but now if he gets nominated, I'm staying

    home. I'm sure that other women ages of 50+ feel this way also. I hope

    the youth and black vote will carry Obama through, But I won't be there.

    I have no use for a party who would turn the page and leave me out. I

    hope Senator Obama will remember us and not leave us out of his 3 R

    speech again. Perhaps he should add the letter S to soothe some of us.

    Other wise, Senator McCain may want our vote.

  • Posted By: susancallahan @ 02/27/2008 6:32:25 PM

    Obama will do more for the image of Black men than anyone. He is soft, he defers to his woman. He submits to her even. We need a man who can submit to a woman and not be ashamed of it.

    • Posted By: Elizabeth W. Martin @ 03/03/2008 7:59:38 AM

      Obama for Hillary's Vice President.

  • Posted By: Elizabeth W. Martin @ 03/03/2008 7:35:14 AM

    A woman who shows ambition and directness is shunned for having qualities that only men are admired for having. A man who shows modesty and optimism is admired for having qualities that women in patriarchal societies are expected to have. A double standard, anyone? As a women in a professional leadership role, I'm here to testify that it is a very difficult and lonely struggle having to deal with the unconscious maternal projections that people place on me -- and their subsequent rage when I have to make decisions that are not always comforting and easy to hear. Thank goodness racism has been (by-and-large) exposed for the scourge it is on human relations. We have a long, long way to go before sexism is exposed for the devastating and sinful ways it perverts and distorts human relations.

  • Posted By: asciencejournalist @ 03/03/2008 5:25:38 AM

    This is definitely among the most horrendous sexist pieces I've seen in the media in the current presidential campaign. People here have spoken my thoughts, thankfully. Besides sexist, it's also stupid stupid stupid.

    Not to be too surprised on the sexism, though, this guy is a professor (well, adjust lecturer) at Harvard
    http://ksgfaculty.harvard.edu/martin_linsky
    You
    You won't

  • Posted By: RN's that Care @ 03/03/2008 1:07:25 AM

    I am not sure who wrote this story but I am sure that person does drugs while writing. As a woman, I can say that I have never been more offended by a candidates sexist comments than the ones that I have heard from BO. He is constantly saying that Hillary Clinton is 'whining' or 'complaining'. I know without a doubt that if he were were engaged in a contest with a man that these comments would not be uttered. They would be replaced by compliments for his opponent for 'raising his concerns' or 'voicing his opinion' or 'being an advocate for himself'. It will take MUCH more than these types of articles to brainwash women into believing that BO could be the 1st 'woman' president. Please give us more credit that that!!!!

  • Posted By: boomersusan @ 03/02/2008 8:09:30 AM

    I got the same news on boomercupid.com which is for mature singles. Preaching hope, inspiration, change, with no substance, no specifics, no media challenge, and media fawning, Obama is instructive of how demagogues rise to power to inflict horrors on humanity.

  • Posted By: boomersusan @ 03/02/2008 7:19:12 AM

    Preaching hope, inspiration, change, with no substance, no specifics, no media challenge, and media fawning, Obama is instructive of how demagogues rise to power to inflict horrors on humanity. Some members on my current dating site boomercupid.com which is only for mature singles are also talking about this election.

  • Posted By: MMorris2 @ 03/02/2008 12:34:47 AM

    I was fortunate enough to have engaged in a fellowship training in leadership with Marty Linsky and the resulting post this article has generated is exactly the intent. He intends to challenge whatever you held true before you read this article and only "real Leader" will emerge unscathed.

  • Posted By: access3219 @ 03/01/2008 11:12:36 PM

    Are you guys crazy at this magazine? If he is the first woman president, Obama needs to get his period, get pregnant, give birth, and take a 30% cut in pay.


  • Posted By: access3219 @ 03/01/2008 11:11:41 PM

    are you crazy...obama the first woman?
    If he is the first woman president, Obama needs to get his period, get pregnant, give birth, and take a 30% cut in pay.

  • Posted By: 7NoTrumpxx @ 03/01/2008 3:45:09 PM

    This is one of the most asinine things I have ever read. PLEASE. Now you want a black and a woman in the same body! Do you think that will ensure victory?

    Here's why I support Hillary Clinton, 100%. I know her.

    Here's why I do not support Barack Obama. I don't know him.

