The Pursuit of Power Isn’t Pretty

Such labels reflected a longstanding inability to imagine women wielding power—their ambition cast as an ugly trait, their exercise of authority as bizarrely forceful, their tenacity as a sign of psychological concern.

Much has changed in the three decades since Thatcher was first elected. Today, more than 50 women have been elected prime ministers and heads of state, from Chile's Michelle Bachelet to Germany's Angela Merkel. We know women can be tough leaders, but from the late 1980s, disillusioned voters began to demand something different—being female was seen as an asset by those who wanted women to prove they could change politics. Ironically, Clinton, as part of the establishment, has been trumped by her younger, fresher opponent on this front—his style is frequently described as feminine.

Clinton has not had to prove that she is made of steel. Her self-styled Boadicea—bespectacled, hovering by the phone at 3 a.m. in her most recent advertisement—is an awkward creation: happy to warmonger like a good Iron Lady but discredited for backing the wrong war. She had to prove, like Thatcher did when she posed in her lacy cap, that she was real so that women could identify with her. Others helped when they argued she was being put down by men. For what unites women most of all is seeing one of their own being belittled.

Claims to female superiority (We are more honest! Kinder! Calmer!) are a little embarrassing and retro in today's climate.

But if Clinton is to benefit from Tina Fey's almost Iron Lady claim that "Bitches get stuff done," perhaps she should also recall the words of Thatcher: "It may be the cock that crows," she said. "But it's the hen that lays the eggs."

© 2008