Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures, Text Boxes, and Photos
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction: Gender and Electoral Politics in the Early Twenty-First Century
- 1 Presidential Elections: Gendered Space and the Case of 2008
- 2 The 2008 Candidacies of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin: Cracking the “Highest, Hardest Glass Ceiling”
- 3 Voter Participation and Turnout: Female Star Power Attracts Women Voters
- 4 Voting Choices: The Politics of the Gender Gap
- 5 Latinas and Electoral Politics: Movin' on Up
- 6 African American Women and Electoral Politics: A Challenge to the Post-Race Rhetoric of the Obama Moment
- 7 Congressional Elections: Women's Candidacies and the Road to Gender Parity
- 8 Political Parties and Women's Organizations: Bringing Women into the Electoral Arena
- 9 Advertising, Web Sites, and Media Coverage: Gender and Communication along the Campaign Trail
- 10 State Elections: Why Do Women Fare Differently across States?
- Index
- References
2 - The 2008 Candidacies of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin: Cracking the “Highest, Hardest Glass Ceiling”
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures, Text Boxes, and Photos
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction: Gender and Electoral Politics in the Early Twenty-First Century
- 1 Presidential Elections: Gendered Space and the Case of 2008
- 2 The 2008 Candidacies of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin: Cracking the “Highest, Hardest Glass Ceiling”
- 3 Voter Participation and Turnout: Female Star Power Attracts Women Voters
- 4 Voting Choices: The Politics of the Gender Gap
- 5 Latinas and Electoral Politics: Movin' on Up
- 6 African American Women and Electoral Politics: A Challenge to the Post-Race Rhetoric of the Obama Moment
- 7 Congressional Elections: Women's Candidacies and the Road to Gender Parity
- 8 Political Parties and Women's Organizations: Bringing Women into the Electoral Arena
- 9 Advertising, Web Sites, and Media Coverage: Gender and Communication along the Campaign Trail
- 10 State Elections: Why Do Women Fare Differently across States?
- Index
- References
Summary
On June 7, 2008, Hillary Clinton spoke for about thirty minutes to a large crowd of supporters at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., announcing the official suspension of her campaign and ending her bid to become president of the United States. This was hardly the speech she had envisioned giving when she posted the simple words “I'm in” on her Web site on January 20, 2007, declaring her candidacy for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.
Clinton had won more votes and more delegates than any unsuccessful presidential primary candidate in history, and for several months, she had been viewed as the front-runner to win her party's nomination. As she bowed out of the race, Clinton, who had downplayed her gender throughout most of the campaign, explained, “When I was asked what it means to be a woman running for president, I always gave the same answer, that I was proud to be running as a woman, but I was running because I thought I'd be the best president.” Acknowledging that gender “barriers and biases” remain, Clinton pointed to the fact that, as she spoke, the fiftieth woman astronaut was orbiting the earth. To a roar of approval from her supporters, she proclaimed:
If we can blast 50 women into space, we will someday launch a woman into the White House. Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it and the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Gender and ElectionsShaping the Future of American Politics, pp. 44 - 77Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009
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