The Making of a Woman President: Hillary Clinton

By: Kathryn Stetz

Research

I. Overview:

On January 20, 2007 Hillary Clinton officially announced that she would be running for president of the United States in the 2008 election. Clinton made her announcement by bluntly stating: “I’m in… and I’m in to win” on her website.

Hillary Clinton is formerly the first lady of the United States to Bill Clinton, who was president from 1993-2001. Additionally, Clinton was elected the Democratic senator of New York on November 7, 2000. She was the first woman to be elected to the United States senate as well as the first woman elected statewide in New York.
Despite the vast assumptions that Clinton is the first woman to ever run for United States president, she is not. In 1872 Victoria Woodhull ran for president through the Equal Rights Party. Thereafter, many women ran for president primarily in third parties and were never frontrunners. Most recently in 2000, Cathy Gordon Brown ran for president through the independent party but only received ballot access in her home state of Tennessee where she received 1,606 votes.

Although other women have run for president, Clinton is the first widely recognized woman to run and pose a serious threat to other Democratic candidates for the nomination.

II. Candidates:

Currently, there are eight democratic candidates running for president in 2008. They include Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Biden, Mike Gravel, and Chris Dodd. The latest poll has Clinton in the lead at 39%, Obama a second at 20%, and Edwards a close third with 15% of votes. Despite the fact that there are a large number of candidates, Clinton has maintained a position as a frontrunner among them.

III. SWOT Analysis:

Strengths:
i. Bill Clinton: Bill was president for two terms and still has a strong presence among American people. Additionally, Bill has the speaking skills in order to help persuade people that Hillary is the number one candidate.
ii. Experience: The fact that Hillary has experience both in the White House and as a Senator makes her a very strong competitor. The plans she proposes are backed up by experience and she can use this against her opponents.
iii. Money: Hillary Clinton has raised more money than any of the other candidates for the primaries. This gives her significant leverage when campaigning.
iv. Being a Woman: Simply by being a woman, Hillary Clinton is able to establish a connection to women throughout America and offer them something they have not been offered before. As a woman, she can help close the gender gap and gain respect for women throughout the world.

Weaknesses:
i. Iraq: Although Hillary’s current plan is appealing to people who want the war to end, she has gotten significant backlash due to the fact that she did support the war in 2002. She has become the new flip-flopper.
ii. Being a Woman: Being a woman can also be a weakness for Hillary because she is scrutinized more than the male candidates by the media and many people dislike her simply because they are not ready for a woman president.

Opportunities:
i. Gain support from critics: Through various campaign events and advertisements Hillary Clinton has the opportunity to gain more support and possibly win the primaries and go on the win the presidency.

Threats:
i. Bill Clinton: Although Bill is a valuable asset to Hillary; he also poses a threat due to his infidelity during his presidency. Many women dislike Hillary simply because of how she handled the situation.

IV. Debates:

There have been a total of 19 democratic debates thus far. The most groundbreaking debate was aired July 23, 2007 in Charleston, South Carolina. Anderson Cooper of CNN moderated the first democratic YouTube debate. This debate was different in that the questions given to the candidates were asked via YouTube video uploaded by people throughout the United States. Having people submit taped questions via YouTube created a more interactive forum and an entirely new way for the presidential debate to be viewed.

The new style of debate was criticized by some, saying it the questions were not difficult enough and lacked sufficient follow up questions. Recently, a new website came out called “10 Questions.” It is similar to the YouTube debates in that people can videotape questions they have for candidates and submit them on the website. This site puts power back in the hands of the people because they get to vote on the best videos and the top ones will be used. After the questions are selected candidates will videotape their responses and people can decide online whether or not they feel the candidate accurately answered the question. On the surface, 10 Questions may appear better than the YouTube debate in that the power is entirely in the hands of the people. However, one must consider the fact that since candidates get to video tape their answers they will be much more scripted and lack the spontaneity of live television.

Clinton proved herself to be a very strong speaker during the debates and sparked a fascination for both herself and Barack Obama as the leaders of the Democrats.

Objectives:

V. The Gender Issue:

The debate among many is whether or not America is ready for a woman president. A 2006 CBS News poll squashed assumptions that Americans wouldn’t vote a woman into presidency. 92% of people agreed that they would vote for a woman for president if she were qualified. However, the question remains if Hillary Clinton is the right woman for the job.

“Girl power” may be one of Hillary’s key advantages against her male opponents. The gender gap in the United States is very real and has become increasingly apparent in the world of politics. Many women who want to see the gender gap close feel that only a woman will be able to accomplish this task. Hillary is able to take on an inspirational role for many women in the United States, giving her a tactic that the other candidates do not possess. When explaining this role, Clinton said: "As I go by, shaking hands and meeting people," Clinton said, building up to the apex of her speech, "I often hear a dad or a mom lean over to a little girl, and say, 'See, honey, you can be anything you want to be.'"

