Welcome to our Election 2008 site! Equal parts news hub, media watch, + reality check … a gathering of as many smart, sane, empowering voices as we can find. [Yes, we're still for Hillary. No, we're not backing McCain.]
We are devastated that Hillary Rodham Clinton was forced to abandon the race … even as she continued to win and even as polls showed she would be the strongest candidate in the general election. (We've been highlighting all this for months. Visit our The Case for HC page.)
¶ Polls (July 15) continue to show that Clinton would be the best candidate against McCain. We continue to hope that superdelegates come to their senses and support Hillary instead of Obama at the Democratic National Convention in August. (See info about The Denver Group on our Links page).
¶ Meanwhile, we are trying to be OK with Barack Obama. He's sure not the horse we rode in on. But we're clear on this: It would be lunacy to go from Hillary to John McCain, who's not only no "moderate" but is an extremist and decidedly anti-woman conservative.
¶ Our Smart Woman for Hillary site continues. Hillary was and is remarkable. Her candidacy was something seismic. It was history-making, inspiring, amazing. It also opened a window onto our politics, culture, and society. We continue to feature news & commentary on Hillary … news on her involvement in the Democratic bid for the White House … and reflections by and for all who have passionately supported Hillary.
¶ We'll also do our bit on two other fronts: Holding Sen. Obama accountable to Hillary's 18 million voters … and exposing John McCain as a truly unacceptable option for any voter, anywhere.
"A MAN TOOK IT AWAY FROM A WOMAN. Then they yelled at her for complaining about it.”—The View's Joy Behar on HC's presidential run
Urgent>Thank Hillary! Help Her Retire Her Campaign Debt!
This site reflects the passionate commitment of a few smart women for Hillary in America's heartland. We're an indy & all-volunteer effort—not linked to the Hillary Clinton campaign.
We do urge you to visit the official Hillary for President web site. Contribute whatever you can (whether $10 or $100) to help Hillary pay off her debt from her historic campaign! She represented all of us in this race. Let's show our admiration and gratitude. http://www.hillaryclinton.com/
Note: Contribute $50 and get Hillary's new Limited-Edition Shirt! HERE
IN HER OWN WORDS
HILLARY CLINTON speech
on Barack Obama
at "Women for Obama"event in NYC 7/11
Transcribed by LA Times; with VIDEO
"I know how difficult it is for people who have invested their time, their energy, their money, their emotion … to turn on a dime, to say, O.K., now we're onto the next chapter. But anyone who voted for me has so much in common with those who voted for Barack, and it is critical that we join forces. …
The stakes are high for everyone … But I would argue they are particularly high for women. It matters greatly who our president is. Whether or not we will pay attention to the needs of the women who work in this hotel, who served this breakfast, who got up before the crack of dawn and came here, hoping the children they left behind … would be safe and [that] their work will be rewarded fairly …"
Related: Obama Lobies for Women's Vote (LA Times, 7/11) | Clinton Urges Unity at NYC Women’s Fund-raiser (Wall St. Journal, 7/11)
Dept. of Thugs, Boors, & Morons
Former Pres. Jimmy Carter asserts Hillary as V.P. would be 'worst mistake that could be made'
"I have always respected Carter, but was disappointed to hear him suggest Obama should snub Clinton and the millions of voters who stand with her. On the verge of this historic opportunity, there's no reason to intentionally alienate half the Democratic Party and damage its relationship with many American women who see Clinton as representing their interests and aspirations."—Bruce Vandiver, letter to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 6/9/08
Thank you for visiting our campaign 2008 news & media-watch site in support of Hillary Clinton!
Our site is a work in progress. Please check back often to see what's new. Meanwhile, we hope you'll let others know about Smart Women for Hillary as a site for Hillary news, campaign 08 media watch, sexism watch, and a hub for women (and men!) who support Hillary Clinton (but who sure aren't voting for McCain!)
Smart Women For Hillary hopes to be one more front against dumbed-down media coverage, gotcha! journalism, distortion, and media bias (sexist and otherwise) … and, we hope, a useful and empowering resource for the thoughtful, the feminist, the flabbergasted, and the furious.
And yes, please do link to us!
http://www.smartwomenforhillary.com
Suggest a Link for Smart Women for Hillary
We respect your privacy and will not sell, trade, or share your information. Unless you tell us not to, we may publish your comment on our site. If so, we will use only your initials and city/state. We will never publish your name or e-mail.
Hillary fought a hard and inspiring race. Let's help her pay her bills!
