The macho image ("cojones" and "testicular fortitude") must be backfiring on Hillary

[ProSense]

Hillary's cojones

In a piece on Politico, I look at the odd fact that the would-be first woman president is, lately, being depicted metaphorically, as a man, and more generally at her latest incarnation.

INDIANAPOLIS — Evan Bayh was halfway through telling a story about "a steelworker in Northern Indiana" on stage beside his Senate colleague, Hillary Clinton.

"Anybody know what he said?" Bayh asked at the Saturday rally, starting to quote the
steelworker: "Our candidate is the one in the race –."

Clinton cut him off with a whisper and an urgent gesture.

"She doesn't want me to go there,” Bayh told the crowd. “OK. I won't. Alright, alright.”

Clinton may not like the story, but her supporters love it: The sheet metal workers union official in Portage, Indiana cited by Bayh had praised her "testicular fortitude" before lighting into unnamed "Gucci wearing, latte-drinking" opponents.

Also last week, a New York Post columnist wrote that she'd won the "cojones primary."

And James Carville, the Clintons' ubiquitous former aide, booster, and informal adviser made the point even more vividly, giving Clinton a two-gonad edge on her primary rival, Senator Barack Obama.

"If she gave him one of her cojones, they'd both have two," Carville said.

The ballsy fighter is the newest persona for a woman whom public life has taken from a liberal policy wonk to a devoted wife, from a wronged woman to a cerebral senator.

more

(emphasis added)

Obama on Carville: Famous for ignorance

Obama, on Nightline, was asked about James Carvilles line on the cojones gap:

"Well, you know, James Carville is well-known for spouting off his mouth without always knowing what he's talking about," Obama told "Nightline." "And I intend to stay focused on fighting for the American people because what they don't need is 20 more years of performance art on television. And that's what James Carville and a lot of those folks are expert at ... a lot of talk and not getting things done for the American people."

[maddiejoan]

1. Maybe she just found it as offensive

a phrase as I do.

Good for her!

[Lucky 13]

3. After all the claims of sexism around here...

... many based on what I believe to be VERY THIN evidence at best, it astounds me that more women aren't upset that THESE statements are in fact, sexist! They are blatantly saying that BALLS are REQUIRED to be President. An inherently MALE characteristic is the most desirable in a leader. And in order for a female to be considered "worthy" it must be at least insinuated that she possesses MALE characteristics - even body parts.

So why no outrage about these statements? I find them awful. If someone accused me of having testicles, I'd throw an absolute FIT.

[frickaline]

5. personally I was offended, but when I expressed this fact

I was told I was sexist. yeah on this board.

Its sad but there's a lot of people that really believe being a man is the way forward for a woman.

[goclark]

40. What happens if we are all just People that are Voters

and candidates?

It is so not nice to talk about anybody in those terms. That is gross.
I am offended as well.

And to think that it was said and repeated right in front of her,is beyond sad.

I may not support HC but I respect her as a woman and as a person.

All the name calling is completely out of hand and I pray it will reflect that the voters of every description will be valued for :the content of their character." :patriot:

[frickaline]

44. well said.

[maddiejoan]

8. I'm pretty sure I did express outrage

[ProSense]

4. Which one: "cojones," "testicular fortitude" or "pansy"? n/t

[maddiejoan]

7. Pansy didn't offend me

as I didn't find it to be the "gay slur" people made it out to be. To me "Pansy" sounds dated --like something from a 1940s gagster movie.

Describing a woman as needing testicles in order to be tough offends me, and I'm quite positive that Hillary would find it equally inappropriate and demeaning to women.

[ProSense]

11. That doesn't mean it wasn't offensive

"GLAAD is concerned with Gov. Easley's flippant comment this morning utilizing the word "pansy,‘" said GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano. "The word is considered by many to be a demeaning and degrading reference to gay men. We encourage all those engaging in political rhetoric to stay away from using language that is considered defamatory toward any group of Americans."

link

We checked with the Washington headquarters of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's premier group promoting gay rights, and it already had a statement in the works.

Trevor Thomas, the group's deputy communications director, sent out this e-mail a few minutes later: "We certainly wish the governor would have chosen his words better and have expressed our disappointment to his staff."

link

[maddiejoan]

12. You asked me a question

I answered it.

I don't find the use of "pansy" offensive.

:shrug:

[ProSense]

13. No, which phrase are you claiming Hillary possible found offensive? n/t

[maddiejoan]

15. The answer is obvious from your own OP

you don't do coy very well, BTW

[ProSense]

16. Coy? It's obvious she hushed Bayh on "testicular fortitude." She hasn't said a word on "cojones,"

and she found the "pansy" statement amusing.

[maddiejoan]

23. Pansy was amusing

especially in the context of Rocky versus Pansy.

and what do you want the lady to do? Say outright the words "I am offended by the use of the word "cojones"?


Talk about Silly Season.


I was offended by Obama's implication that only african-americans know how to dance. :eyes:
Why didn't Obama denounce his own stereotypic statement!!!!!? OMG!!!!! I'M SERIES!!!!

[ProSense]

26. Pansy and Rocky are part of a pattern, and

none of it amusing.

[maddiejoan]

28. I thought it was damned funny

your opinion does not change mine.

[ProSense]

29. "your opinion does not change mine." Now, that wasn't the purpose of the OP, was it? n/t

[maddiejoan]

30. of course it was

as I say --you don't do coy very well.

[roguevalley]

37. she was introduced twice with that remark and did nothing. she also

hasn't decried the pansy remark either as far as I know.

