WHAT WAS billed as the year of the woman in American politics regularly slid into sexism and silliness. But feminists argued yesterday that Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin helped ease the way for a new generation of women.
Except, of course, that for all the talk about shattering the proverbial glass ceiling, Mrs Clinton lost the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama. Mrs Palin, for all the early excitement of her candidacy, morphed into the comedian Tina Fey, was backstabbed by her own campaign staff as a diva gone rogue and could be on her way back to Alaska tomorrow morning.
Supporters of both women claim they were victims of sexism, ranging from overweening interest in their wardrobes to unfair suspicion of their policy platforms.
Even so, Gloria Steinem sees the campaign as a net plus. "Clinton's candidacy has made it possible for huge numbers of people to imagine a female head of state," she said. "I always thought it was too early but now there is a change in the molecules in the air so that people can imagine a female head of state. She has also brought large numbers of women into political life."
The two women followed very different trajectories. Mrs Clinton entered the race for the White House as one of the best-funded and well-connected candidates in history. She lost her lofty status as a former first lady and White House favourite to Mr Obama but remade herself along the way into a gritty, streetfighting populist.
Mrs Palin, the maverick mother of five who was hailed as a breath of Arctic fresh air, became the first woman to join a presidential ticket in a generation after Geraldine Ferraro in 1984. She was also the first woman of the right on a national ticket, hailed by Camille Paglia as a new muscular breed of feminist.
Michelle Obama, an increasingly popular fixture on the campaign trail, was also seen as inspirational. - ( Guardianservice)