Whether you can contribute $10 or $100 (or more), donate online now to help Hillary pay off the debts from her amazing and groundbreaking campaign.
http://www.hilaryclinton.com
More for Smart Hillary Folks
> MEDIA ROOM | Our archive
>Media Room 1
our news archive + VIDEO Archive
>Media Room 2
more news & commentary links
+ 1 good read in its entirety:
The Double Standard | C. Rivers, Boston Globe | "The media loved Hillary when she put her hand on Obama's and said it was a privilege to be on the same podium; they hated her when she slammed him for giving out what she called misleading information on her healthcare plan."
>Media Room 3
still more news & commentary links
>Media Room 4
Special focus on women, gender, + sexism in campaign 08
+ Rebecca Traister, Gloria Steinem, Ellen Goodman, Tennessee Guerilla Women, Robin Morgan, more
> THE CASE FOR HILLARY
Our archive of features from the past few months highlighting why Hillary should have been the nominee
Hillary's May 2008 letter to superdelegates, our June 2008 open letter to Hillary, reality-check factoids, media bias "hall of shame," "ur reads" by Andrew Stephen and Feminists for Clinton, more
> LINKS AND MORE
Hillary-friendly sites & blogs … & more
… + info on The Denver Group + the WomenCount PAC by & for women for Hillary
©2008 smartwomenforhillary.com
'WHAT DOES HILLARY WANT?'
"I want what I have always fought for in this whole campaign. I want to end the war in Iraq. I want to turn this economy around. I want health care for every American. I want every child to live up to his or her God-given potential. And I want the nearly 18 million Americans who voted for me to be respected, to be heard and no longer invisible."—Hillary Clinton in NY, 6/3/08, after an upset victory in the SD primary | More
SEE ENTIRE HILLARY SPEECH: HERE
Show You're One in 18 Million!
Visit the Smart Women for Hillary online shop
Our exclusive Hillary Signature Shirt
Variety of colors and styles | More on our T-Shirt Page … or go directly to our online shop to order securely:
http://www.printfection.com/WomenForHillary
John McCain Watch
Like Obama, McCain Devotes a Day to Women Voters | Charles Babington, AP, 7/11/08
"Republicans believe McCain has a chance to pick up Democratic and independent women who are angry or disappointed that Hillary Rodham Clinton lost her bid to become the first female president. But the Hudson event seemed geared to hard-core conservatives.."
McCain Courting Clinton Loyalists – But Abortion Stand Upsets Some Women's Groups | Lisa Wangsness, Boston Globe, 6/14/08
"A poll found that half of women supporting McCain in battleground states don't know his position on abortion, and that more than a third of women who favor abortion rights and support McCain reconsidered after being told he opposes Roe v. Wade."
She Had Such Nice Things to Say To Get McCain Elected, Carly Fiorina is Talking Up ... Hillary. | Jonathan Darmann, Newsweek, 6/23/08
"Few in either party expect a massive defection of liberal women. But the McCain campaign thinks that distaste over what happened to Clinton, combined with its candidate's appeal, could help McCain break through to independent females. They are a serious prize for the senator. [Women make up] 56 percent of the swing vote."
MUST-SEE MCCAIN VIDEO:
The Real McCain | McCain Reality Check Video (Yikes!)
Watch video of McCain's weird and scary 2007 response to a question about Iran.
Classic McCain Moment | John McCain Sings 'Bomb Iran'
Watch video of McCain's wierd and scary 2007 response to a question about Iran.
Go>Video Archive
Links to video classics … Hillary Clinton June 7 speech … Maya Angelou … "Mad as Hell: Media Bias & Sexism Against Hillary Rodham Clinton … much more
Go>Media Bias Hall of Shame
>The Case for Hillary page
Quotable>
WE COULD HAVE HAD HILLARY:
"Each time I have watched these interviews of her, so sharp, so on target, I cannot imagine there is a possibility that America will lose the chance to have her as president."
—A comment on TalkLeft.com by someone who viewed video of Hillary's 60-min. interview 4/29 with the editorial board of the Indianapolis Star
IT'S NOW ABOUT RESPECT:
"Obama may have won the nomination but it will mean nothing if he does not win in Nov., and to do that he needs the votes and even the enthusiastic support of Hillary and her supporters. Clinton's supporters cannot be insulted, bullied, or guilted into enthusiastic support in the fall. … The party must [also] stand against the current cultural backlash against feminism in a way that lays the groundwork for women (and men) to support the next woman who runs for the presidency without continuing fear of ridicule."
—Sheri Rivlin & Allan Rivlin, RealClearPolitics, 6/4/08 | More HERE
WHY NOT HER?
