A couple of days ago, Linda Hirshman made the claim that Hillary wasn’t going to much play from women in the voting booth. Women were not likely to vote for her, because women are just dumb cows that follow their husbands on political matters. The feminist blogosphere basically told her to fuck off (links to come). Wish they had said that more clearly when she was just picking on mothers.

In general, women do not vote much differently than their spouses, though probably not for the reasons that Hirshman gives. However, women haven’t been given the choice of a woman for president before, so it’s hard to say what they are going to do this time.

I asked my students yesterday whether they would vote for Hillary just because she was a woman. Some women and some men said they would.

The press has been giving Hillary pointers on how much to play up her femininity and her motherhood. Should she play the mom to America?

Being the broken hearted mom gave Cindy Sheehan a moral edge and public sympathy. An appealing face to the antiwar movement. But a president shouldn’t be a martyr. And everybody hates doing what their mom tells them to do, so I’m not sure if this is a good strategy for Hillary.

Most women who have kids are more than just moms. They have other interests. Some have fulfilling careers. Most moms aren’t the helmet-headed PTA chief carrying muffins and frowning on fun. However, women find it difficult to escape from that confining stereotype. It’s hard to convince people that you’re a mom and a teacher, a mom and an artist, a mom and a professor with a growing list of addictive habits. I think it will be hard for Hillary to push the mom and a politician thing.

Question of the Day Would you vote for Hillary just because she’s a woman? Should Hillary use the mom card?