The next question is whether Hillary Clinton can get a large share of the famine vote. There has not been a credible female candidate for the presidency since …well since forever. Each year has seen its batch of hopefuls even as recently as 2004’s attempt by Carol Mosely Braun – the first black female senator. But whether or not there has ever been a credible challenge is another question altogether.
Has Hillary Clinton ever projected herself as a feminist? I really don’t remember. Surely she has a lot of firsts attributed to her name, however those may have very little to do with her feminism and more to do with the fact that she was wife to former president Bill Clinton. Without a doubt she must have her own feminist supporters and those who are willing to wear a Hillary Clinton t-shirt, but is it about Hillary or the idea of Hillary?
And that’s the thing isn’t it? Can someone who is not considered to be a feminist trailblazer cash in on the title of feminist pioneer when it’s most needed? Clinton was the first First Lady to hold a post-graduate degree and to have her own professional career. She was elected to the United States Senate in 2000, becoming the first First Lady elected to public office and the first female senator to represent New York. As senator, she sits on the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the Special Committee on Aging.
Her being elected to the United States Senate is not something that should be too-readily dismissed. It’s a major feat in itself to be elected to any office. By the way, has any other First Lady ever sought public office before Clinton? (I do think now that she may have opened the floodgates for other public hopefuls, but don’t expect to see Laura Bush on a campaign trail any time soon.)
The truth is that I think voters voted for Bill Clinton again rather than his wife. I think hardly anyone voted for Mrs. Clinton Herself. So did she actually “win” the senate seat? Is she a feminist blazer or a coattail-hanger hanging from the coattails of one of the most famous men in the world?
Whatever she or supporters consider her to be, it’ll be interesting to see how she ties in the title of feminist into her campaign as time unfolds.