""Hillary friend and financial backer Susie Tompkins Buell lunched with Hillary [recently]. … Buell wrote in an email to me that over lunch she looked at Hillary and thought, 'Why not her, why him?' She described Hillary as "resolved and jok[ing] and pondering. She was giving us all a boost....She is so gracious and doing all she can to unite the party but so many of us can simply not go there yet. We are waiting to see HIM unite the party. He is not doing that at all.' … Buell is particularly offended that Obama is 'not even considering Hillary for VP,' which she calls "such poor judgment....It seems careless to not want the strongest person possible to fill your shoes should something happen. … Buell signed her email, 'Sadder than ever.'".
—
Carol Felsenthal, Huffington Post, 8/6/08 | More HERE
SMART PEOPLE WORTH READING>Current FeaturesThu, Aug 7, 2008
--------clicked links will open in new windows
Obama Watch
PRAYING FOR US>
Obama Supporters Pray for Clinton Supporters
Amanda Erickson, The Swamp, 8/7 | "[T]his is listed under community service, and it has some Clinton supporters upset."
THE CHARM OFFENSIVE>
Top Dem Party Officials Send Sharply Worded Email Demanding That Hillary Supporters Back Obama
TPM, 7/19/08 | "'She lost.. Barack Obama won. It's over.'"
Also see: Sexism, Derision Won't Help Obama Camp Win Clinton Supporters (Springfield News Leader, 7/18
OBAMA VEEP WATCH>
Kaine He Kick It?
Phoebe Connelly, The American Prospect, 7/29 | ""[About Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine:] It'd be one thing for Obama to choose an anti-choice running mate; picking an anti-choice gay-baiter is even worse."
ARROGANCE REPORT>
Arrogance Won't Win the Election
Susan Estrich, RealClear Politics, 7/26/08 | "There [is] a crop of stories … suggesting that the Obama campaign [now favors] tight controls, attacks on reporters who write less-than flattering pieces, and a particularly unattractive form of hardball … It will not serve him well."
COMPARE + CONTRAST>
Obama Strategy: Downplay Roe v Wade
Avi Zenilman & Carrie Budoff Brown, Politico, 7/14 | "Obama’s emphasis on equal pay … signals a shift … that some activists have seen as softpedaling or even backpedaling on abortion."
Hillary Clinton Rips Bush's Abortion Proposal
Matthew Jaffe, ABC News, 7/18 | "These rules pose a dire threat to women's health, to health-care providers, and to uninsured and low-income Americans seeking care.'" | Related: Hillary Rips Bush on Birth Control (WCBSTV)—with VIDEO
GETTING TO KNOW HIM>
Making It: How Chicago Shaped Barack Obama Ryan Lizza, New Yorker, 7/21/08 | "He campaigns on reforming a broken political process, yet he has always played politics by the rules as they exist …. He runs as an outsider, but he has succeeded by mastering the inside game."| Related: Why Nothing the Press Throws at Obama Sticks (Slate, 7/29)
OBAMA-MANIA RUN AMOK>
Google & The Anti-Obama Bloggers
Miguel Helft, NY Times, 6/30 | Activists supporting Senator Obama succeeded in silencing bloggers opposing Obama and supporting Hillary Clinton.
Brian Montopoli, CBS News, 8/7/08
"In a web chat today, Hillary Clinton wrote that she wanted to 'assure" participants that 'that Senator Obama and I are working together to make sure it's a big success.'"
| Hillary's Web Chat
Katharine Q. Seeye, NY Times, 8/7/08
"Clinton came very close to winning the nomination, of course. She won 8 of the last 13 primaries, back when she was warning … that she would be a better general-election candidate than Obama. Interestingly, she remains just as popular among Democrats these days as Obama, despite his having been campaigning for two months as the party nominee.""
Dan Balz, Washington Post, 8/7/08
"Clinton hits the campaign trail for Barack Obama on Friday, dutifully playing the role of cheerleader for the presumptive nominee. … She is doing this in spite of obvious pain, disappointment and regrets after losing the nomination battle by the narrowest of margins. … Her husband has not quite decided what to do."
