In this election, as the New York Times informs the unwashed:
If the race wasn’t about gender already, it certainly is now.
And if it is not now, the New York Times is working hard to make it so with pieces like “Women’s Support for Clinton Rises in Wake of Perceived Sexism.”
This piece does not cite any polling data to support its thesis, relying instead on anecdotal data from women selected by means unknown to the reader. And in reporting on perceived sexism, the NYT treats its readers to ancedotes like this:
Michelle Six, 36, a lawyer and John Edwards supporter in Los Angeles, said she was horrified to hear Mr. Obama tell Mrs. Clinton she was “likable enough†in a Democratic debate on Saturday. Ms. Six said she found the line condescending, and an echo of other unkind remarks by other men about women over the years.
The likability question, initially raised by a moderator, “wouldn’t be coming up if she wasn’t a woman,†she said.
There is a technical term for this sort of thinking: codswallop. Michelle Six apparently has not paid much attention to presidential politics during her lifetime. News coverage in this cycle has discussed likability as a significant factor in the appeal of Mike Huckabee (among others).  The media polls on the likability of candidates and prospective candidates. In the last cycle, people dicussed Sen. John Kerry’s likability gap. In 2000, Al Gore had a likability issue. One reason Hillary Clinton gets asked about her likability is because it was an important component of Bill Clinton’s success throughout the 1990s. Michael Dukakis was asked about his likability during a debate in 1988.  The issue of likability in debates haunts the entitety of the television era. And Ms. Six clearly has not heard much about the Eisenhower era.ÂÂ
Likability is almost always an issue in modern presidential campaigns. Ms. Six may simply be unaware of this because it usually has been the Democrat who is less likable.
More interesting, however, is what the NYT story tucks away near the end of the story:
Younger women, however, may look at Mrs. Clinton differently. In Iowa and New Hampshire, Democratic women split by age, with the older ones voting overwhelmingly for Mrs. Clinton, the younger ones for Mr. Obama.
Clinton supporter Myra Dinnerstein, 73, is then contrasted with her daughter, Julie Dinnerstein, 39, who plans to vote for Obama:
“Senator Clinton’s struggles are not my own, and they are not those of my generation of women,†the younger Ms. Dinnerstein said. “The idea of a woman being president just does not seem to be as powerful or as revolutionary to me as it does to feminists of my mother’s generation.â€Â
A similar dynamic may explain Obama’s appeal to younger generations more broadly. Obama’s style and the issues he emphasizes are unlike those of past black presidential candidates. He presents himself more often as the candidate who happens to be black than identity politicians like the Rev. Jesse Jackson or the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Perhaps the younger generations, not having lived through the civil rights and women’s liberation movements, do not feel the lure of identity politics as strongly as their parents and grandparents. But that is not going to be a headline in the New York Times anytime soon.
Update: The NYT doubles down on its theme by touting the 2000 Lazio-Clinton debate as a “portent of things to come.”
Update x2: I just remembered this recent NYT post-Iowa piece headlined, “Daring to Believe, Blacks Savor Obama Victory.” Perhaps the headline should have been “Black Support for Obama Rises in Wake of Perceived Reduction In Racism.” Or ”Black Support for Obama Rises in Wake of Perceived Sexism Against Clinton,” because Iowans did not pick the woman.
Comment by BJTexs on 1/10 @ 2:38 pm #
Karl, you are on FIE-YAR! I’ve lost count of the mainstream denizons who are icing their bruises.
This article is just another reason why i find the general news coverage of these primaries so unwatchable or unreadable. sober, analytical discussion has been replaced by breathless bloviating on mindnumbing absolutes. When I heard a political commentator on radio talk about how “nothing was going to be settled in Iowa” Ituned out of the noise. Hillary wins a squeeker in NH, a state she was supposed to roll in and all the pundits are talking about COMEBACK!!!
It is the ever desperate for ratings news organizations who are dumbing down political coverage which allows most of the top candidates (especially Obama) to talk non stop about “change” without being held accountable for the vacuousness of it all.
I think I’ll just read your posts from now on.
Comment by kelly on 1/10 @ 2:48 pm #
Or you could do what I do, BJT: never view any of the news coverage while sober.
Comment by Karl on 1/10 @ 2:53 pm #
I play the “change” drinking game. At least I did until the ambulance came.
Comment by BJTexs on 1/10 @ 3:01 pm #
Well I’m not drinking too much these days but I think I have some Vicotin left over from the root canal.
Worth a try…
In addition to newspaper political leanings tainting their political coverage the almighty pursuit for the almighty dollar tied to readership is also brain damaging journalism and editing. Everything runs through the prism of “how do we get noticed?” which explains why Olberdunce has a career. Blasting sound bite worthy, edgy pronouncements which, inevitably, over heat the conclusion with scant analysis causes all who listen to be “dumbed down.”
Good thing I watch Discovery, Military, and History channels else I might slide into tardness.
