Was Hillary badly treated by America’s male dominated media elite? That debate is not only an American one. In fact, it’s apparently a debate that has been sanctioned by China’s Communist Party.
“Looking at how newspapers and TV networks commented on Hillary’s looks, her voice and her emotional life, we can see the kind of criticism and humiliation she has suffered. ‘Hating Hillary’ has even become a kind of national sport or entertainment. … The path of her struggle in seeking to make a breakthrough may not have met with the approval of all women. But in her own words, the 18 million voters who supported her have made “18 million cracks in the glass ceiling.”
By Wang Tian
Translated By Mark Klingman
July 2, 2008
People’s Republic of China – People’s Daily – Original Article (Chinese)
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has finally admitted defeat and returned to the Senate. After the battle between Obama and this “indomitable, never-give-up” woman, who was confronted with a weakening campaign, lagging poll numbers and enormous intra-party pressure for “unity,” she was finally forced to announce her withdrawal and throw her support to Obama to help him achieve his dream of becoming the first Black president.
But didn’t Hillary have a dream, too? This lady, who as a 22-year-old university graduate vowed to “make the impossible possible,” who as a gifted Yale Law School alum was twice ranked among the hundred most influential lawyers in the United States and who as First Lady was determined to promote health care reform, has long dreamed of becoming the first woman president.
This time, Hillary’s dream almost came true. A woman has never gotten closer to occupying the Oval Office. Even in the so-called “New World” of the United States, the practice of discrimination against women has always existed. Women didn’t have the right to vote until 1920; there has been only a single female vice presidential candidate (in 1984), and only 16 percent of the members of Congress are currently women.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign and her defeat have created strong repercussions and controversy. Some women cheered for her, saying that her candidacy had set off a feminist wave; other women took exception, believing that she long ago betrayed feminism to devote herself above all to achieving a “Clinton Dynasty.” Some men strongly objected to her candidacy, saying that Hillary should go home and “iron shirts.”
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing translated foreign press coverage of the U.S. election.
Founder and Managing Editor of Worldmeets.US