    By the way, did you know Ted Sorensen, JFK inspirational speechwriter (and the author of his book, "Profiles in Courage" is helping Obama with his speeches. One of Obama's main speechwriters worked with Sorensen on his memoirs, which will be published in May on his 80Th birthday, for the past 6 years. That is why many oldies say Obama "sounds like JFK." Actutally he sounds like Ted Sorensen.

    If Great Speech Making is the criterion for electing a President, we should elect Ted Sorensen, and he is only 6 years older than John McCain.

    Senator Kennedy encouraged Senator Obama to run when Senator Obama, himself, said only 3 years ago, when asked about running for National office, "You know, I am a believer in knowing what your're doing when you apply for a job. And I think that if I were to seriously consider running on a National ticket, I would essentially have to start now, before having served a day in the Senate (U.S. Senate). Now there are some people who ;might be comfortable doing that, but I'm not one of those people." He sure changed his mind after serving barely 2 years in the U.S. Senate.

    As far as those "racist" remarks by President Clinton, give me a break. They were NOT racist in any way. You have been listening to, too many talking heads. Look on youtube.com for "Clinto Jesse Jackson South Carolina" and you can see EXACTLY what President Clinton said, and in what context.

    He was asked by a "reporter," What does it say about Senator Obama that it takes TWO OF YOU to beat him?" After you see the video, I think you will agree that President Clinton's response to the impudent reporter was NOT racist in any way.

  • Posted By: goatherd @ 02/26/2008 7:26:37 PM

    I don't need to explain anything. People you be the judge. Do you want to be a laughing stock in the muslim world, that we have elected a muslim born as our President after fighting them for the last few years. I just cannot imagine all the American lives lost fighting muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq and Sept. 11. What about those sacrifices. YOU BE THE JUDGE! I feel cheated because I did not know his complete name and ended up voting for him. I am glad its not over yet.

    • Posted By: informedvoter @ 02/26/2008 7:43:18 PM

      First of all, we are not at war with Muslim, we are at war with extremists, All Muslims are no more terrorists than all Christians are terrorists(some churches are terrorist organizations on the FBI list). Secondly, Obama is a Christian, his name is simply a cultural tie to his father's birthplace. Claiming ignorance (not knowing his name) as a reason for not knowing the lie about his identity (also ignorance) is laughable.

      • Posted By: goatherd @ 02/26/2008 8:48:00 PM

        'cultural tie to his father's birthplace'
        You are saying that if a child is born to a Christian couple born and raised in say, Kenya, they would name the child Hussein, because they were born in a "Hussein" culture.
        What a bunch of crap.

        • Posted By: informedvoter @ 02/27/2008 9:15:15 AM

          There is no "hussein" culture. John or Patrick? or Joshua? Islam is not an evil religion, it is the 2nd largest religion on Earth, Jesus is a reIigious profit in Islam. Again, some churches are terrorist organizations as well. By the way, Barack's mother was from Kansas. To suggest that having his father's namesake implies anything other than that, is just plain bigotry.

          • Posted By: goatherd @ 02/27/2008 9:43:36 AM

            There you go side tracking again. I don't need lessons in how great Islam is. I have great respect for the religion. The issue here is if Obama is proud of his heritage that he can visit his Father's place, just say it. Take pride in it. Say he is proud of his heritage. But everytime I listen to him, its either my mother raised me and I have been a christian all along. If you are part Hussein, claim it and I will respect that. He claims he is part African, so whats wrong with claiming he is part Muslim by birth. After all, this is the election for the leader of the most powerful nation on earth we are talking about. I know more about my town mayor's heritage than Obama's.

            • Posted By: informedvoter @ 02/27/2008 5:13:59 PM

              Muslim, is not a culture, it's a religion. If his dad is a Muslim, he is not part Muslim. No more than you are part Christian just because you're parents or a parent were. No, you become a Christian at baptism. By the same token, he is not part Muslim, just because his father may have been. The point is you are trying to use that fact against him, in an act of fear mongering and bigotry.

              • Posted By: goatherd @ 02/27/2008 6:36:16 PM

                I may be just trying to get the facts straight. In your quest to support a candidate blindly, you probably concluded this as an act of bigotry.
                So agreed his father is a muslim. So my point is, as per you, one becomes a Christian at baptism. So between the time of birth to getting baptised, what are you? That was exactly my point. I am only saying that he was a Muslim at birth even though he is not one now. And my problem is not so much that he is a Muslim or not, but to claim that you have been raised Christian all along by your mother and then show up in Kenya to bond with his paternal roots??

