Bumper Thumper

A few months back, I kept meaning to write a post about the invasion of those annoying stick families that were popping up on SUVs and minivans across the nation. I mean, really, WHY is this necessary? "Oh look, honey, the couple in the Ford Explorer in front of us have two daughters, a son, and a baby. AND two cats and a dog! I guess that explains why they are driving that gas-guzzling monster van! I'm glad they made that clear to me. I feel so much closer to them now."

Whatever.

Anyways, this is NOT the post about how much I hate stick families. That post is no longer necessary because it appears that was the shortest-lived trend ever, and sometime last month everyone got out their scrapers en masse and removed the offending stickers. I haven't seen one for weeks.

What I have seen, though, is this

all over town. And I don't get it.

I will admit...I really, really want to love Clinton and see a woman get nominated by one of the major parties to be president. I would love even more to see a woman in the oval office. I feel compelled to vote for any female candidate simply on the basis of her gender, which is fallacious and biased, but I can't help it...I want a woman to be president THAT BAD.

But Clinton? I'm not a fan.

I don't hate her or anything; I'm just not prepared to vote for her. I have not been impressed by her speeches, by her performance in the Democratic Candidates Debate, or by her interviews. I don't like how she changes her persona from one appearance to the next--all sternness and ice at one; at another, gushing over shoes and giggling about shopping. It seems like she is juggling her masculine and feminine sides to appease her particular audience. It's not working. And it bothers me. But I certainly don't hate her. I wouldn't feel compelled to stick hateful stickers on my car or pay money to erect a BILLBOARD! (I'd include a picture here, but I thought that pulling over on the freeway to snap a photo of a billboard was a risk I wasn't prepared to take for my blog.) I mean, she's not even nominated yet! Why all this animosity? Why do so many people hate Clinton SO MUCH?

Is it because she's a woman?

I hope not, but here are some things I've noticed:

1) Why is it okay to call Clinton "Hillary" when male candidates get referred to by their last names?

2) This sticker is wrong on so many levels. Aggressive woman = bitch, but non-aggressive woman = bad president. A total catch 22.

3) Why do so many conservative pundits claim that Clinton is hanging onto the coat tails of her husband but also believe that it is perfectly acceptable for W. to hang onto the coat tails of his father?

4) Why is Clinton held to a higher moral standard than the men she is running against?

It all just bothers me so much. Just like when people hated Clinton when she was first lady because she, you know, had thoughts of her own and tried to do more than just stand by her man's side looking pretty (gasp!). Remember this?

Because Lord knows that any man married to a smart, competent woman must be CONTROLLED by her.

I guess my point is this. Just because we live in a country where we are allowed and encouraged to speak out against our government (unless, of course, the Bush Administration is involved...then we should just all keep our damn mouths SHUT) does not mean that it is alright to treat a woman in a blatantly sexist manner because she is a politician. I know that there are plenty of other reasons people may not like Clinton, but whenever I ask someone to tell, specifically, what they don't like about her, most cannot answer the question. There's "just something about her." Something like two X chromosomes.

I feel the need to speak out against this now, so that maybe voters will be a bit more enlightened when Matilda runs for president.


Now there's a candidate I can get behind!