Sunday, June 08, 2008

Hell Hath No Fury

Finally, Clinton acknowledged the obvious, so we can move on.

Her speech yesterday, part self-serving justification, part an endorsement of and support for Obama, and part about women’s rights and opportunities was OK. It could have focused more on the historic nature of the campaign that has been waged, and there could have been more directed at those who haven’t supported her, but all in all, given her earlier behavior I can accept that what she said got the job done.

I don’t buy into the notion that her defeat was caused misogynists, sexism or other negative attitudes toward women. Yes, that exists. Just like racism exists. But those women who blame Clinton’s sex for what happened are letting their biases get in the way of their common sense.

As many commentators are opining these days, Clinton’s loss had much more to do with strategic and tactical mistakes during the campaign, financial mismanagement, staff disputes, and more. For most of us it had nothing to do with whether we think a woman is up to the job.

Having said all this, in listening to her speech it was obvious that THE issue for many in her audience was the woman thing. Cheers around that topic far outweighed all other subjects she touched on. So my not agreeing with their conclusion isn’t going to change any minds.

I am left with that old truism (or is it a sexist axiom): “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” And for those of you who care about accurate attribution, Shakespeare did not pen these words. They are from a play called, “A Mourning Bride,” written in 1697 by William Congreve.

The complete quote is:
“Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned.
Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.”

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