Karen Tumulty, Time, 8/6/08
"In public, Clinton is doing everything she is asked — and then some — to help the man who defeated her get elected to the White House. But behind the united front, says an adviser, 'it's not a great relationship' … Clinton remains skeptical that Obama can win in the fall [and] is also annoyed that Obama has yet to deliver on his end of an informal bargain … that each would raise $500,000 for the other. 'Hillary has done her part … Obama has not.' … Underlying it all is a feeling on Clinton's part that Obama has never shown proper regard for a campaign she believes was as historic an achievement as his." | Related: Obama Rejects Talk of Trouble from Clinton Backers (AP, 8/7)
| Obama Denies Rift with Clinton; Says Unification has Been 'Seamless' (Fox, 8/7)
Steven K. Paulson, AP, 8/6/08
"Hillary Rodham Clinton is seeking a way for her delegates to be heard at the Democratic National Convention, telling supporters such a step will help unify a party that split between her and Barack Obama during their hard-fought nominating contest."
| Related: Clinton to Supporters: 'Yell and Scream, Then Back Obama'(CNN, 8/7)
Caryl Rivers, Huffington Post, 8/5/08
"Maybe it's time to bring back the working class heroine. OK, she went to Wellesley and Yale Law School, but Hillary Clinton turned out to be a world-class campaigner when it came to lunch-bucket Democrats, the ones who seem to be eluding Barack Obama."
Katie Fretland, The Swamp, 8/5/08
"Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain has secured the vote of the majority of women voters, according to a new poll. More women support Obama, but nearly 20 percent of women who supported Clinton now support McCain." | Related: In Poll, Obama Loses Some Women Supporters of Clinton (Dallas Morning News, 8/6) | Poll: Clinton Paved Way for First Woman President (Newsday, 8/5)
Carol Felsenthal, Huffington Post, 8/3/08
"'Look, what we want to have happen is for Sen. Obama to be nominated by a unified convention of Democrats.... [Clinton told supporters in CA]. 'The best way... to do that is to have a strategy so that my delegates feel like they've had a role and that their legitimacy has been validated....'" | Related: Hillary Clinton Fundraiser in Los Altos Hills, Calif. (great first-person account on Momocrats, 8/2) | Video: 'Hillary & the Ballot' (VIDEO of Hillary at Los Altos event)
Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News, 8/6/08
"Hillary Clinton supporters will march through Denver during the Democratic National Convention to show appreciation for Clinton's historic primary run and urge the party to place her name in nomination." | Related: DNC Woman's Suffrage Gala to Feature Clinton (Rocky Mtn. News, 8/5)
The Confluence, 8/4/08
"I can’t decide what I loathe more: that Obama all but acknowledges he stole the primary or that he assumes that the average Hillary supporter will be in any way assuaged by this obscene gesture of asking the credentials committee to restore full voting rights to Florida and Michigan now that he’s taken his victory lap."
Bonnie Erbe, US News & World Report, 8/4/08
"The Obama campaign has to weigh the potential disturbances Clinton supporters might stage if he denies her a roll-call vote. There are Internet rumblings about a march on or during the convention by disaffected Clinton Democrats. … [T]he spectacle of continued party disunity must be rattling the cages of Democratic leaders … particularly as Obama's short-lived bounce in the polls (following his travels … in which he appeared to have appointed himself president) has dwindled to nothing."
Other Featured Reads
Mackenzie Carpenter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8/3/08
"Bonnie Chang decided to throw a house party at her home in PA to unite supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. It was not a rip-roaring success. 'The Clinton supporters told me they're going to vote for Obama but they're not going to work for him …'"
Thomas J. Sheeran, AP, 8/4/08
"The committee charged with updating the platform agreed to include suggestions from Clinton, whose campaign emphasized universal health care." | Related: Dems' Plank Unites Rivals (Denver Post, 8/4) | Clinton Backers Want Bias Issue in Platform (LA Times, 8/1) | "Some of Clinton's supporters are pushing for the Democratic Party's new platform to [condemn gender bias and to include her] signature proposal for universal healthcare."
David Paul Kuhn, Politico, 8/3/08
"Many of the foremost activists in the women’s movement ardently believe that Hillary Rodham Clinton should be Barack Obama’s running mate — and primary wounds that are just beginning to heal may be torn back open should the Democratic nominee select someone else, as it seems very likely he will." | Related: Obama Looks Beyond Clinton (ABC News, 7/31/08 | Hillary supporters angered as Democrat considers other women for vice president. | Obama-Clinton Ticket is Seen As Unlikely (NY Times, 7/29) | "The Obama camp has done little to prepare Clinton supporters for the increasing likelihood that she will not be on the ticket." | Hillary on Tuesday, Tim or Jack on Wednesday? (Salon, 7/28)
Marie Horrigan, CQPolitics, 8/1/08
"While Hillary Rodham Clinton has not made any final decisions about whether she wants to be nominated for president at the Democratic National Convention, a New York Daily News report said she has asked not to be nominated. But some of her supporters continue to press ahead." | Related: The NY Daily News and Their Bogus Clinton Article (TomInPaine Blogspot, 8/2)
Carla Marinucci, SF Chronicle, 8/1/08
"Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a rousing call to thousands of union workers in San Francisco to put Barack Obama in the White House - but it was a bittersweet moment for some of her most loyal supporters, particularly women, who said they are still deeply pained she's not the Democratic candidate."
