Black. Feminist. President!

No time yet to write much of a post about Obama winning the nomination but that's okay because I'm sure there's lots of stuff out there.  I'll just say that as the campaign progressed I got more and more relieved that Hillary wasn't going to be the nominee.  I think Obama is the better feminist and that Hillary time and again, because of her gender, felt forced to prove her toughness/manliness by following the hawkish actions of others in Congress (I mean her vote to invade Iraq and her vote to declare Iran's military a terrorist organization).  Those are hugely irresponsible votes and I think they cost her the nomination amongst people like me.  An article by Meghan O'Rourke in Slate.com had the same take: "Her problem wasn't that she was a feminist. Her problem was that she wasn't feminist enough".  I feel like I've said this until I'm blue in the face.  Feminism is not merely a matter of putting a female face on the current power structure.  Margaret Thatcher, Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice were not feminists.  Feminism is about deconstructing the current power structure and building a new more egalitarian, more democratic one.  Hillary Clinton is not a feminist.  I believe Barack Obama is.  I think that If Obama wins in November, the first black President of the United States will also be the first feminist President of the United States.  And that makes me deeply, deeply proud of my country.

Comments

[J. Star]

Well said, Barb! I hadn't even thought about the whole debacle in this way, but now that you say it, it's quite obvious. Great insight.

[Bodhi]

I find both Obama and Clinton to be frightening corporate-imperialists. Neither one of them get my vote. A real black feminist is running for president though. Cynthia McKinney is running as a Green party candidate. She deserves the support of progressives. Or at least her candidacy's existence deserves to be acknowledged. http://www.runcynthiarun.org/

[bellydonna]

I beg to differ. You might prefer Obama but calling him feminist is a bit much.
Witness:his choice of "good friend" Bernie Mac opening for him.

I hope that you are right. I am comforted to hear a feminist who thinks Obama would be a good leader.
Because I fear that he would be a terrible leader and I think he hates women.
I want to be proven wrong.

Also, I am completely down with Marxist Feminism but Obama has stated he would cut many of our existing social programs. Since we're not going to be a Marxist society
anytime soon, I think we should at least provide a wide strong safety net. Obama repeatedly states that he will cut programs.