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March 08, 2007
Identity Politics Gone Wild
First we had the strikingly pale Bill Clinton proclaimed as America's
First Black President by Toni Morrison as an odd reward for pandering
to identity politics. Now, the
New York Sun
reports that the First
Woman President may well
haveaYchromosome
, if John Edwards wins
the White House:
Toni Morrison famously dubbed President Clinton America's “first black
president.” With that barrier broken, the comments of a prominent
feminist are provoking debate about who may lay a similar claim to the
title of America's first woman president.
The candidate being touted as a torchbearer for women is not Senator
Clinton, but one of her former colleagues, John Edwards. At a rally
near the University of California, Berkeley campus this week, a veteran
of the abortion-rights movement, Kate Michelman, asked and
answered the question she gets most frequently about her decision to
back the male former senator from North Carolina.
“Why John Edwards, given the historic nature of our extraordinary
campaign for the presidency this year with Hillary Clinton and
Barack Obama and all the others?” Ms Michelman asked as she
warmed up the crowd for Mr Edwards. “I've gotten to know a lot of
political leaders over the years that I've been an advocate for
women's rights. I know the difference between those who advocate
as a political position and those who understand the reality of
women's lives.”
Compared to Mrs Clinton, Mr Edwards is short an “X” chromosome, but
listening to Ms Michelman, that is easy to forget. “As a lawyer, as a
senator, as a husband, as a father of two daughters, he understands
the reality of women's lives. He understands the centrality of
women's lives and experience to the health and well-being of society
as a whole. … He understands that on an extremely personal level,”
she said.
Quite frankly, it shouldn't matter which chromosomes or skin pigmen-
tation a candidate has on an individual basis. In a general sense, we
want to ensure that the political process remains open to everyone,
(Continued)
