Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton, and 18 Million Cracks

Dear Lucia,

You don't know it yet, but you were born in one of the most significant years in our country's political history. For the first time ever, women have been a major part of the race for the presidency. Whether or not it happens in this year's election, it seems more than likely that a woman will be in the White House some time during your lifetime. Sadly, this has never happened before, but it could happen soon.

Hillary Clinton nearly became the first female nominee of a major party. She was narrowly defeated by Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination. More importantly, she earned more votes than any other runner-up in such a race. 18 million people actually voted for a woman for president. It was a tremendous accomplishment considering that there has never been a woman president or vice-president in our history. Clinton referred to the mark as 18 million metaphorical cracks in the glass ceiling that keeps women from getting on top of corporate or political ladders.

Even though Clinton did not break all the way through that ceiling, the Republican party has placed a woman on their ticket in the VP slot. Sarah Palin, the governor or Alaska, was chosen as John McCain's running mate. With this ticket, there is a guarantee of a first for the administration of our country. Either Barack Obama will become the first African-American president or Palin will become the first woman VP.

The only problem with all this is that Sarah Palin is nothing like Hillary Clinton. Clinton has actually fought for issues such as equal pay for women, while Palin has continually taken anti-feminist positions on women's issues. The sense is that McCain chose Palin more so because of her gender (and ultra-right-winged political stance), not her experience or know-how. It's actually more insulting to women to choose Palin for such political reasons. Palin is not qualified; Clinton was. Of course, we've had a male "president" for eight years that was seriously unqualified (see George W Bush), so why not have a unqualified woman?

The interesting development in this election is the attention paid to sexism. I fear that you will one day suffer from sexism, but hopefully the current dialogue will lessen that blow. When Clinton was still in the running, she was chastised for being too uppity or aggressive. She was criticized for not being feminine enough. (Whatever that means.) Now, Palin is receiving a lot of scrutiny for her appearance. No one wants to discuss the issues surrounding Palin, just her past as a beauty queen and hockey mom.

In all of this sexist political banter, the issues are lost. Forgotten is the political tenacity Hillary Clinton brought to the campaign in gaining 18 million supporters. Lost is that fact that Sarah Palin knows nothing of the Bush Doctrine and thinks foreign diplomacy means that you can see Russia from your porch. No one talks about the leadership Clinton has shown in her time as Senator. No one mentions that Palin is involved in ethics violations as governor. The only detail about these two politicians that matters is their gender.

My hope is that you will never be limited to your sex or gender (because they are two different things - more on that later). It's wonderful that you were born as a girl, and it will be wonderful whatever you decide to do with your life. I just don't want you to be pigeon-holed by some silly social construct. I want people to know Lucia for Lucia, because that will be good enough.

Love,

Dad