This short video criticizes Hillary Clinton for answering two questions with references to her being a woman. I say the criticism is shallow and unfair.

More of Obama?

The second question, starting at 36 seconds into the video, was, “How would you not be a third term of President Obama?” She answered that “Being the first woman president would be quite a change from the presidents we’ve had up till now.”

This is a fine answer. And if the interviewer wanted to hear about policy differences, they can clarify, as one does at 54 seconds in, but the editor of the clip cut off her answer to artificially support his or her point. At other times, she has pointed to policy differences. In fact, at 3 minutes and 10 seconds into the clip, they show a shot from Cheers and then show Hillary answering the same question referring to policy.

But it’s a fine answer because we’ve never had a female president and we have plenty of cultural stories about Congress being an “old boys club”. While there’s nothing inherently different about the views and policies of women and men, there are huge cultural differences, including our prejudices.

Is a Woman an Outsider?

Let’s now look at the first question, starting at 24 seconds about this being the year of outsiders, “Why should Democrats embrace an insider like yourself?” She replied, “I can’t think of anything more like an outsider than electing the first woman president.”

Voting for someone because they’re a woman or a black is just as good a reason as voting for them because they’re an insider or an outsider. NEITHER of these are about policy. They’re all about point of view. It’s clear to me that we live in a sexist culture. It seems to me that it’s both discriminatory against those with more feminine personality attributes as well as unequal in how most people treat men and women. In that sense, she’s an outsider.

And as with the other question, if the interviewer wanted to clarify and ask, “What if voters want a Washington outsider?” She could say that may or may not be true. Each person brings fresh a new perspective and new strengths. The basic criticism in this video is unfair.

I say what people want is a real difference in Washington. They want problem solving and compromise. They want an end to gridlock and partisan divisiveness. They want solutions and responsible legislation. They want political reform. Instead of focusing on “a third term of President Obama” or on being an “outsider”, they should ask about solutions to those problems.

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