Chick Politiks

I guess my obsession with politics started during childhood when, as the daughter and grand-daughter of activists and civil servants, I realized that the only viable way to enter into dinner-table discussion was through political debate.

I used to sit and stare, barely old enough to see over the rim of my glass of apple juice and listen in awe as the debates grew fierce, silently favoring an uncle or my father’s point above my grandfather’s, a formidable opponent who everyone always acquiesced to in the end. He had, after all, survived two wars, and had shrapnel from German tank fire in WWII was still lodged somewhere in his leg.

My female relatives rarely ventured into this arena, and when they did they would inevitably get the proverbial pat on the head. So they usually sat looking bored and blank. This always bothered me. The dominant belief in society is that politics is a masculine realm, and I declare war on that misconception. Politics has known some formidable females.Some have been great, others not so great.

Women, I believe, are skilled politicians because they understand the nature of debate. And women generally don’t like war. The world needs more women politicians. Hillary Clinton is currently running for the Democratic nomination in the States. I believe she has had her eye on that ball for many years.

She stood by Bill through all the scandals, and he backed her campaign for senator in New York, and now he’s backing her presidential run. If she gets it, I believe it will be because she is a Clinton, not because she is a woman even though she wants people to vote for her based on an ‘elect a woman’ rationale. I’m uneasy about that, I admit it.

Right now the Primaries are in full swing in the States. I follow them closely, and goal of this blog is to express my interpretations of the debates in an interesting and unboring way. Everyone knows alot of media coverage of politics is BORING. I follow both the Republican and democratic primaries, although I believe the Republicans don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of being re-elected. (thanks, George!)

They are so behind the times that everyone of their nominees is an old, straight white man. The Republicans are going to be on hiatus for a very long time. Anyone who wants to read my opinions about the Republican debates can go to Journalism Ethics.

So why the stodgy Republicans ignore race and gender, the Democratic nominees, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton represent both issues, and are fighting tooth and nail over which will prevail. Sorry John Edwards, you’re lovely and you have great teeth but you are just taking up space.