VI. Prominent Issues:

The 2008 election rests heavily on a variety of key issues that have kept America strongly divided. Some of these issues include the war in Iraq and universal health care. Hillary has taken a firm stance on all of these issues and has clearly outlined what she would do if elected president of the United States.
Some Issues Clinton included on her website:
a) Strengthening the Middle Class: In order to strengthen the middle class Hillary Clinton outlined several mechanisms she will employ when she is president. Including:
o Make health care affordable and accessible to every American.
o Reduce the cost of energy and make us energy independent.
o Expand access to affordable, high-quality childcare.
o Make college more affordable.
o Protect families from predatory lenders and help them avoid foreclosures.
o Increase the minimum wage.
o Create good jobs with good wages to expand the middle class.
o Balance the federal budget so we don't pass today's massive debts to the next generation.
o Reward savings, protect pensions, and provide greater retirement security.

b) Providing Affordable and Accessible Health Care: On September 17, 2007 Hillary Clinton unveiled her health care plan of $110 billion. Clinton’s “America Health Choices Plan” would require every American to have health insurance. The plan would do three things in order to ensure health insurance for each American. It would provide tax credits to families to help them afford health insurance, provide federal subsidies to those who couldn’t afford health insurance, and large business would be required to provide or help pay for employee’s insurance.

Weary of criticisms, when announcing the plan, Clinton assured American’s that "I know my Republican opponents will try to equate this plan with government-run health care. Well don't let them fool you again," Clinton said, explaining that her plan would allow participants to "keep the doctors you know and trust" while it would expand "personal choice" and keep costs down. Still, critics attacked the proposed plan saying it was socialized medicine and was attacked by Republican congressmen as well as people in pharmaceutical industries. Moreover, competition John Edwards spoke out against the plan, claiming it was peculiarly similar to a plan he proposed months earlier and a plan Barack Obama announced the previous spring. Clinton was not fully prepared for the amount of backlash she received about her proposed plan and thus was defeated.

c) Ending the War in Iraq: The War in Iraq is one of the biggest factors in helping voters decide what candidate they support. Hillary Clinton has yet to promise a total withdrawal of troops from Iraq. However, she does plan to have fewer than 100,000 troops there for the purpose of narrowly tailored missions. Furthermore, Clinton has developed a roadmap in order to see a clear end to the war in Iraq.

Clinton is receiving negative attention regarding her stance on Iraq due to her support of a military threat in Iraq in 2002. Regardless of what the media hounds her on, she refuses to waiver in her stance: “You know, we can talk about 2002 or we can look forward to what is a continuing involvement in a sectarian civil war with no end in sight, and I believe it’s imperative that we try to create a political consensus to move the president and the Republicans in Congress to extricating us from this civil war,” she told Mr. Russert during a “Meet the Press” interview.

d) Promoting Energy Independence and Fighting Global Warming: Global warming has become an increasingly important issue in the United States over the past few years. Hillary Clinton has proposed to work towards aiding energy independence and fighting global warming if elected president. She will look to reduce pollution that contributes to global warming as well as investing in clean energy technologies and increase fuel efficiency. Clinton has taken a personal step in helping out with this particular cause by having a tour bus that is fueled by natural gas. Finally, Clinton proposed to congress the creation of a Strategic Energy Fund in order to aid in research to help fight global warming.

e) Restoring America’s Standing in the World: Several times Hillary Clinton has spoken out against President Bush’s tactics and the way the perception of the United States has been negatively affected by him. Therefore, Clinton hopes to restore America’s standing in the world if president. She plans to keep the United States in the forefront as a promoter of peace throughout the world and has already begun herself by visiting over 80 countries and by advocating freedoms for countries as senator.

f) A Champion for Women: Perhaps one of the most exciting roles Hillary Clinton is taking on is a strong advocator for women’s rights. Although women’s rights have always been an issue, the prospect of tangible change comes from a woman being in charge. Clinton plans to help women’s rights by standing against discrimination in the workplace, help to bring about equal pay between men and women, and continue to speak out against sex trafficking. Clinton has made it one of her goals as president to empower women throughout the United States and the world.

