Echoing previous remarks, BBC's Kay claims that Clinton has to "appear particularly tough, because she's a female candidate"
On the October 28 edition of the NBC-syndicated Chris Matthews Show, during a discussion of the Democratic presidential candidates' stances on Iran and other national security issues, BBC Washington correspondent Katty Kay said that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) "has to be able to stand up and appear particularly tough, because she's a female candidate." Kay added: "I think there's a lot of reticence still about how tough a woman would be as commander in chief. I don't think she can afford to stand up there and be soft on this particular issue [Iran]." Kay's comments echoed those she made on the September 30 edition of The Chris Matthews Show, when she asserted that Clinton's "calculation is that she can't stand up there as a woman and sound soft" and claimed that Clinton "knows that as a Clinton and as a woman, she's got to come across as somebody who is prepared to use military action if it's needed."
However, Kay's claim that "there's a lot of reticence still about how tough a woman would be as commander in chief" is not borne out by polling data -- at least with regard to Clinton. A July 9-17 CBS News/New York Times poll found that 58 percent of respondents said they believed Clinton would be an effective commander in chief and 75 percent believed Clinton is a "strong leader." Further, while the poll of registered voters asked if they "have confidence in Hillary Clinton's ability to deal wisely with an international crisis" or if they are "uneasy about her approach" -- finding that 52 percent were "uneasy" and 42 percent were "confident" -- 68 percent believed that Clinton would be somewhat likely or very likely to "make good decisions in dealing with foreign countries."
From the October 28 edition of the NBC-syndicated Chris Matthews Show:
MATTHEWS: Let's go to the Matthews Meter on that, because that's a very pertinent question. We asked 12 of our panelists, "Will a hawkish position against Iran be a winner in the general election next year?" Eight say it's a political plus to stay hawkish and refuse to rule out a military attack, and four say the hard line is a political loser. I'm amazed Katty.
KAY: I think for somebody like Hillary Clinton, she has to be able to stand up and appear particularly tough, because she's a female candidate. I think there's a lot of reticence still about how tough a woman would be as commander in chief. I don't think she can afford to stand up there and be soft on this particular issue.
And I think it's interesting what's happened to her recently is that she's almost become the center position. She's got Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney on the right of her sounding even more hawkish, she's got Barack Obama and John Edwards on the left of her. And you have the centrist candidate, which turns out to be Hillary Clinton.
MATTHEWS: Jennifer [Loven, Associated Press reporter], we've seen all this before; it's called triangulation. The Clintons have once again together come up with a formulation that allows them to leverage their own party's liberalness, and the right party's conservatism and they say we're the reasonable center.
Nuking a country is hardly reasonable, Chris.
Let's face the facts; the American people want strong leaders. Women have a more difficult time demonstrating that they can be strong leaders. It doesn't mean they can't live up to the task, it just means the bar is higher.
Thatcher did it. Golda did it. Indira did it.
But, Hillary simply likes to throw lamps; she does not have it.
The strongest leaders do the least attacking.
There is little reason to invade any Grenadas when one does not have to placate the hawks. (Yet another reason I despise Ray-Gun.) There is no need to sell arms to Iran in order to conduct covert efforts to overthrow lawful governments in Nicaragua. (Ray-gun, again.)One would never need to invade unlawfully, and occupy for five-plus years, some third-world despot, in order to establish credentials with the electorate. One would do reasonable things to protect this nation, and allow it to prosper, for one would be blessed with true leadership.
Great point
Any moron can push the button. It takes brains to know when.
If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking. George S. Patton
Didn't these three start wars? Who was killed in these wars? And how many people are killed by thrown lamps?
Are you a peeping-Copious that looks through windows or just through looking glasses? Seems that there is no end to the nonsense thrown at one person. Let you Blognuts know that Hilary once killed an ant.
"Women have a more difficult time demonstrating that they can be strong leaders."
Except, at least in my case, when it comes to asserting their leadership of the household.
But hey, what can you do? She's got the *****, and she has no problem depriving you of it. :-)
Pete, you and I know who really controls the world. Closet cases like Compliant consent and Rush Limbaugh just want to see guys in flight suits aiming large missiles at other traditional, conservative nutbags like OBL and Kim Jong Il.
If we can't find another comfortably heterosexual prez like Clinton. I'd vote for a proudly "out" one.I just don't want to see another trillion dollars go towards Presidential male enhancement.
Copious, when you say that the American people want "strong " leaders, I wonder do you really mean belligerent ones. I think America has seen enough of that, and the fact that she's a woman may actually help her in the general election because it may be presumed a woman is more likely to try diplomacy and cooperation with other countries intelligence and police services before resorting to war.
The BBC have been going downhill ever since they bent over and took a spanking over the story of the "Sexing up" of the memo to aid the invasion of Iraq.They were proved to be right, but the only people to lose their jobs were the Director General Greg Dyke and the reporter Andrew Gilligan, while the specialist who made the now correct claim was said to commit suicide, even though now this has proved to be in doubt.
The idea that a candidate from any party should act more this way or that way to get elected offends me. That is one of the major things wrong with politics. I realize this sounds very naive, but I would prefer to vote for someone on the basis of who they are and what they stand for. Not for an image. We are not handing out emmys. We are electing President whom we all hope will lead the country. Leadership of America must be done with a reverant respect for not only what the people want but what our laws and form of government dictate. We now have leaders that said and acted a certain way before they were elected. And have taken power as they wished from all the branches of our govrnment. I know as a citizen concerned for the integrty of our form of government I prefer making a choice for President on the voting record and the causes a candidate has championed. Inform us of those things and ignorant talk show people and rag journalists won't have such a influence. And just maybe we can elect a person not an image.
Maggie Thatcher might just disagree with the statement that "how tough a woman would be as comander and chief" Because one is a person that cares about health care and other issues that affect the average American citizen, does not mean that same person cannot be firm when the time dictates. One can be a liberal and make choices based on that; but speaking as a woman. If someone is threatening my family I become a tiger. Therefore, if a woman were the head of the American family I have no doubt that she could be tough enough.
The point that Kay makes is ludicris! There have been female leaders for many years around the world. The only reason there is so much chatter about a woman leader in the US is there has been a good old boy network that has perpetuated the backward thinking that a woman is somehow not quite able to make the tough dicisions. Of course if anyone took the time to actually think about this idea they would realize it is total manure! The people that think woman are not tough have obviously not been through giving birth.