When Hillary Clinton lost to Barack Obama in 2008, the idea of a women’s first goal was trumped by the appeal of electing the first black president. She was a senator at the time and did not want to emphasize the differences between men and women in their approach to policymaking.
This time around, you’ll hear Clinton apply the word “grandma” frequently in her speeches, even as she has to deal with how much older she is than younger GOP candidates. The mere appearance of Senator Marco Rubio, 44 (the same age as John F. Kennedy was when elected in 1960) underscores how Clinton, at 67, seems so yesterday and yet he is the future. Clinton has no choice but to acknowledge her age as experience and emphasize the homely virtues that come with being a “grandmother.”
“I may not be the youngest candidate in this race,” Clinton repeated more than once. “But I will be the youngest female president in the history of the United States. And the first grandmother.” Joking that her hair doesn’t turn gray in the office because she dyes it has little appeal, especially to millennial voters who grew up with purple and orange hair expressing defiant independence.
Moreover, the concept of the “first woman” in the Oval Office no longer has the impact it once had. Women are “leaning in” in many different leadership positions. They constitute the majority in leading professional schools of law and medicine. Last week, two women broke through the physical barriers of competition by completing exacting training at the U.S. Army Ranger School and being certified to meet the same standards as men. Clinton no doubt once thought that her tenure as Secretary of State would neutralize the gender issue and neutralize her lack of strategic military experience. Her stumble in Benghazi fixed that problem, although not in the way she wanted.
Carly Fiorina, a former CEO of a major technology corporation and one of the people seeking the Republican nomination, told NBC’s Chuck Todd that she was grateful to Clinton for breaking the ice for women but didn’t give her anything more. She insisted she was untrustworthy: “Benghazi, her emails, her server.” The ice melted, creating puddles around her feet.
Early 20th century feminists extolled their moral superiority over men, but that’s not an argument Clinton can apply. Her greatest strength is intelligence, but she stereotypically seemed ditzy when reporters asked if she had wiped her server and she replied that she didn’t know what that meant. – Like a rag or something? She was just a little lady who had no idea about men’s things. “I don’t know how it works digitally at all.” Given her reputation for attention to detail, this wasn’t the time to be cute. Maybe she doesn’t know how “secret” and “top secret” works either.
The former first lady, former New York senator and former secretary of state, however, has historic appeal as the future first female president — or FWP, as her fans tweet. She’s been in the spotlight on stage for so long that her “first woman” ambitions have been overshadowed by a short-circuit of trust.
Vice President Joe Biden, reading her decline in support like tea leaves, probably cannot resist the temptation to get on the Democratic ticket. He has his baggage and at the age of 73 (in November) he won’t look so slim and lithe compared to one of these youthful Republicans. With Donald Trump sucking the oxygen out of the room, if not the house, it’s tough to see either the Donald or the Stone Lady dominating either convention.
Marco Rubio and John Kasich continued to make positive waves, if not yet waves. The Florida senator sounds real as the son of hard-working legal immigrants from Cuba, a sturdy counterweight to Donald’s vicious attacks on “birthright citizens.” Ohio’s governor, a “compassionate conservative,” shies away from that awkward label, tells The New York Times that he has no intention of changing his strategy toward Trump. “Pandering is the worst thing you can do in politics,” he said. He prefers to talk about America’s responsibility towards those who remain in the shadows – mentally ill people, disabled people and minorities fighting to realize their dreams. The American miracle, he said, as if echoing Ronald Reagan, “is not just about a few.”
These men are broadening their conservative message while Clinton is narrowing her liberal one. Is anyone listening? It’s too early to know. The campaign, which has not yet started, is still gaining momentum.
Write to Suzanne Fields at suzannefields2000@gmail.com. Suzanne Fields is currently working on a book that will be a re-imagining of John Milton’s Paradise Lost. To learn more about Suzanne Fields and read her previous articles, visit the Creators website at www.creators.com.
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