Elizabeth on Hillary (and Obama)

What we hope to achieve is a society that doesn’t value a white man because he’s a white man, but also doesn’t value a woman because she’s a woman, or a black because he’s a black. So it bothers me that the pitch is made, as it is, that there’s an obligation of people to give support.

So said Elizabeth Edwards in this Salon interview. You go, girl

Elizabeth seems painfully aware of the women’s tax that Hillary Clinton is having to pay (which is so much like the black tax Barack Obama has to pay). Not familiar with those taxes? Well, basically what they say is that a black/woman has to not only be as good, but better, than a white/male in order to get the vote of a black/woman. (And now you know why black women are #4.)

So like Obama’s tightrope, Hillary has to walk a fine line between being a woman but not being too strong to anger the male voters. (And, no, that’s not the same as “behaving like a man.”)

The first female, the first black – they always have a tougher road. But the key is to go through that door and leave it wide open behind you.

When I was a lawyer, I was the first female lawyer many people had ever seen. I had an obligation to my client to do the work right, but I thought constantly about my obligation to the women who came after me. If I didn’t do a good job, they wouldn’t get a chance to sit where I’m sitting.

You know, I wish Elizabeth was the candidate instead of John.

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