Starting Gate: Was Ferraro (Sort Of) Right?
Nobody watching the events of the past week could possibly come to the conclusion that Barack Obama is “lucky” to be a black man running for president. He is getting mostly glowing reviews for his speech addressing race in America but the very tangle of attitudes he described in Philadelphia yesterday only serve to underscore the challenge he faces in winning the White House.
But underneath Geraldine Ferraro’s insistence that Obama was getting something of a free ride because of his historic candidacy was equal frustration at how the woman she supports has struggled with her own barrier-breaking campaign.
And she appears to have company in that view. According to a new CBS News poll, voters see gender as more of a barrier in presidential politics than race. Thirty nine percent of registered voters said a woman faces more obstacles in a presidential race while 33 percent said a black candidate does. More to the point, 42 percent of voters said they felt Hillary Clinton has been treated more harshly because of her gender while just 27 percent felt Obama has been treated more harshly because of his race.
When it comes to judging perceptions of attitudes, voters say more people they know would be likely to vote for a black candidate than a woman. Fifty six percent said that “most people” they know would vote for a black candidate for president while just 46 percent said the same of a woman candidate. A full 45 percent said “most people” they know would not vote for a woman. Yet the poll also shows that racism (42 percent) is considered a “more serious” problem in the nation than sexism (10 percent).
The poll was conducted before Obama’s speech yesterday, but it was not conducted in a vacuum. Clinton is a singularly unique candidate for reasons beyond gender and carries the kind of baggage that no presidential candidate ever has. A former First Lady whose public image was forged in the crucible of the modern 24/7 media spotlight has been lightening rod for criticism since bursting onto the public stage.
The first glimpse many Americans got was of her defending her husband’s infidelities on national television and saying, "you know, I'm not sitting here like some little woman standing by my man, like Tammy Wynette." Clinton has established her own legacy in the 16 years since but the partisan and scandal-filled 1990s produced hardened attitudes toward her. And the poll may reflect some of those, even while displaying some sympathy for the obstacles she faces. Perhaps she can take some solice in opening line of the Wynette song she once ridiculed. “Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman.”
But underneath Geraldine Ferraro’s insistence that Obama was getting something of a free ride because of his historic candidacy was equal frustration at how the woman she supports has struggled with her own barrier-breaking campaign.
And she appears to have company in that view. According to a new CBS News poll, voters see gender as more of a barrier in presidential politics than race. Thirty nine percent of registered voters said a woman faces more obstacles in a presidential race while 33 percent said a black candidate does. More to the point, 42 percent of voters said they felt Hillary Clinton has been treated more harshly because of her gender while just 27 percent felt Obama has been treated more harshly because of his race.
When it comes to judging perceptions of attitudes, voters say more people they know would be likely to vote for a black candidate than a woman. Fifty six percent said that “most people” they know would vote for a black candidate for president while just 46 percent said the same of a woman candidate. A full 45 percent said “most people” they know would not vote for a woman. Yet the poll also shows that racism (42 percent) is considered a “more serious” problem in the nation than sexism (10 percent).
The poll was conducted before Obama’s speech yesterday, but it was not conducted in a vacuum. Clinton is a singularly unique candidate for reasons beyond gender and carries the kind of baggage that no presidential candidate ever has. A former First Lady whose public image was forged in the crucible of the modern 24/7 media spotlight has been lightening rod for criticism since bursting onto the public stage.
The first glimpse many Americans got was of her defending her husband’s infidelities on national television and saying, "you know, I'm not sitting here like some little woman standing by my man, like Tammy Wynette." Clinton has established her own legacy in the 16 years since but the partisan and scandal-filled 1990s produced hardened attitudes toward her. And the poll may reflect some of those, even while displaying some sympathy for the obstacles she faces. Perhaps she can take some solice in opening line of the Wynette song she once ridiculed. “Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman.”
