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Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and What It Will Take for a Woman to Win
Crown
January 2010
On Sale: December 29, 2009
288 pages
ISBN: 0307464253
EAN: 9780307464255
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Political
In the presidential election of 2008 America seemed ready
to elevate a woman to the presidency or vice presidency and—
with Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin—was on the verge of
actually doing so. Words like inevitable and phenomenon
were in the air and the political and cultural stars seemed
to be aligned. Why didn’t it happen? What will it take to make it happen
soon? In a probing analysis sure to ignite controversy, acclaimed
White House correspondent Anne Kornblut argues that the
optimists are blind to formidable obstacles that still
stand in the way of any woman who aims for America’s
highest political offices. And she makes clear exactly
which strategies and common assumptions will need to change
if a woman intends to break through the “highest, hardest
glass ceiling” of all. Delving deep inside the Clinton and
Palin campaigns, Kornblut reveals: • the strategists’ mishandling of their candidates as women
by failing to strike the right balance between femininity
and toughness • Clinton’s weathering of a series of stinging gender-based
attacks, until accusations of “pimping out” her daughter,
Chelsea, finally brought her to tears • that Barack Obama was celebrated for his “historic”win in
Iowa, even though it was not the first time an African
American had won a caucus, but few noticed when Clinton
became the first woman to win a primary in New Hampshire • that Palin was chosen solely by men, none of whom had
experience in running women for office Drawing from exclusive interviews with prominent women in
both parties, Kornblut pinpoints where politically
ambitious American women have gone wrong and what it will
take to put them on track to the ultimate prize: the
presidency. Former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice
asserts: “We crossed the bar on African Americans some time
ago. I’m not quite sure we’ve crossed it on women.” House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi remarks on the “suit of armor” women
must don to survive the sexism and viciousness of politics.
Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano confronts the
false rumors that she is a lesbian and reveals what an
invigorating “kick in the pants” it is to be in politics.
And California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, the
former head of eBay, compares politics to business: “It
feels to me, thus far, as less of a meritocracy and more of
a popularity contest. More of a little bit of an old boys’
club.” Kornblut identifies the surprising realities of gender
politics, such as the harsh treatment female candidates
often receive from women voters, the gap between the United
States and other countries when it comes to the
electability of women, the “mommy penalty” that handicaps
women candidates with young children, and the special
appeal that women with law enforcement backgrounds have
with voters. Notes from the Cracked Ceiling reveals that the highly
touted new era of gender-equal politics never got as far as
was commonly perceived and is now in full retreat. It is
essential reading for anyone who cares about politics and
the limits for women that persist.
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