Electing Dad
Lance Mannion: "We don't elect tough fathers. We elect Dads."
I think Lance is on to something here. Of course, this brings up the inevitable Hillary question. Is America ready to elect Mom?
(An no, I don't mean this Mom)
posted by Chris Andersen at 4:04 PM
2 Comments:
That's the 64 thousand dollar question. I should have described dads as being "strong and comforting" instead of "tough but comforting," and put that way, then, yes, I think we can elect a mom because moms are also strong and comforting figures. When Bill Clinton became President, Hillary was seen as what she was a very Boomeresque Yupscale wife, but times change and change us. The Right and the Media haven't noticed but Hillary's grown older and in doing so she's turned into a very mom like figure, strong and comforting.
I like the "strong" vs. "tough" contrast. A lot of people, including people on the left, have bought into the idea that "toughness" is important in a President. But toughness implies beating people up. The result is a narrative that says that, to be President, you have to want to beat people up.
But a "strong" President CAN beat someone up, but doesn't need to because their strength can bend someone to their will WITHOUT having to use force.
FDR was a strong President. Reagan was a strong President. But they projected strength not simply because they could beat someone up.
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