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Comments

• [1] Juliet Sternberg from Brooklyn May 09, 2007 - 12:50PM

  Hi Brian,

  I was really struck by the parallels between your interview with Leslie Bennetts and then this interview and analysis about Hillary: Wasn't some of what Bennetts' was saying that women are complex human beings with many roles? this being especially true of women who decide to have careers while raising children and doing domestic things. Why then do we have to simplify our politicians, and perhaps especially our female politicians into such simplistic categories and can't accept them for being complex people? Hillary IS a working woman, she IS a mother, and if she wants to bake cookies in her spare time, then so be it. most of my friends are fairly high powered career women, and many of them enjoy baking, gardening, knitting etc. It doesn't make them less high powered--it probably in fact helps ease the stress of living a complex life.

  I guess what I'm trying to say is Hillary, or her handlers, or perhaps the media, seem to be trying desperately to categorize her into something that the perceived "public" will find acceptable, which seems only to be narrowing her intelligence, her complexity, and personality. Why is that? Do they do that with male politicians?

  Related to this (and sorry to go on): why oh why oh why are Democrats unable to reverse this pejorative flip-flop thing into something positive-- that as intelligent people, we are capable of learning about issues and, as we gain more information, changing our positions. Why is this such a bad thing? I am not naive enough to thing that there aren't some manipulative qualities about changing positions, but in general, if they can explain themselves as to their changed opinions, it makes me respect a politician more not less!

  thanks as always for the excellent and provocative work,

  Juliet Sternberg, LMSW