Programming:

VII. Changing Media:

One thing that can’t be disputed is the way in which media coverage has changed since a woman began running for president. Hillary has faced more scrutiny regarding her attire and physical features than any of the other candidates. On July 20, 2007, the fashion section of the Washington Post printed an article written by Robin Givhan titled “Hillary Clinton’s Tentative Dip into New Neckline Territory.” The article detailed Clinton’s outfit when she spoke on the Senate floor July 18, 2007. Clinton was wearing a pink blazer and the neckline of the top underneath sat low on her chest. The article went on to evaluate Clinton’s conservative dress style throughout the years and scrutinized her for possibly becoming more fashion savvy since her campaign began. Givhan ended the article by stating what, according to her, showing cleavage means as a woman:
“With Clinton, there was the sense that you were catching a surreptitious glimpse at something private. You were intruding -- being a voyeur. Showing cleavage is a request to be engaged in a particular way. It doesn't necessarily mean that a woman is asking to be objectified, but it does suggest a certain confidence and physical ease. It means that a woman is content being perceived as a sexual person in addition to being seen as someone who is intelligent, authoritative, witty and whatever else might define her personality. It also means that she feels that all those other characteristics are so apparent and undeniable, that they will not be overshadowed.”

Hillary Clinton was quick with her response to the article calling it “grossly inappropriate.” Clinton went on to use this article to her advantage by starting a fundraiser and encouraging donors to "to take a stand against this kind of coarseness and pettiness in American culture." Givhan responded to backlash by disagreeing that the article was in any way rude or inappropriate, and went on to say that "It's obviously not the most important thing in the campaign. It's obviously not the most important thing Hillary Clinton has ever done by any means."

The jury is still out on whether or not Clinton’s outfit was inappropriate that fateful day but it is of general consensus that the Washington Post article crossed the fine line between what the media should and should not focus on. A woman being a frontrunner in the presidential campaign is history in itself; however the media changed a great deal as well in what they choose to focus on. The general consensus about the article was summed up well by Lewis, who wrote the fundraising letter: "Frankly, focusing on women's bodies instead of their ideas is insulting. It's insulting to every woman who has ever tried to be taken seriously in a business meeting. It's insulting to our daughters--and our sons--who are constantly pressured by the media to grow up too fast."

VIII. Facebook and Myspace: The New Generation of Campaigning:

Hillary Clinton is on facebook. There are groups supporting her and groups against her. Currently, she has 48,615 “supporters” or “friends.” Could this help her win the 2008 presidential election? Quite possibly. Facebook and MySpace aren’t just social networking sites for high school and college students anymore; they are ways for presidential candidates to interact with a once hard-to-reach but undeniably important audience. These websites offer a forum for discussion among the audience, groups to join, and even as a way to raise campaign funds.

The laid back format allows candidates to promote themselves and post information about their stances on issues candidly. Clinton has taken full advantage of what facebook has to offer, yet she still lacks the personal touch that seems to come so easily to opponents like Barack Obama or John Edwards. As of May 2007, both Clinton and Barack had facebook groups “One Million Strong for Barack Obama” and “One Million Strong for Hillary Clinton.” Obama’s group had 320,000+ members while Clintons had a lowly 5,300 members.

While there are the occasional negative groups about Clinton (“One Million Against Hillary Clinton”), she has projected an overall positive image and by joining social networking sites has reached an entirely new audience and has created awareness. Only time will tell if facebook will help decide the 2008 presidential election.


IX. Advertisements/Slogan:

One of the most important tactics in developing a solid campaign is having a slogan that appeals to the audience and is memorable. Hillary Clinton’s campaign slogan is: “Let the Conversation Begin.” Additionally, her tour bus is named the “Middle Class Express Bus Tour.” Finally, Hillary has come up with advertisements to help reinforce her campaign slogan.

“Let the Conversation Begin” was introduced on Hillary’s first stop on her campaign tour, Iowa. Clinton stressed the need to communicate and work with one another. This helped Clinton establish a more intimate relationship with people through webcasts and question and answer sessions. Clinton said that thus far, the conversation coming from Washington was “pretty one-sided.”

Reminiscent of John McCain’s tour bus in 2000, the “Straight Talk Express,” Clinton has named her tour bus the “Middle Class Express Bus Tour.” The name of the bus stems from Clinton’s goal to strengthen the middle class in America.

Clinton’s first advertisement stressed to people that she recognized their needs and will not let them go unheard. The advertisement assured people that they were not invisible to her and if president, they will never be invisible again. This advertisement not only helps to reinforce the campaign slogan but it also helps appeal to lower-class people who may feel they don’t have a voice in America or that no one recognizes their daily struggle. Additionally, Clinton has developed three more advertisements to support and emphasize her campaign goals. They include “Ready for Change” and changing lives with her new Health Care plan. “Stand By Us” works to reinforce Hillary’s healthcare plan, and although other candidates may claim they want to provide universal healthcare Hillary will follow through because she’s been standing up for it all along. Most recently, Clinton aired an ad about the Bush economy being like a “Trap Door,” where people can easily fall through and lose everything.

