Misogyny Mythology

If you ever want to torture yourself, and go back and read my columns, you will find that very early on I decried gender discrimination against Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Actually, I wrote about that several times. I can honestly say that I was anti-political misogyny before anti-political misogyny was cool.

Why, you ask, does it matter? Here’s why, I answer: I think I’ve demonstrated my agreement with those who believe candidate Clinton was sometimes treated unfairly because she was a woman … in ways both brutish and insidiously subtle.

Having said that, I don’t believe for a minute that is why she lost the nomination battle. She lost because she wasn’t a great candidate. More often than not came across as contrived, the poll-driven daily creation of her campaign staff.

She also lost, in large measure, because of that staff. HillaryLand, as I’ve also written, many times, was ripped apart by infighting and ineptitude … populated by so many who had their own agendas instead of hers.

She lost because she couldn’t control them, or her husband, who constantly embarrassed her.

All this matters because a president must demonstrate an ability to manage a far-flung administration. She couldn’t even do so with her own peeps.

So yes. Let’s look long and hard at the examples of anti-female bias and let’s do what it takes to get rid of it. Let’s stop laughing at those who make jokes of it and work at getting rid of what is probably our deepest-seated bigotry of all — sexual prejudice.

It’ll probably be a good idea, as Barack campaigns this week — with Hillary for the first time — that he refrain from calling her “Sweetie.”

He’ll simply need to break that habit as he tries to win the hearts and, more importantly, the minds of women who have had it with second-class citizenship.

But let’s not confuse that with why she lost to Barack Obama. Obama ran a brilliant effort. Hers was far from brilliant, to say the least. How, for instance, could any organization waste so much money that it is still groveling to pay off millions in debt?

Even so, Hillary Clinton ran a hard race and won the votes of millions — and not just women and those prejudiced against African-Americans. She certainly paved the way for a woman to become president … maybe her. As long as she runs a better campaign.