Joey Nichalakes, The Hill, 8/1/08
"Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) told a group of supporters Thursday that she has done more for former rival Barack Obama’s presidential bid than past Democrats who have lost nominating battles."
Carol Felsenthal, Huffington Post, 7/30/08
"The Denver Group duo claim that superdelegates are having 'buyers' remorse,' that they are coming to believe that Obama is not electable. … [Howard Dean is] just trying to promote this totally false idea of party unity.'" | More on the Denver Group> Links + More Page
Kelly Nuxoll, Huffington Post, 7/31/08
"What role Hillary Clinton will play in the upcoming election and an Obama administration is still unclear, but if her appearance last night at NY Rep. Carolyn Maloney's book signing is any indication, she's currently being cast as a Helen of Troy, launching a thousand feminist critiques."
Taylor Marsh, 7/30/08
"Seriously folks, what are we doing here? Are we trying to win, or just simply putting up Mr. America, whose campaign seems to be under the illusion that all the Democratic candidate has to do is show up to win. … For the first time in decades a Democratic candidate reached down into voters' anxieties and talked to the issues most on their minds [and] make lunch bucket, Reagan Democrats believe that a Democratic candidate … gets them. That person was not Barack Obama."
SEE THIS>THE CASE FOR HILLARY | Pro-Hillary spin, pre-June 08 + a roundup of news and commentary about Hillary's electoral strengths
ALSO SEE: Roundup of articles on WOMEN, GENDER + SEXISM>Media Room 4
STILL WORTH A LOOK>The Best Hillary News & Commentary Recently
-- More in our Media Room>Archive | Also See Featured Videos--
Spotlight>
Poll Shows Clinton Would Do Better Against McCain
Wake Up America, 7/15
"[A new poll shows] that … Obama would not do as well as Hillary Clinton would do if she were the presumptive Democratic nominee."
| More on HC's Electability in The Case for Hillary
Great interview with key Hillary backer/friend Susie Tompkins Buell:
A Hillraiser Not Yet Ready to Back Obama
Carol Felsenthal, Huffington Post, 7/9
"I think the Obama campaign has really been very disrespectful to both of the Clintons. If they don't make amends, I think it's going to be a problem for them."
Hillary Clinton's Supporters Look to Make Her Struggle Count
Alison Baker & Nancy Kirk, NY Daily News, 7/27
"'This is our Norma Rae moment. We're ready to get up on the tables again, the way our mothers did for us. We'll do it for our daughters. … Hillary went the distance. We owe her something.'"
Clinton Won't Be Sexists' Last Target
Connie Schultz, Newhouse News, 5/23
"We have only begun to feel the damage [to young women] of the punch-and-pummel pundits."
| More on Campaign '08 sexism in Media Room 4
Lanny J. Davis, Wall Street Journal, 7/31/08
"Let's start with one undisputable fact: Sen. Clinton is the only Democrat who gives Sen. Obama a statistically significant boost in any national poll results." | Related: Her Pals Still Talk of Hillary Clinton for Vice President (NY Daily News, 7/30)
Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 7/30/08
"Barack Obama has long been his party's presumptive nominee. Now he's becoming its presumptuous nominee. … There are signs that the Obama campaign's arrogance has begun to anger reporters." | Related: Arrogance Won't Win the Election (Susan Estrich, RealClear Politics, 7/26) | Media Love of Obama Doesn't Equal Victory (Susan Estrich, RealClear Politics, 7/24) | Party Unity Still a Problem For Obama (St. Louis Post Dispatch, 7/30)—with video link about the buying of superdelegates
Robin Lakoff, San Francisco Chronicle, 7/29/08
"So many women feel that the election was somehow stolen, and by their own party, to boot. They thus feel much the way many Democrats feel about the 2000 election: bitter."
David Saltonstall, NY Daily News, 7/30/08
"Hillary Clinton has agreed to speak on Day 2 of the Democratic convention to commemorate the 88th anniversary of women's right to vote - a move seen by delegates as another sign she won't be on Barack Obama's ticket." | Related:
Reality Check>