Calling all feminists! Hillary Clinton needs your support

Did you grow up during the feminist movement of the '60s and '70s? I did, and although I was too young for most of it to actually get involved, I remember the point of it very well, and I believe I've benefited from it throughout my career. When I started in computing in the mid-'80s, it was definitely a male-dominated field (still is today!, but not as much). I never let that concern me, as I knew that I was just as capable as any man of being a great programmer and system administrator, and I plunged in and made my mark. My first job was at a furniture store chain, and it was up to me to transition them off their IBM System/3 mainframe and onto a multi-location, multiuser UNIX system. Talk about a challenge! But I loved every second of it. To this day I don't think I would have been given the opportunity had it not been for my older "sisters" who worked hard to break down glass ceilings and make the idea of women holding powerful jobs, especially in areas that were historically male-dominated, seem mainstream.

Today, I'm reminded of the passion of the feminist movement by the presence of a woman--a strong, intelligent, capable woman--as a viable candidate for president of the United States. I always hoped I'd see a female president in my lifetime and now, with Hillary Clinton running for the office, I'm excited beyond description.

Before going any further let me make something very clear: I would absolutely NOT support a woman for president just because she's a woman. The reason I'm so passionate about Hillary Clinton becoming president is because she's a woman AND she's the best qualified candidate. A mediocre female candidate would never win my support over a better qualified male. Period. So when I say I support Hillary's bid for president it needs to be understood that, first and foremost, she's QUALIFIED for the position; the fact that she's a woman is just icing on the cake.

I'd like to put out a call to all feminists--male and female--to support Clinton's run for president. Those of you who are too young to even grasp what it was like when women were relegated to lower-paying, lower-prestige jobs just because they were women, really need to have a little history lesson! You should read up on what it was like when women were nurses--not doctors, secretaries--not executives, legal secretaries--not attorneys, data entry clerks--not programmers or system analysts, etc. If you're currently in school studying to be, or you already are, a physician or a lawyer, an engineer or a chemist, a rocket scientist or an astronaut, please stop and think about HOW you got there. Trust me, things weren't always like they are now! In fact, women weren't even expected to work. No, really. College educated women were expected to give up working once they were married, and stay home cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, etc., while her husband earned the money--and made all the financial decisions, and had all the power. You're LUCKY to be living now, when you're free to make your own choices--if you [or your husband] WANT to stay home and cook/clean/change diapers, you [or he] can!, but if you want to continue pursuing your career, you can do that, too.

Please join SmartAssProducts.com in supporting Hillary Clinton for president. This really is a chance to make history! We didn't start out being anti-Obama, but have basically become so as he's gotten endless hype, adulation, endorsements, and media coverage--undeservedly so, in our opinion. Forget about the supposed history-making that electing a black (actually, HALF black) man would create. He's still male! If you're truly interested in making HERstory...er,history, support Hillary Clinton. She's more qualified, better prepared, and has vastly more experience than Barack Obama, and that's why we think you should support her. But it cannot be denied that putting a woman into the White House will be a profound step for American women which may, finally, put us on equal footing with men in the workplace.

One last thing: Please contribute to Hillary's campaign! And encourage others to do the same.

If you're upset with the LA Times...

I'm still pissed off at the LA Times for endorsing Obama instead of Clinton, and today I stumbled upon a link on their Politics A-Z page that asks for feedback on political issues. This is the direct link for the feedback form. I encourage anyone who's unhappy with their endorsement of O Drama instead of Clinton to write and tell them so!

Barack Obama: All hype, no substance

Continuing on with yesterday's theme, we think Barack Obama is all hype but no substance. We really cannot remember any other candidate getting so much positive attention for having done so little politically. We're just stumped on this one. We also don't get why voters are jumping on the Obama bandwagon without really understanding what he has/hasn't accomplished, and why that does/doesn't qualify him to step into the White House next January as president. But they're just blindly leaping onto the bandwagon as if under some kind of spell. Wake up, people! If Obama gets elected he will be in over his head right from the start. Is that really what you want?

Looking for anti-Obama merchandise?

Let's make "herstory": Hillary '08

Last night's debate [between Clinton and Obama] really drove home just how ready Clinton is to be president of the US. She was poised, very well informed, had facts to back things up, and, as always, came off looking professional and sounding intelligent and articulate. That's not to say that Obama performed poorly because, for the most part, he didn't. It's just that Clinton is so much readier to be president now than Obama is.

Here's a scenario that would work well for all involved: A Clinton/Obama ticket. That way, we'd get the immediate readiness on Clinton's part to step into the oval office and get down to work, and we'd have an 8 year stretch (yes, I do believe Hillary will win a second term) with Obama as vice president, giving him time to ease into getting ready to be president.

For right now, let's concentrate on making "herstory" by electing Clinton in November. (For the record, we don't think Clinton should be elected BECAUSE she's a woman. The only thing that counts is who's the best candidate for the job and, in our opinion, that's Clinton, hands down.)

One issue that REALLY bothers me is Obama's repeated attempts at making it sound like his opposition to the Iraq war, from the beginning, somehow makes him the better choice. Wrong! Clinton based her decision to support the war on faulty information and lies from the Bush administration. Under those circumstances, who can fault her? She did what she thought was best based on the facts as she knew them. She didn't have a crystal ball and couldn't have known how faulty the Bush intelligence (wow, is that an oxymoron or what?!) was; Bush was the president and Clinton had to assume that what he was saying was indeed correct. If there really had been weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, wouldn't it be a good thing to go in and take control? Of course it would. And that's what Clinton thought she was supporting. I have no problem whatsoever with Clinton's changing opinions over time regarding the war. It's GOOD to learn from one's mistakes! It's GOOD to admit that--knowing what one knows now--one wouldn't make the same bad decision they did when they had incomplete data. Obama and his supporters really need to get over the fact that he--in his opinion--was 'right' about the war from the get-go. Really...get over it.

Do we REALLY want an inexperienced person in the White House?

With all the hype being generated around Barack Obama, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that he does not have the experience it's going to take to clean up after eight disastrous Bush years. So who does have that experience? Hillary Clinton, of course!

We're surprised to see everyone from Oprah Winfrey to John Kerry jumping on the Obama bandwagon, because they're clearly overlooking his lack of experience. If they're so interested in "making history" [by electing the first "black" president--and keep in mind
that he's only half black, but for some reason everybody seems to be forgetting that], what they ought to do is support Hillary. After all, it really would be history-making for the United States to elect a female president! Instead, though, they're putting their support behind a half-black, inexperienced man, and we really don't get it.