A few weeks ago there was an editorial in the New York Times by David Malpass, a senior economic advisor for the Trump presidential campaign. He laid out a series of reasons, based on right-wing economic theory, why a Trump presidency would be better for the economy than a Clinton presidency.
We can all agree to disagree about economic theory, but there are some things we cannot agree to disagree about. And one of those was Mr. Malpass’s closing thought, which I repeat verbatim:
One candidate has spent her lifetime seeking the presidency. Mr. Trump hasn’t.
Think about this for a moment. What is he actually saying? Speaking as an American, I know that I grew up with some fundamental truths. One of those is that, if you are kid, wanting to grow up to one day become President of the United States is applauded.
Wanting to serve your country in this way is the American Dream condensed to its fundamental essence. So much so that to tell a child that they could never aspire to such a position is, arguably, abusive.
So what, exactly, is wrong with Hillary Clinton “spending her lifetime seeking the presidency?” Let’s do a though experiment. Suppose Mr. Malpass had been talking about a man.
How does this sound: “Mr. Bush has spent his lifetime seeking the presidency.” Or try this one: “Mr. Lincoln has spent his lifetime seeking the presidency.” The only rational response would be “Well, good for him.”
The only difference is between the words “her” and “his”. Apparently, it’s ok, in fact laudible, for a male to aspire to the presidency. But if a woman wants exactly the same thing, she clearly does not know her place.
If you were black, and a candidate’s campaign said that a black candidate was being “uppity” for daring to run for president, you probably wouldn’t vote for that candidate. If you were Jewish, and a candidate’s campaign said that there was no place for a Jew in the White House, you probably wouldn’t vote for that candidate.
So I wonder, all politics aside, what woman in her right mind would vote for a candidate whose campaign is built, in such an obvious way, around mysogyny?