Clinton uses an emotional appeal in all of her communications tactics. She appeals to the people she is speaking to by stepping down to their level and making them feel as though she understands their hardships.

X. Website:

Hillary Clinton’s website, www.hillaryclinton.com, is chalk full of background information, videos, ways to donate, and press releases. It encourages supporters by giving them a list of eight things they can do to get involved. Including getting access to web updates, setting a fundraising goal and meeting it, help build a list of supporters, plan an event, find an event, join/start a group, and start a blog. The website is an important tool for helping people find out information about Clinton and what her goals are if she becomes president. Furthermore, it is incredibly interactive and entices people to keep on clicking.

XI. Timing:

It is no coincidence that Hillary Clinton picked 2008 as the year she would run for president. First, when running for president it is often more difficult to win when running against an incumbent in office. Therefore, Hillary strategically chose 2008 to run for president to help her chances of winning the election. Additionally, the timing worked out well as far as scheduling and running for re-election as senator.

XII. Press Releases:

Almost daily, the Clinton campaign sends out press releases about what Hillary is doing, where she is visiting next or recent donations. All of the press releases are posted on the website. The press releases fail to mention any negative aspects in Clinton’s campaign. For example, although Clinton did respond to the July 20, 2007 Washington Post article about her cleavage through a fundraiser letter, there was no press release sent out about it. The press releases are only involving positive updates in Clinton’s campaign and subsequently fail to mention any bumps along the campaign trail.

XIII. Endorsements/Fundraisers:

When it comes to money, Hillary Clinton has a lot of it. Clinton is a strong leader against all of the other candidates in campaign fundraising. In the first quarter, Clinton raised a staggering $26 million, which is three times more than anyone has risen thus far in the election, ever. Currently, Clinton has $35 million raised to spend in the primary; however, Barack Obama recently began to catch up with a total of $32 million.

Despite Clinton’s seemingly endless funds, she had a negative experience in August 2007. One of Clinton’s biggest donors, Norman Hsu, who gave her campaign $23,000, had a warrant out for his arrest due to a 1991 fraud case. In response to the situation, Clinton gave all the money Hsu donated to charity.

Evaluation:

XIV. Bill’s Role:

Former President Bill Clinton is going to play an enormous role in Hillary’s presidential campaign. Initially, he stayed out of the limelight but has since stepped forward and spoken about her on many occasions. Bill can be seen as both an asset and a liability to her.

Is Hillary a strong woman for sticking with her husband after news of his affair broke and was she strong when she decided to protect the sanctity of marriage that she believed in? Or was she weak for staying by his side after he cheated on her for the entire world to see? Ironically, due to Bill’s charisma and presence, people still like him as a person. Hillary, however, does not have that luxury and she is forever scrutinized for her decision to stay with Bill and it may affect people’s willingness to vote for her.

However, Bill also is a key player in Hillary’s campaign and is very influential. Although it is Hillary’s presidential campaign and Bill is merely a passenger along for the ride, when he speaks positively about her people listen. Another way that Bill helps Hillary is due to the fact that he is the former president of the United States and therefore is very well known. Bill is merely a supporter of Hillary and when asked about his role if she became president said, "I think that I should be out there helping her solve problems and giving my best advice, maybe helping settle the domestic problems," Clinton said when asked if voters will be facing a "buy one, get one free" scenario that he touted when he ran for president.”

Whether positive or negative, asset or liability; Bill has a distinct role in Hillary’s campaign. And he will help her gain supporters as well as be a factor in whether or not Hillary is the next president of the United States.

XV. Professional Opinion:

For a professional opinion regarding Hillary Clinton’s campaign towards potentially being the first woman president of the United States I interviewed Mr. Garry Mauro. Currently Mauro is the State Director of Texas for Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Previously, he was the constitutional officer in Texas and he ran against President Bush for Texas governor in 1998. Mauro’s relationship with Hillary Clinton began in 1972 when she was working in Texas on voter registration. Their friendship grew over the years and Mauro has been close with the Clinton’s for many years. Additionally, Mauro worked on former President Clinton’s presidential campaign.

I proposed some the various problems Hillary has faced since she began to run and asked Mauro what he thought about her responses and if he would have done them differently:

1. Question: Hillary uses virtually every media tactic to reach people. What do you think her best tactic is? (advertisements/blog/events/website)

Garry Mauro: My personal opinion is that what she does best is look forward and not backward. Most presidential campaigns are replicating the previous presidents cycle. The strength Hillary has shown is that she looks forward and she has the most unusual mix of retail politics with an unusual way of using internet and non-stream forms of media communication. No one has ever run a campaign like she has run.