Comment by maggie katzen on 1/10 @ 3:07 pm #
er, yeah. so you know all about the Templars, am I right? ;D (that Future Weapons guy cracks me up)
Comment by Squid on 1/10 @ 3:07 pm #
Michelle Six apparently has not paid much attention to presidential politics during her lifetime….
Likability is almost always an issue in modern presidential campaigns. Ms. Six may simply be unaware of this because it usually has been the Democrat who is less likable.
Of course she’s unaware — she’s just some ditzy broad! She’s probably an Edwards supporter simply because they use the same hair care products!
Thank you, thank you. Tip the veal! Try your waitress!
Comment by Jim in KC on 1/10 @ 3:09 pm #
I’m partial to Personal Defense TV on the Outdoor Channel, myself.
Comment by BJTexs on 1/10 @ 3:14 pm #
Sure, maggie, they came out of Motown and had three or four hits in the mid sixties. One was “You Are My Glowing Cup.”;-|
I’ve backed off of “Futureweapons” a little after the whole Dragon Skin kerfuffle but as my oldest daughter would say, “Stuff gettin’ shot and blown up? I’m there!”
*sniff* I’m so proud…
Comment by Howard Wolfson on 1/10 @ 3:17 pm #
Hillary Clinton is right: politics isn’t a game. It’s about people. That’s exactly why she shouldn’t be President.
Comment by Tim P on 1/10 @ 3:19 pm #
One of Obama’s keys to success, is as you said, “Obama’s style and the issues he emphasizes are unlike those of past black presidential candidates. He presents himself more often as the candidate who happens to be black than identity politicians like the Rev. Jesse Jackson or the Rev. Al Sharpton. On appearance anyway.
Unfortunately the gush for Obama is not based on what he says or on positions he’s taken. When his ideas and positions do show, they show that he is basically an old line liberal/socialist.
While Obama may have eschewed the appearance of identity group politics personally (for now anyway), the democrats have been groping around for an identity group ticket that will win. In 2004 and 2006, they tried to ape republicans by running so-called moderates. My prediction for 2008 is and has been for the last year that the democrat ticket will be Clinton/Obama. A woman and a African-American. The fix is in and the media generated noise is just meaningless distraction for the politically unengaged. Oh, and a way for the MSM to try to generate more advertising revenue.
Comment by Karl on 1/10 @ 3:45 pm #
Tim P,
You will note how carefully the graf you quoted is written. Especially the “presents himself.”
I think a Clinton/Obama ticket likely myself, if Clinton doesn’t have to go scorched earth on him.
Comment by Slartibartfast on 1/10 @ 3:52 pm #
He’s really not very good when it comes to technical matters. I watched one episode where he was covering THAAD, and his description was wildly inaccurate.
Plus, there’s the Dragonskin thing, as you said.
Comment by SarahW on 1/10 @ 5:39 pm #
I watch “Survivorman” a lot. I know not to start a fire under a rock ledge because of him.
Comment by Rusty on 1/10 @ 6:48 pm #
#
Comment by SarahW on 1/10 @ 5:39 pm #
I watch “Survivorman†a lot. I know not to start a fire under a rock ledge because of him.
He can’t fish fer shit, but otherwise he’s OK. The “futureweapons” guy is always so over the top , I quit watching long ago. I am rather fond of the shows that depict fighter plane tactics and there was a show recently on rebuilding old battle tanks. Interesting.
Comment by Swen Swenson on 1/10 @ 8:12 pm #
Oh come now. You know darn well that telling a woman she’s “likable enough†is tantamount to telling her she doesn’t sweat much for a fat girl.
Comment by Karl on 1/10 @ 8:16 pm #
He could have said she has a “great personality.”
Comment by SPQR on 1/10 @ 8:21 pm #
But Karl, that would have been a lie.
Comment by maggie katzen on 1/10 @ 8:21 pm #
uh, ain’t nobody crazy enough to fall for that one in reference to Ms. Clinton.
except perhaps simon li. I’m having fun watching him ramble away there. wish everyone would leave him alone so we could see how long it takes him to get lonely and discover the front page. I sense great things things in that one. even better than a balloon fence.
Comment by Karl on 1/11 @ 1:44 am #
I dunno… the balloon fence is sorta the ne plus ultra of trolling.
Comment by maggie katzen on 1/11 @ 1:54 am #
yeah, I’m just hoping(!) there will be some great payoff for my annoyance. I think it’s his mention of China that did it. that always perks me up. sometimes they just need some cultivating.
Comment by Karl on 1/11 @ 1:56 am #
KEEP HOPE ALIVE!!!
Comment by McGehee on 1/11 @ 12:11 pm #
Well, Swen — you have to admit, she doesn’t.
Comment by sbeth7 on 1/12 @ 6:28 pm #
Hillary Clinton is the best and most experienced person in the race! The sexism she has faced is totally unfair! She deserves to be treated with respect for her service and experience!
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