May 30, 2008 11:11 AM
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Sexism Questions Linger For Democrats
"How much anger is there among women about how Hillary Clinton has been treated during this campaign?," E. J. Dionne Jr. asks in his Washington Post column today. "Some of the nation's leading female politicians will tell you: quite a lot."
Perhaps the most voluble of the lot is former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, who offers up an op-ed in the Boston Globe this morning that references "Democrats' sexism" right in the headline.
"... neither the Barack Obama campaign nor the media seem to understand what is at the heart of the anger on the part of women who feel that Hillary Clinton was treated unfairly because she is a woman," Ferraro writes, adding: "We feel that if society can allow sexism to impact a woman's candidacy to deny her the presidency, it sends a direct signal that sexism is OK in all of society."
Ferraro resigned from her fundraising position with the Clinton campaign in March after suggesting that Obama would not have gotten as far is he did in hte presidential race if not for his race.
"Since March, when I was accused of being racist for a statement I made about the influence of blacks on Obama's historic campaign, people have been stopping me to express a common sentiment: If you're white you can't open your mouth without being accused of being racist," Ferraro writes in the op-ed. "They see Obama's playing the race card throughout the campaign and no one calling him for it as frightening."
Dionne writes that the female politicians he spoke to "know that Clinton is on the verge of defeat because of her campaign's organizational mistakes, its failure to take Obama seriously early on and the difficulties created by her husband's presence." But, he suggests, many take what they see as Clinton's unfair treatment personally.
"It's a campaign, someone wins, someone doesn't win, that's life," Maryland's treasurer Nancy Kopp told him. "But women don't want to be totally dissed."
Perhaps the most voluble of the lot is former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, who offers up an op-ed in the Boston Globe this morning that references "Democrats' sexism" right in the headline.
"... neither the Barack Obama campaign nor the media seem to understand what is at the heart of the anger on the part of women who feel that Hillary Clinton was treated unfairly because she is a woman," Ferraro writes, adding: "We feel that if society can allow sexism to impact a woman's candidacy to deny her the presidency, it sends a direct signal that sexism is OK in all of society."
Ferraro resigned from her fundraising position with the Clinton campaign in March after suggesting that Obama would not have gotten as far is he did in hte presidential race if not for his race.
"Since March, when I was accused of being racist for a statement I made about the influence of blacks on Obama's historic campaign, people have been stopping me to express a common sentiment: If you're white you can't open your mouth without being accused of being racist," Ferraro writes in the op-ed. "They see Obama's playing the race card throughout the campaign and no one calling him for it as frightening."
Dionne writes that the female politicians he spoke to "know that Clinton is on the verge of defeat because of her campaign's organizational mistakes, its failure to take Obama seriously early on and the difficulties created by her husband's presence." But, he suggests, many take what they see as Clinton's unfair treatment personally.
"It's a campaign, someone wins, someone doesn't win, that's life," Maryland's treasurer Nancy Kopp told him. "But women don't want to be totally dissed."
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Brian Montopoli Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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