Faithful Woman, Weak Woman?
Women seem damned if they damned if they do and damned if they don’t when it comes to sticking by an unfaithful husband.
Some people believe that a woman should stick by her husband, and vice versa, no matter what. Even if he cheated. Even if everyone in the world knows about it. Even when that husband was the President of the United States.
Bill Clinton’s indiscretions are the one thing most people will remember about his Presidency. They also remember that Hillary Clinton stood by him. Again and again. She did not separate from him or divorce him. She stuck with him. Some people admire this, and and they agree that married couples should stick together.
The funny thing is, during all of this, and even now, Bill Clinton’s charismatic personality still makes people like him. The generalpopulous has never felt that way about Hillary.
Unfortunately for Hillary Clinton, her same devotion, her commitment to the promise she made to her husband, is now going to be grounds for voters to dismiss her outright from the presidential race.
One person said that they would not vote for her because she did stick with her husband after he cheated on her. Although this person believes in marriage, they have absolutely no respect for Hillary Clinton because she did stick with him. By standing by her promise and her commitment, Hillary is not seen as being devoted and true, but as a lesser woman.
Because Hillary Clinton stuck by her philandering husband, she has to deal with the fact that she has lost a great deal of respect. By sticking with him, some believe she is weak and cannot stand up for herself. “What kind of president would she be when she can’t even control what her husband does?” one person asked me when the subject came up.
What should she have done? Would a woman who divorced a former President of the United States have a better chance at the office herself than a woman who stuck by her husband during hard times? Are both situations simply a no-go for presidentialhopefuls?
With divorce and adultery so commonplace you might think that this this issue would be a non-issue. Instead, her decision to stick by her man may already beeliminating Hillary Clinton from the running – before she even gets a chance to cross the start line.
The Gender Factor
Which brings us to the other reason that people will not vote for Hillary Clinton.
Another person said that they would never vote for a woman. That’s two strikes, already, against Hillary Clinton, and we’re not evendiscussing any actual issues yet.
The other factor working against Hillary Clinton is that she is perceived as being smart. We all know how well the perception of intelligence worked for Al Gore. Bush’s “aw shucks” persona is what people wanted to see in the White House.
Hillary Clinton is the first former first lady to run for the presidency. Do voters truly vote based on personal issues? How big a factor is gender? How many women will vote for Hillary Clinton simply because she is a woman? How many women will not vote for her for the same reason?
The real question is will the Democratic Party take a chance on Hillary Clinton after eight years of Bush? Clinton will be lucky if she can convince Democratic voters and her own party to back her, in an election year that really matters.
The Associated Content Experiment and Your Opinion
What do you think about a woman running for the presidency?
Do you think Hillary Clinton has a chance?
Do you think she is weak because she stood by her husband?
How much should personal family life affect politics?
Should she have left her husband to better her chances in the election?
Do you think she should have instead waited another four years?
Do you think a woman will ever by President?
Would you ever vote for a woman for the Presidency?
Does gender matter?
Do you think Hillary Clinton escape her husband’s past and win the Presidency?
