Does the defeat of Hillary mean a defeat for women?

Her campaign is over so now may be the time to ask this. I would agree that this was the defeat for a woman, but I don’t see how it represents a defeat for womankind.

There are many women [not a fair or proportionate number certainly, but still quite a few] in the Democratic Party who hold the kinds of positions [US Senators, governors, major House position] normally qualified with presidential candidates.

Ms. Clinton received the prominence she received not from her own accomplishments as senator from New York, not from any special vision she seems to have for our country nor from any skills which distinguish her from a lot of politicians, male and female, but as wife of a former president.

I don’t know why Barbara Mikulski [whom Mondale should have taken instead of Ferraro -- Well, she is McCain’s age but women have more years allotted to them], Barbara Boxer [her California colleague, Dianne Feinstein, may be a bit too old], Jean Sibelius, Nancy Pelosi, Deborah Stabenow, or any of several other women did not run. With the right campaign it would seem that almost any of them could have pursued a credible candidacy.

It was thought that Hillary’s position as Bill’s wife brought her opportunity and I am sure that it did. However, it also had its negatives. People could wonder whether she could really be free of him. They could wonder what deals the First Husband would be pulling on the sly in the guise of an independent citizen.

And it would have been hard for her to distance herself from whatever is the Clinton legacy. While many people [not I, but a lot of others] seem to be nostalgic for that era, others remember some of the less pleasant things.

To a large degree, the defeat of Hillary seems to be a defeat not of women, but of the Clinton era.

I intend to write about the implications of what a “dream team” could mean later. In the meantime I would encourage women leaders of both parties to start looking for their own people, women who have attained position on their own and have their own vision to share and their own talents with which to lead.