[speedoo]

2. Oh I love Obama's smackdown of Carville!

"I intend to stay focused on fighting for the American people because what they don't need is 20 more years of performance art on television."

Beautiful!

[enough]

32. Yes, a good line and a great attitude.

This is the right reaction to ALL the idiocy of the media. Marginalize them.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[grantcart]

9. besides the obvious sexist problem with the remark it is not classy

blue collar workers may want somebody more like them to be president but they don't want their best friend 'Butch' president.

You do actually have to have some class in the job.

[dailykoff]

10. Hillarites, check your inbox for your new purple bandaids

Wear them proudly!

[graycem]

36. Everytime I see that picture

it makes me ill.

Friggin' idiots, mocking a real war hero to one who probably can't fly a remote control plane, let alone a real one. Ever so patriotic.

[monmouth]

14. Wellesley must be apoplectic (sp?). The school is grounded in

professional "lady-like" personna at all times. Oh yeah, this will drive them over the edge. I don't believe cajones/testicular are words to be spoken there....LOL.

[TexasObserver]

17. She has a pair ... Bill's. She keeps them in her handbag.

At least until the campaign is over. Then he gets his "dog" license back.

[cliffordu]

25. PERFECT!!!! LOL

:rofl:

[bermudat]

18. 'performance art on television' - that is a great comeback

One of the reasons I don't want to see Hillary in the white house is that I do not want to see Carville, Begala, and the big dog on the tv nonstop over the next 4-8 years. They had their shot, they had their run. Time for something new.

[stevietheman]

19. Challenging and beating the "inevitable" nominee took something...

Obama is clearly the one with the cojones. He beat back the establishment!

[faithfulcitizen]

20. I'm glad she found it offensive. Bayh is a jerk.

where was his "testicular fortitude" when democrats stood against the bush tax cuts? Oh yeah, he was the only one who voted FOR them. I'm an Obama supporter, but I am sick to death of the "testicular fortitude" attitude. Wasn't Bush's bad enough?

[TragedyandHope]

21. REJECT the RW myth of contrived masculinity

The right-wing cult of contrived masculinity

The underlying premise of the modern conservative movement is that the entire Democratic party consists of a bunch of fags and dykes who are both too effeminate and too masculine to properly lead the nation.

As critical as it is to them to feminize Democratic and liberal males (and to masculinize the women), even more important is to create false images of masculine power and strength around their authority figures. The reality of this masculine power is almost always non-existent. The imagery is what counts.

This works exactly the same as the images of moral purity that they work so hard to manufacture, whereby the leaders they embrace -- such as Gingrich, Limbaugh, Bill Bennett, even the divorced and estranged-from-his-children Ronald Reagan and Coulter herself -- are plauged by the most morally depraved and reckless personal lives, yet still parade around as the heroes of the "Values Voters."

[nomorenomore08]

39. Very nice piece! Too bad I missed it the first time around.

nt

[JackORoses]

22. awwww... nobody's buying the small blonde man with breasts persona?

[davidlynch]

24. Obama Should Have Said Carville is Famous for Going Off "Half-Cocked"...

And then just smiled broadly from ear to ear. SNAPPPP!

[alcibiades_mystery]

27. essentially calling Carville a CLOWN, which he is

He is a highly paid political clown.

Somebody needs to get that fucker a big red nose.

[hisownpetard]

33. Big red nose? He can jut borrow Bill's.

[backscatter712]

31. The cojones talk makes Clinton & co. sound like they're in fifth grade.

They can't come up with better talking points? C'mon!

[anigbrowl]

43. Personally, I feel it plays on some old stereotypes...

For example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYlDbv7MqE8 (short but relevant)

[Scurrilous]

34. K & R

:thumbsup:

[quiet.american]

35. Not for nothing, but if anyone could use some extra cajones, it's Evan Bayh. nt

[ProSense]

38. Terry McAuliffe: Hillary Can Drink John McCain Under The Table!

Terry McAuliffe: Hillary Can Drink John McCain Under The Table!

By Greg Sargent - May 6, 2008, 1:50PM

Looks like Hillary top adviser Terry McAuliffe is really upping the ante when it comes to Hillary's ability to throw back shots with the best of 'em.

Hillary, of course, famously downed a shot of whiskey in the run-up to the voting in Pennsylvania, and today, with Hillary's efforts to court blue collar voters at full throttle, McAuliffe expanded a bit on Hillary's affection for tossing 'em back...

(Video)

McAuliffe, asked whether her shot-tossing is phony, replied that "she loves to sit, throw 'em back," adding that "she actually beat John McCain in a shot contest. She's a girl from Illinois who likes to throw 'em down with the rest of us."

Hmmm. This may be bit of an embellishment. Here's the original anecdote, as by The New York Times, that appears to be the basis of this:

Two summers ago, on a Congressional trip to Estonia, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton astonished her traveling companions by suggesting that the group do what one does in the Baltics: hold a vodka-drinking contest.

Delighted, the leader of the delegation, Senator John McCain, quickly ageed. The after-dinner drinks went so well -- memories are a bit hazy on who drank how much -- that Mr. McCain, an Arizona Republican, later told people how unexpectedly engaging he found Mrs. Clinton to be. "One of the guys" was the way he described Mrs. Clinton, a New York Democrat, to some Republican colleagues.

McCain subsequently kinda sorta it had happened, though he also did say "she can really hold her liquor."

Unclear whether there's any evidence that she won, though.

[frickaline]

41. despicable.

[symbolman]

42. And brain damage ran wild and free that night...

which is why they both share the delusion that they should run the country...