Sunday, March 02, 2008

With supporters like Gloria Steinem, Hillary Clinton doesn't need enemies.

Gloria Steinem defends Hillary in a speech and manages to not totally damage Hillary's campaign:
And she [Steinem] claimed that if Clinton’s experience as First Lady were taken seriously in relation to her [Clinton's] White House bid, people might “finally admit that, say, being a secretary is the best way to learn your boss’s job and take it over.”
The White House secretary who spent the most time learning the boss's job during the 90s was named Monica, not Hillary.

Steinem also decided to do a little swiftboating of John McCain along the way:
Steinem raised McCain’s Vietnam imprisonment as she sought to highlight an alleged gender-based media bias against Clinton.

“Suppose John McCain had been Joan McCain and Joan McCain had got captured, shot down and been a POW for eight years. [The media would ask], ‘What did you do wrong to get captured? What terrible things did you do while you were there as a captive for eight years?’” Steinem said, to laughter from the audience.

McCain was, in fact, a prisoner of war for around five-and-a-half years, during which time he was tortured repeatedly. Referring to his time in captivity, Steinem said with bewilderment, “I mean, hello? This is supposed to be a qualification to be president? I don’t think so.”
Steinem is correct that a Joan McCain would have gotten exactly this sort of treatment from liberals. If LBJ or Nixon had decided to use the "Joan McCain story" of captivity and torture to build up support for the war, liberals everywhere would have simply concluded that Joan McCain's reputation must be destroyed. Perhaps if Joan McCain had actually collaborated with the North Vietnamese while fashioning herself as a standing rebuke to her own government, then maybe she would be getting the "Do you prefer diamonds or pearls?" treatment that Hillary Clinton prefers to receive from the media.

Also, successfully defending the honor of the United States of America while suffering extreme mental and physical persecution is a qualification to be president. The presidency can put a level of pressure on the person holding the office that is probably beyond what most people experience in their lives. That John McCain has proven beyond a doubt that he can keep his good judgement and values under high-pressure conditions is, in my view, undoubtedly a strong recommendation for his candidacy.

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