2. Q: When Hillary spoke about Iraq and her goals for the war if president she received a lot of criticism because in 2002 she supported the war. In a response she said: “You know, we can talk about 2002 or we can look forward to what is a continuing involvement in a sectarian civil war with no end in sight, and I believe it’s imperative that we try to create a political consensus to move the president and the Republicans in Congress to extricating us from this civil war.” What is your opinion about her response? Was it appropriate? Would you have told her to say something different? Do you think it was effective?

GM: I personally think the way she’s dealt with the criticism on the war has been just about right. And I probably wouldn’t have done everything the way she’s done it but the way she’s done things have been successful. It would be silly to second guess a successful strategy. When it comes to the war in Iraq you have to think about it more than just as a tactic. I think her views, as the countries views have evolved as we’ve gotten more and more information. It’s not as black and white as people think.

3. Q: Hillary obviously has a strong following of women. However, some women dislike her because of the fact that she stayed with Bill after his affair with Monica Lewinsky. How do you think she can fix this image?

GM: If you look at the senate race in New York, and that’s the only accurate info we have, the people in New York have felt the strongest that Hillary should’ve left President Clinton over Monica Lewinsky. However, the significant majority came to be Hillary Clinton’s supporters. It’s my belief that as people examine the real Hillary, not the media caricature of her, they’ll make a new decision. There will always be those few that think she should’ve left her marriage but I think it’ll be a smaller percentage of the overall population of women. Some Christian marriage rules say should stick through marriages and are supposed to forgive and find a way to work through it, and as a 35 year friend of the Clintons I’ve always shared the general public’s fascination with their marriage but also been close enough to know they really are committed to each other.

4. Q: In July 2007 there was an article published in the Washington Post about Hillary Clinton's attire when speaking on the Senate floor and the fact that there may have been cleavage showing. In response to the article, the campaign sent out a fundraising letter calling a Washington Post fashion writer's column on Clinton's cleavage "grossly inappropriate" and asking donors "to take a stand against this kind of coarseness and pettiness in American culture." The letter went on to say: "Frankly, focusing on women's bodies instead of their ideas is insulting. It's insulting to every woman who has ever tried to be taken seriously in a business meeting. It's insulting to our daughters--and our sons--who are constantly pressured by the media to grow up too fast." Do you think Hillary handled it in the right way with her response? Was it appropriate to start a fundraiser? Do you think she would’ve been better off ignoring it?

GM: You can’t ignore it. That is the most obvious example of the double standard. The media is willing to exploit Hillary and all women, talking about that kind of stuff is at best laughable and at worst it shows how hard it is for a women to be taken seriously in a major leadership role in this culture. I would bet you that the fundraising campaign was very successful.

After asking Garry Mauro about a series of examples from Hillary’s campaign I asked if he had any final thoughts. To this he said: “Historically in an open year early front runners collapse. It is interesting that she (Hillary Clinton) has been able to keep Washington, DC insiders calling her front runner but at same time she is building a true grass roots campaign. It is truly remarkable. For example, four years ago Lieberman was front runner and it collapsed over time because a grass roots campaign was never built. The things that made him front runner never appealed to average voter. The Clinton campaign has handled the delicate balancing act of appealing to voters while still holding front runner status in DC.”

XVI. Personal Opinion:

It is indisputable that Hillary Clinton has an extremely strong campaign. As a woman, Clinton has faced adversities that her male opponents cannot relate to. This has provided her leverage towards the female population of the United States. However, the fact that Clinton is a woman has also proved harmful to her in that she is far more scrutinized than other opponents. She is either too manly or too feminine.

In my opinion, Clinton has begun to learn to balance being a strong woman while maintaining a sensitive side, however she still lacks sincerity when speaking on various issues and interacting with people. Clinton uses virtually every media tactic there is, through press releases, online videos, and blogs she has maintained constant coverage of herself and her campaign.

Although the coverage posted on Clinton’s website is only positive, the negative press coverage seems to stick out like a sore thumb and Clinton seems unable to avoid the limelight when it comes to her attire, her sincerity, and her marriage to former president Bill Clinton. She has always been quick to respond to media scrutiny and often addresses faults before other people have the chance. Clinton’s campaign is powerful and her tactics are influential, but right now too much of her campaign seems staged and therefore comes across artificial and insincere at times. Clinton will need to prove herself human and separate herself from her past in order to win the election.




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