Maureen Dowd: ¿Quién Es Less Macho?

[babylonsister]

Edited for comprehension/flow.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/opinion/24dowd.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

¿Quién Es Less Macho?


By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: February 24, 2008


If this is truly the Decline and Fall of the Clinton Empire, it is marked by one freaky stroke of bad luck and one striking historical irony.

How likely is it that a woman who finally unfetters herself from one superstar then finds herself eclipsed by another?

And when historians trace how her inevitability dissolved, they will surely note this paradox: The first serious female candidate for president was rejected by voters drawn to the more feminine management style of her male rival.

The bullying and bellicosity of the Bush administration have left many Americans exhausted and yearning for a more nurturing and inclusive style.

Sixteen years of politicians in Washington clashing in epic if not always essential battle through culture wars, the right-wing war against the Clintons, the war-without-end on terror, and the war-with-no-end-in-sight in Iraq have spawned a desire for peace and pragmatism.

Hillary was so busy trying to prove she could be one of the boys — getting on the Armed Services Committee, voting to let W. go to war in Iraq, strong-arming supporters and donors, and trying to out-macho Obama — that she only belatedly realized that many Democratic and independent voters, especially women, were eager to move from hard-power locker-room tactics to a soft-power sewing circle approach.

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/opinion/24dowd.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

[Sadie5]

1. Just a question here

Obama and his gang do not eat? How silly of me, of course they don't...they are above the rest of us.

[Cha]

3. hilary supporters eat red herrings for

breakfast, lunch, AND supper.

[sandnsea]

4. I saw Obama in Portland OR

The backdrop was a huge American Flag. One of the least decorated political events I've ever seen. And I paid $25 to get in. They did, however, have a computerized entry system and everyone's name in a database. They spent their money wisely.

[BuyingThyme]

5. I know they get paid, so they're probably able to buy their own food.

The people who work for Hillary don't get paid.

[babylonsister]

6. Did that really go totally over your head? Her campaign finances

are in a shambles and those are some of the reasons why. Even her thinking supporters and donors are rightfully annoyed:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=108x126079

[Johnny__Motown]

10. umm.... good one I guess. You got us there. You should be one of Hillary's advisers.

Wow, I guess Hillary isn't the only one in meltdown. Excuse me while I go make myself a sandwich.

[LadyVT]

2. Maureen Dowd has written dozens (hundreds?) of anti-Clinton articles

[Drunken Irishman]

9. And this is why Clinton is losing.

They ignore the real problems with this campaign. The issues that have plagued it since Day One and now that people are actually discussing those problems, Clinton still ignores them!

The Clinton campaign may be one of the most mismanaged campaigns in modern American political history. This would be comparable to Bill Clinton losing the Democratic nomination in 1996 and frankly, Clinton supporters and her campaign tend to ignore these problems. Which ultimately leads them down the same path of failure, amazing, isn't it? I mean, didn't they learn anything from Wisconsin and how going ultra-negative can only hurt you? Wisconsin was supposed to be a close contest, with Obama maybe winning by only 7-8 points AT MOST and instead it turned into a blowout. Why? Because Wisconsin voters turned against the Clinton negative attacks and they'll do the same in Ohio and Texas. You'd think they would learn, but they don't.

Oh well.

[Johnny__Motown]

11. Even more anti-Bush articles, so what is your point?

[babylonsister]

12. And Krugman writes anti-Obama articles ad nauseum; your point? nt

[NastyRiffraff]

7. Dowdy is obsessed with the "Macho" theme

Always has been. She's not exactly kind to Obama in this piece, either:

At the University of Texas on Thursday morning, Obama proved that he was not a cowboy in overdrive like W. when he demurred at throwing a spiral because his pass might not be as good as the Longhorn stars’.

After so many years when W. and Cheney stomped on the world and the world glared back, many Americans would like to see their government focus more on those staples of female fiction: relationships and conversation.

At first in Austin, Hillary did not channel Jane Austen. She tried once more to cast Obama as a weak sister on his willingness to talk to Raúl Castro.

Obama tapped into his inner chick and turned the other cheek. To cheers, he said, “I think that it’s important for us, in undoing the damage that has been done over the last seven years, for the president to be willing to take that extra step.” (emphasis mine)

[Cha]

8. hilary getting it served up hot!

"Hillary was so busy trying to prove she could be one of the boys — getting on the Armed Services Committee, voting to let W. go to war in Iraq, strong-arming supporters and donors, and trying to out-macho Obama — that she only belatedly realized that many Democratic and independent voters, especially women, were eager to move from hard-power locker-room tactics to a soft-power sewing circle approach."

[Swamp Rat]

13. ¿Dónda está Mandy Grunwald?

Mandy Grunwald promoted the nurturing, maternal side of Hillary Clinton with great success.

It makes no sense for Hillary become even more aggressive because that tactic has not worked for her.

It's as if she has her fingers in a chinese finger puzzle, and Mark Penn is yelling in her ear, "pull harder Hillary!!"

[babylonsister]

16. Makes me scratch my head also, Swampie.

And HOW ARE YOU? Long time, no see! :hug:

[Swamp Rat]

20. I'm ok

:hug: My dog died yesterday, so I'm very sad. He was with me for 16 years. :cry:

I am finding it hard to concentrate on my studies at the moment. :(

[babylonsister]

22. Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that!

:cry: :hug: I hope you get a break from your studies soon so you can go distract yourself with something fun. :pals:

[ruggerson]

14. Dowd is setting herself up to start bashing Obama as the "feminine" candidate

as opposed to McCain's "macho" candidate.

Watch and see.

[babylonsister]

15. Possibly, but Dowd does make sense. Why Clinton couldn't just

be herself is a puzzlement to me; either she has a personality her handlers were afraid we'd see, or she's been handled poorly.

[LadyVT]

17. You bet. This is what she does and has done. This is who she is.

[Big Blue Marble]

18. Gee unless her premise is right

and the voters actually are tiring of macho men like Bush and McCain as well as macho women like Hillary.

Then Obama will actually win. And we all will win.

That is a major irony of this campaign. Hillary modeled herself after the most macho woman leader
Margaret Thatcher. Only wait, that was what voters wanted in the 90's.

Her male opponent speaks to longing for inclusive politics based on optimism. He sees
strength not in force but in unity. He speaks to values that have been suppressed in
our political dialogue ever since Reagan took the stage with his macho individualism.
The feminine principle has re-entered the political stage. And that principle has
been reintroduced by a man. How Ironic.

[tishaLA]

19. She already calls him "Obambi"

and has made comments similar to those she made about Gore and Kerry. I expect no less from her.

[calmblueocean]

21. EXACTLY. Anyone who knows Dowd's MO remembers how she did this to Gore in 2000.

Dowd plays this attack on every Dem candidate in one way or another. Here's a piece from the Daily Howler all about it.

http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh020806.shtml

[DemocratSinceBirth]

25. I Read The Article As I Was Sweating Away The Pounds On A Treadmill at Ballys

It didn't seem laudatory of Obama but I'm not one of those Upper East Side intellectuals...

[blogslut]

23. Meh

Mo lost me with the "sewing circle" jab. I read most of the rest. Apparently, Maureen Dowd thinks Obama campaigns like a girl.


Maureen Downer Dowd - bored with everything and totally doesn't get Laurie Anderson.

[bigtree]

24. I'm starting to think Dowd is really a man.

[GoldieAZ49]

26. soft-power sewing circle approach

not what I see winning in the middle of a war, she is no fan of Obama's