                • Posted By: jaylove @ 02/27/2008 8:24:52 PM

                  When "goatherds" go to wherever goat herds come from to bond with goat herding culture - this is respected ( Remember, the Visa Ad with the father and son couple going to Norway to find their roots?) But blacks are forbidden to find cultural roots in Africa, or explore the religion of their father to further understand him? Get off it!!! NOT ONLY WHITE (EUROPEN) PEOPLE ARE ENTITLED TO SELF-DISCOVERY.

                  Funny, if he had gone to Germany and was wearing Lederhosen, drinking Hefeweizen and visiting Cathedrals, NONE of this would have been criticized. Finding out about Euriopean heritage would be acceptable, but what kind of treachery is running through his mind to want to discover African

                  heritage???!!!....Y'a;ll need to quit the IGNORANCE!!!

                  • Posted By: goatherd @ 02/27/2008 8:47:50 PM

                    There is nothing wrong with discovering your roots. You miss the point or you just want your ignorance to show. Acceptance of the roots is what is in question. Everybody is entitled to do whatever, but while discovering your roots at one end, you deny them consistently on the other.
                    There is no point discussing this issue since you guys are all so caught up in this "movement" crap and the rhetoric. Give it up!.

                    • Posted By: jaylove @ 02/27/2008 8:58:43 PM

                      I have never heard Barack Obama deny the white mother and the mid-western upbringing he had. He was so emersed in this, that is why he had to make intentional strides to discover the other side of his heritage. You only need to go looking for what you do not have... what you already have is a given!

                      • Posted By: goatherd @ 02/27/2008 9:09:53 PM

                        There was never a question of his maternal roots or his upbringing if you look at my my previous posts.

                        • Posted By: informedvoter @ 02/28/2008 9:56:17 AM

                          Well, actually that trip he made to Africa was on behalf of his duties as a US Senator. The fact that he happened to visit his Grandmother's village was more of a side note. And for the record MANY politicians wear the local clothing when they visit. The point here is that the picture was intended as a fear mongering exercise. I support Obama because he has the most extensive plans for my issues, they're online to see.

                          • Posted By: goatherd @ 02/28/2008 6:14:34 PM

                            WHATEVER!

                            Dee Dee Myers makes the most important point of all about Obama vs. Hillary: If a woman had the same amount of experience as Obama, she wouldn't even have been able to enter the primary race.

                            • Posted By: informedvoter @ 02/29/2008 8:52:48 PM

                              I agree that women have a harder time breaking in to politics, and I sympathize with her for that. However, You have now switched from palying fear and bigotry to playing gender. Neither should come into play here. I believe Obama is the correct candidate for the United States now.

                            • Posted By: informedvoter @ 02/29/2008 8:49:57 PM

                              Well, that is another point all together. I agree women have a harder time getting into politics. There is always the patriarchy factor. however, that does not change the fact that you were using bigotry before, and are now trying to play on gender. Both shouldn't be a factor in this race. I feel Obama is the correct choice for the the United States, now.

    • Posted By: ritz17 @ 02/27/2008 12:53:42 AM

      goatherd? Gosh, I don't know your full name. Should we judge you by your name? You're like a childish bully on the playground. How ridiculous. Grow up and get educated. You're probably not even old enough to vote, I sure hope not.

      • Posted By: goatherd @ 02/27/2008 9:25:01 AM

        ritz17, what sort of a come back is this. No substance. Is that all you got to say how ridiculous I am and grow up, etc. Nothing substantial just like your Messiah. I have laid out my argument clearly above and it is for people to judge and take a moment and think about it.

  • Posted By: experiencecounts @ 02/27/2008 1:52:13 AM

    Hillary won the debate with her poise and her knowledge of domestic and international policies, her insight into the economy and her vision of bringing American jobs back to America.

    I believe that Hillary is without a doubt the best candidate - her poise, brilliance, experience, feisty style, thorough knowledge of the major issues, and and her hard work ethic over the past 30 years show she is the best leader capable of unifying our country.

    As I watched tonight's debate from Ohio, I had a real serious concern about Obama's failure and refusal to answer the tough questions - what little there were of them. And his constant "parroting" of Hillary's views.

