They were Hillary’s women, an estrogen fueled army which sought to put the first woman in the oval office. (That is to say, officially in office, rather than some nocturnal visitor bearing pizza or cigars.) They spurred the hopes of young girls everywhere while enraging huge swaths of their own party. They built the sisterhood of the traveling pant suits, very nearly succeeding in their goal, and when they fell short many swore they would vent their displeasure by putting John McCain in office. What ever happened to them?
A lot of the drive came from Emily’s List, a liberal group dedicated to putting women in elected office who supported abortion rights. You might think they would be hanging their heads this week, as Hillary’s opponent prepares to move into the West Wing, but apparently things have worked out for them in the end.
But some powerful women, who lost a chance to enjoy their own first when Obama won a close fight with Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, still were crowing Sunday about the gains women made in the 2008 elections.
About 2,000 people, mostly women, paid at least $150 each to hear some of the country’s best-known female leaders, among them: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, who Obama named nominated as homeland security secretary, and U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis, who Obama nominated for secretary of labor.
The affection for Clinton, who Emily’s List supported for president, was clear. Held up by an icy plane ride from New York and traffic in Washington, Clinton’s arrival brought an extended standing ovation.
As I look back over the 2008 election cycle, I remember many of the cries of protest as Obama slowly but surely pulled into the lead. Hillary’s most fervent supporters asked, “If not now,when? If not Hillary, then who?” Valid questions, I must admit, and no less so now that the election is over and Senator Clinton is heading for the State Department.
Assuming Hillary isn’t still considering a run in 2016, (and unlikely prospect, I think) how many years has the “movement” been set back? What women are currently waiting in the wings who could generate the required heat to seize the Democratic nomination for president? The most high profile one, of course, would currently be Sarah Palin, but Emily’s List is hardly going to endorse such a red state, red meat abortion foe like her. There are women aplenty in the House of Representatives and even more taking seats in the Senate this session. Several more progressive females currently reside in governors’ mansions around the nation. But none of them seem to get more than passing lip service when it comes to talks of the Big Chair. At best they are often tossed out as vice presidential picks.
When does the next “sure fire” woman come along to break that final glass ceiling, which Hillary so famously put “18 million cracks” in? And more to the point, who will she be?