There is a double standard in writing about the politics of gender. A man has to be oh-so careful not to offend while female writers can tramp so carelessly on men. And today, we are supposed to commiserate with the female politicos still drowning their sorrows in gin fizzes over Hillary Clinton’s loss.
Face facts folks; Clinton lost because her brain trust could never figure out how to respond to Trump. They were a great political team trying to figure out how to deal with a totally irresponsible and apolitical opponent. Trump could say anything he wanted and did not care. Clinton was restricted within the bonds of political hyperbole.
Women seem to think that they should come on stronger than a man to win. They really do not have to do that. It only shows insecurity. Any individual, man or woman, has to play in their own playpen. You have to deal with the familiar and be yourself. One of the reasons that Clinton’s polls were up was that she had the experience to win the televised debates. It brought up her confidence and she thought she just had to stay strong through to November.
Her obvious problem down to the wire was that she let Trump continue to disrespect her. She seemed to think of her pantsuits as her armour. They did not protect her. Trump’s streams of lies about her stuck to her while a woman in more feminine attire would have had more protection. It would have allowed her to be more combative and to put the beast in his place.
Clinton made much of the so-called glass ceiling in her speeches. The reality in North American politics is that there is no ceiling, glass or otherwise.
Having worked with many politicians—male and female—over the years, you realize there is little difference to the voters.
The reality in 2016 in the United States was that Bernie Sanders would have defeated Donald Trump, given the chance. It was a year for radicalism, it was a year of tumult. There was an anger that needed to be addressed and the need for change was felt if not understood.
Hillary Clinton was caught in the maw of the machine. She had worked for her opening since the early 1990s. It never was the year of any ceiling being fractured. It was a year for the system to fail.
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Copyright 2016 © Peter Lowry
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