Barack, Hillary Swap Gender Roles for '08

Candidate should do for gender what he did for race

(NEWSER) - It’s a shame that Hillary Clinton never gave a speech about gender to match Barack Obama’s speech about race, writes Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times. So why not make that speech yourself, Barack? Kristof even has the talking points for you:

• Racism is deeper, but sexism may be wider. More Americans say they’d vote for a black man than a woman.
• Biases are stealthy. Americans don’t mean to discriminate based on gender; but the subconscious harbors stereotypes.

Some see gender roles smashed, others see them enforced, by Hillary's run

(NEWSER) - While some observers look at the waning Hillary Clinton campaign and see a milestone in the march of gender equality—“a historic if incomplete triumph”—others, especially Clinton’s female supporters, see “a depressing reminder” of lingering sexism. The New York Times examines the mixed legacy of the first viable presidential run by a woman. More»

Voters worry about age more than race or gender, survey finds

(NEWSER) - GOP contender John McCain would lose to either Democratic candidate if the match-up were held today, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Adults nationwide would choose Barack Obama over McCain by 12 percentage points; Hillary Clinton would beat the Republican by six points. Though McCain has eight months to gain ground, he appears to be a hard sell to many independent and moderate voters. More»

Can't match Obama, Clinton's celebrity

(NEWSER) - The nation is enraptured with the prospect of a female or black president, and John Edwards' loss in his home state yesterday underscores his inability to nab the spotlight from his celebrity rivals. "He is the most gifted athlete on the field, but there's just not room," one staffer tells the Washington Post. More»

Conventional wisdom says no, but Clinton-Obama might be perfect

(NEWSER) - Conventional wisdom has reservations about a Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama ticket, Peter Ross Range writes in Der Spiegel, but the pairing might just be perfect enough to overcome them. The two Democratic contenders are not geographical or ideological complements, they’ve “hit bottom in personal terms” and they’d be two “minorities” on a single bill—but their celebrity and combined strengths could break the mold. More»