Coming to Respect Hillary and 3 Questions for Her Most Ardent Supporters

I won't lie.  At the beginning of this process, I did not have a very favorable opinion of Hillary Clinton.  I thought she was manipulative, triangulating, and dishonest, and I was deeply suspicious of both her relationship to Bill, and the influence of the man himself.  And I won't say that my opinions of Hillary's underlying personality have changed much, but what I did not know then and what I do know now is that she is an unbelievably tenacious political opponent.  She is tireless, stubborn, immensely hard-working, incredibly intelligent, combative, and fearless.  So, in something of a reversal of many people on this site who started with a favorable opinion of Hillary and have seen that admiration vanish as the campaign rolls on, I've come to respect Hillary Clinton.  Her abrasive personality still offends my benign Midwestern sensibilities, but I don't have to like her to respect her.  And I've come to understand, to a much greater degree, the difficulties that successful women have faced in achieving success and why they see those struggles being repeated in this race.

I have read elsewhere (and find intriguing the idea) that the tragedy of Hillary Clinton is that she learned how to finally transcend the barriers preventing a woman from achieving power by adopting and perfecting the attributes of successful men.  In order to work with the big boys, she had to be smarter and more knowledgeable than they were, more aggressive, more stubborn, more fearless - essentially, to a degree, more masculine.  Yet in this election that is not want we want.  After George Bush and his cowboy diplomacy, his prideful swagger, his obtuse stubbornness, America is looking for a leader with a more typically "feminine" style of leadership - one that is inclusive, approachable, and relies on consensus rather than decree to set and implement an agenda.  In the past, an executive would not succeed without adopting more masculine characteristics - in this election, however, it is a liability.

I have also come to the understanding that many women see a rejection of Hillary as a rejection of female leadership.  I feel like I'm beginning to understand this - to a point.  I understand that in the 60s and 70s (and before - and after) it was incredibly difficult for women to be accepted to the best universities, to graduate and be offered high-paying jobs, that at every step of the way up the corporate ladder, women had to work harder than men.  And so those struggles have left in them a deep distrust of the machinations of not only our society as a whole but specifically of young, intelligent men who achieve success early and easily.  I can understand then why someone like Obama is reviled as he is - it is not, from my vantage point, that they particularly dislike Obama, but rather that Obama is a reminder of the struggles of women who work their entire lives to get to the top, only to fall short and see their promotion go to a young and talented man.  Of course, this is an incomplete analogy (and one I fundamentally disagree with in regards to this election) but I understand that this is how the race appears to many people and so I can see why there may be animosity toward Obama and his supporters.

Which ultimately leads me to three questions I have for Hillary supporters that I can't wrap my head around.

1. Why Hillary as an icon for feminism and female power?

This one perplexes me.  It seems to me that many other women have played the political game with a lot more integrity and a lot harder than Hillary, and have even achieved much more success.  I've heard people say even that when she came to the White House in 1992, they wanted her to run for President because she seemed so smart and that they would have voted for her then (even though she'd never been elected to office).  If I'm being cynical, I'd say that it is because it is Hillary herself who repeatedly and publicly declares herself the shining beacon of female empowerment and success.  The fact is, I hear very few people talk about Shirley Chisholm or Carol Mosley-Braun in the same way they talk about Hillary, nor have I heard much credit given to the fact that 22 states have had female governors at some time, and that there are currently 8 female governors.  In fact, there is an animosity to many of the women who are not supporting Hillary - an extreme dislike of Pelosi in particular.  Which leads me to question two....

2. If Obama picks a woman for VP who is not Hillary, how would you feel?

If you claim, as some have, that Hillary is losing because of the misogyny of the media and the Obama campaign, then one would think her supporters would be thrilled that a woman, like Sebelius or Napolitano, should be picked to be the second in line for the presidency and obvious front runner for President in eight years.  Yet I feel like if Hillary is not the one chosen for VP, then it is still a betrayal.  Again, I get the sense that it is Hillary or nobody, and that is what I do not understand.  And finally...

3. How will you feel when Hillary starts campaigning for Obama?

I know many Obama supporters on this site have said that they would "lose all respect" for Obama were he to concede or give up before the convention or lose at the convention and then go on to endorse Hillary and campaign with her and support her in her bid for the presidency.  So, after the all acrimony and all of the "I'm staying home in November," would you lose respect for Hillary if she came out, in a month or so, and said that she is going to work hard to get Barack Obama elected to office?  Will you see that as giving up or just something that she needs to do out of political necessity?  Because frankly I see that day coming and I see a lot of die-hard Hillary supporters who are going to be let down that Hillary is no longer fighting against Obama but is fighting for Obama.

Now, I know that these questions may seem presumptuous and that answering the queries of a random stranger on the internet is presumably not the most exciting way to spend your day, but these are genuine and sincere questions.  If you have the time, I would greatly appreciate genuine and sincere answers.  And please no stupid anti-Hillary bullshit in the comments, either, though I know it's coming.  I personally have no acrimony or animosity for Hillary and her supporters, so please keep that out of the comments if you can.  And thanks for reading.