    I can see where Hillary is frustrated by the unfair press and I am sure she, like me, is frustrated that many Americans seem to be ok with sexist comments (constantly and repeatedly) by the media against her - and yet no one seems outraged.

    If these were racists remarks being made, the whole nation, including women, would be in an uproar.

    But my biggest concern was Obama's refusal to immediately distance himself from some one of reputable loyalty like Farrahkan. While I am all for freedom of speech and freedom of religion - Farrahkan's philosophy advocates for the oppression of women and the suppression of women's rights. So why aren't women, of all colors and creeds, outraged???

    The women of America (and hopefully the men too) should wake up and take notice before it's too late. Hillary has done more for women, and men, of all races and ethnicities, than any other candidate - bar none. and so we repay her brilliance, her hard work, her standing up for the poor, oppressed, working class and middle class by voting for a man who has shown us by his relationship with Farrahkan just what he thinks of women and their role in America?

    I know Texas will do the right thing and vote (twice) for Hillary!!!

    Carmen Zayas
    Cedar Park

    (512-748-1365 - cell phone # not for publication)

    • Posted By: mrsredd @ 02/29/2008 10:59:58 AM

      I am a female Dem. I voted for Clinton twice and was truly undecided for whom I would vote in this election. Bill Clinton helped me make up my mind with his racist remarks. After looking at both candidates acomplishments,and Bills remarks,I am voting for Barack in Texas twice.If the Clintons sue because of Texas caucas decision,if it does not favor her , then I will think of staying home in Nov.

    • Posted By: Braes @ 02/27/2008 9:56:45 AM

      Change that cell number Carmen, quick.

  • Posted By: ezskillz @ 02/29/2008 9:04:49 AM

    ARE YOU FOLLOWING THE ISSUES OR JUST LOOKING AT THE PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES OF THESE CANDIDATES? YOU SOUND VERY SILLY AND BIASED .. ARE YOU A FEMINIST WASP? I AM A IDEALIST TRINIDADIAN CITIZEN.

  • Posted By: josh62 @ 02/29/2008 7:06:03 AM

    The American Black community claims that they want to live in a society where discrimination doesn't exist, but they don't practice what they preach. when Obama continually pulls 90%+ of the black vote, it's obvious that most blacks are voting for a candidate because of skin color. Then ALL white/Hispanics and Latino vote for Clinton, she too WILL MAKE HISTORY for all woman of any color! Black men were given the vote a half-century before women of any race were allowed to mark a ballot, and generally have ascended to positions of power, from the military to the boardroom, before any women .Why is the sex barrier not taken as seriously as the racial one? Why is the black candidate given the continued media free pass and coronation and refusing to discuss his record. My family and friends have been following the 2008 Presidential election and feel overwhelming compelled to express our sadness, disgust witnessing the continued unfair disturbing treatment that Senator Clinton continually receives from men in the media. WE were frankly surprised to see how many men are threatened by Senator Clinton???s abilities, just read the articles. The daily gender discrimination and horrible names Senator Clinton is called, forced my family and friends to research candidates like obama ourselves since the media is no longer fair and unbiased. A black man has a better chance in this country than a white woman. It???s a shame that media keeps the race issue going in an attempt to disguise their gender discrimination against smart educated and powerful women. WE are tired of the race card that the media is creating and pushing in the face of voters. The media has dropped the ball. We the viewers and most importantly the VOTERS looked to news stations and newspapers for unbiased FACTS about ALL the presidential candidates to assist voters on making a wise and educated decision on who will run our country. Unfortunately you prove daily/hourly that your biased and often racial tabloid news It???s a disservice to our great country that you attack and discriminate a white female Senator and Former two term First lady who has done a great deal of good in 35 years of political service to our country that is dismissed and ignored for fear of upsetting a black candidate and his racial supporters. You should be ATLEAST reporting the differences and giving obama the same microscopic personal attacks that you continue to do to a white female United States Senator. You have no credibility in reporting the news. If we wanted this type of so-called news, we can buy the National Enquire. Women in this country should stand up and not be bullied by these men who do all they can to keep women underpaid and treated unfairly.

  • Posted By: Grandma B @ 02/29/2008 6:51:53 AM

    Love it. Neither male nor female. Neither Dem. nor Rep. Neither black nor white. Votes neither for nor against. Yeh! he needs his finger on the red button.

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