Ada Calhoun of Nerve has an interesting little piece comparing the Clinton and Obama marriages. It is usually annoying when people analyze the Clintons' relationship from afar, mostly because of the sexism involved and also because of how speculative the endeavor is, but I like this piece. First of all, it's sympathetic and equal-opportunity, and also because it actually has something interesting to say. I quote:
"[The Clintons] have an absolutely typical Boomer union, a rickety first-generation prototype of the modern marriage. They were early adopters of this "equal partnership" thing, so while they deserve all credit for having pioneered, their marriage is the romantic equivalent of the Apple IIe."
Whearas, according to Calhoun, the Obamas represent the future of equal-partner marriage. The comparison isn't actually a good one, because whether or not Michelle supports Barack is very different than whether or not Bill supports Hillary--a political wife, no matter how independent, is expected to support her candidate husband. There's nothing new there. Still, I appreciate the possible insight into Billary--that he would want to support her, that he would know all the theory, but that he's still a man of his time. And I like that someone believes they actually love each other.
And if she's right about the Obamas, that's encouraging for the rest of us.
[Insert stuff here about how much better my dad is than Bill--my mom likes to say "he's more a feminist than I am." But on the other hand he's about 3 years too old to technically be a Baby Boomer, so maybe that comparison doesn't work either.]
Monday, February 4, 2008
Modern Love: The Beta Version
Monday, January 7, 2008
Political Quote Of The Day
"I know I've been campaigning too much because I was at a rally and instead of saying 'The time for change has come' I said 'The time for come has changed.' And I have to admit, everybody clapped."
-- Obama in a New Hampshire speech.
Via Jezebel.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Call Me Aunt Tom?
I used to love Hillary Clinton. Loved her like Michael Moore loved her. When she ran for Senate, I was thrilled. I was pink with pride over having the best pair o' Senators in the nation: Chuck and Hill.
But President Hillary Clinton? Not so much.
So, when did the switch happen? I'm not sure. But I find I do not trust her on domestic issues like gay marriage and civil liberties. Except that I of course DO trust her on the subject of reproductive rights, which I only realized JUST NOW, and that's obviously not a small thing for me and I'm suddenly forgetting the other things I don't trust her on so what gives? Michelle Obama has said that her husband doesn't poll well among African Americans because black people have internalized racist ideas about who our leaders should be. Is that what I'm doing? Why do I find myself pulled towards both Obama and Edwards? In 2004, I called Edwards a mimbo! I started a Facebook group about Obama's lack of experience! Do I really think Clinton's Supreme Court nominees would be any less liberal than Obama's? Don't I trust her most to follow through on issues regarding contraceptives and sex-ed, while Obama and Edwards could well get away with lip-service?
So now I fear that I've just internalized the idea that Presidents are Men. I know liking Obama over Clinton is the hip thing to do, but when all we really care about is beating the Republicans, it's hard to sort things out. All I know is, I saw this post on Hillary's possibly floundering campaign, felt myself cheered by it, and now all of a sudden I can't quite remember why. Good thing I live in a state where primaries don't matter!
Posts
