Geraldine Ferraro, 1935-2011
March 26, 2011 1:56 PM Subscribe
Geraldine Ferraro — who was a prosecutor in Queens, then a House Representative, then a United Nations Ambassador, yet will go down in history for her unsuccessful run as the first woman on an American presidential ticket — died today at 75.
C-SPAN has the full 1984 vice-presidential debate between Ferraro and future-President George H.W. Bush. The preview at the beginning of that video shows Bush and then Ferraro explaining their views on abortion. The New York Times obituary notes that this was the first time "a major candidate for national office talked about abortion with the phrase 'If I were pregnant.'"
Perhaps Ferraro's strongest moment was her rebuke to Bush for patronizingly purporting to "teach" or "help" her with foreign policy. (Ferraro's and Bush's verb choices, respectively.) To see the full exchange, watch Ferraro's initial comments on foreign policy starting at 46:30, Bush's rebuttal at 49:00, and Ferraro's response from about 50:00 to 51:00. (If you want the quick but context-free YouTube version, here it is.)
More from the NYT:
C-SPAN has the full 1984 vice-presidential debate between Ferraro and future-President George H.W. Bush. The preview at the beginning of that video shows Bush and then Ferraro explaining their views on abortion. The New York Times obituary notes that this was the first time "a major candidate for national office talked about abortion with the phrase 'If I were pregnant.'"
Perhaps Ferraro's strongest moment was her rebuke to Bush for patronizingly purporting to "teach" or "help" her with foreign policy. (Ferraro's and Bush's verb choices, respectively.) To see the full exchange, watch Ferraro's initial comments on foreign policy starting at 46:30, Bush's rebuttal at 49:00, and Ferraro's response from about 50:00 to 51:00. (If you want the quick but context-free YouTube version, here it is.)
More from the NYT:
Everywhere people were adjusting — or manifestly not adjusting — to a woman on a national ticket. Mississippi’s agriculture secretary called Ms. Ferraro “young lady” and asked if she could bake blueberry muffins. When a Roman Catholic bishop gave a news conference in Pennsylvania, he repeatedly referred to the Republican vice-presidential nominee as “Mr. Bush” and to the Democratic one as “Geraldine.” . . .
“I am the first to admit that were I not a woman, I would not have been the vice-presidential nominee,” she wrote. But she insisted that her presence on the ticket had translated into votes that the ticket might otherwise have not received.
In any event, she said, the political realities of 1984 had made it all but impossible for the Democrats to win, no matter the candidates or their gender. “Throwing Ronald Reagan out of office at the height of his popularity, with inflation and interest rates down, the economy moving and the country at peace, would have required God on the ticket,” Ms. Ferraro wrote, “and She was not available!”
She fought the good fight at a time when there were precious few willing to do so. And blazed the path for a whole generation of female national political figures.
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posted by Chrischris at 2:01 PM on March 26, 2011 [2 favorites]
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posted by Chrischris at 2:01 PM on March 26, 2011 [2 favorites]
It wasn't easy for her to be the pioneer she was, but she handled it with a lot more grace than I would have had I been her at that time.
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posted by hippybear at 2:02 PM on March 26, 2011
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posted by hippybear at 2:02 PM on March 26, 2011
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posted by Obscure Reference at 2:06 PM on March 26, 2011
posted by Obscure Reference at 2:06 PM on March 26, 2011
The 1984 election is the first one I remember clearly. I was 7, and I already knew that it was a big deal that a woman was nominated for Vice President. Thank you, Ms. Ferraro, for being the (mostly sacrificial) trailblazer for us, as well as for all your other hard work throughout your life.
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posted by hydropsyche at 2:09 PM on March 26, 2011 [5 favorites]
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posted by hydropsyche at 2:09 PM on March 26, 2011 [5 favorites]
I literally just thought of her yesterday. Someone mentioned something about Sarah Palin, and I thought, "Damn, I'm going to be hearing about her for the rest of my life, aren't I?" Then I thought about Ms. Ferraro, and how I hadn't heard much about her lately, so maybe there was hope. Of course, then I realized that she was far too dignified to do the types of things that Sarah Palin will no doubt do to stay it the public eye and I got depressed again.
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posted by Rock Steady at 2:16 PM on March 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
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posted by Rock Steady at 2:16 PM on March 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
It's always sad when someone dies, and my sympathies are with her family. If these obit threads are merely for "."s and hagiography., well I guess you can flag this,.
If these threads are about considering the effect of the deceased person's life on us, read on.
Ferraro was the Palin of her day: an unknown put on the ticket because of her gender and her appeal to her party's conservative base (hailing from Archie Bunker's congressional district, she advocated, among other things, an anti-busing Amendment to the Constitution).
And like Palin, later we found out about her family's questionable business dealings; Ferraro's reactions was first to ethnically stereotype her husband ("You people who are married to Italian men, you know what it's like"), then to blame criticism of her and her family on anti-Italian prejudice.
In her penultimate public act, the woman who got her Party's nomination for Vice President because she was a woman, claimed that "if Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position [to run against Hillary Clinton in the primary]." Her final public act was to imply McCain-Palin might win the general election, while damning Obama with faint praise.
So, I'm sad for her family, I sad to see anyone die at 75, but this was not the passing of any great stateswoman or liberal lion -- she was a pretty average New York politician, who happened to be in the right place at the right time.
posted by orthogonality at 2:18 PM on March 26, 2011 [29 favorites]
If these threads are about considering the effect of the deceased person's life on us, read on.
Ferraro was the Palin of her day: an unknown put on the ticket because of her gender and her appeal to her party's conservative base (hailing from Archie Bunker's congressional district, she advocated, among other things, an anti-busing Amendment to the Constitution).
And like Palin, later we found out about her family's questionable business dealings; Ferraro's reactions was first to ethnically stereotype her husband ("You people who are married to Italian men, you know what it's like"), then to blame criticism of her and her family on anti-Italian prejudice.
In her penultimate public act, the woman who got her Party's nomination for Vice President because she was a woman, claimed that "if Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position [to run against Hillary Clinton in the primary]." Her final public act was to imply McCain-Palin might win the general election, while damning Obama with faint praise.
So, I'm sad for her family, I sad to see anyone die at 75, but this was not the passing of any great stateswoman or liberal lion -- she was a pretty average New York politician, who happened to be in the right place at the right time.
posted by orthogonality at 2:18 PM on March 26, 2011 [29 favorites]
She was one of many pioneers. Bella Abzug, Liz Holtzman, et al. Unfortunately, she ran into electability problems because of her husband and son. I always felt that she was selected as the VP nominee because she was a woman (as she has agreed), but also the timing was right in that Reagan was a juggernaut that was not going to lose so putting her on the ticket was easy. Sort of like Dole against Clinton. No way Dole was going to win. Seemed to me that Mondale was taking a bigger stand and standing up for the Democratic Party and its core values knowing it would pay dividends in the future as the immediate election was such a large up hill battle anyway.
I didn't vote for her in 1984, am not so sure I would vote for her now, but I sure do respect the heck out of her being true to her ideals.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 2:20 PM on March 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
I didn't vote for her in 1984, am not so sure I would vote for her now, but I sure do respect the heck out of her being true to her ideals.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 2:20 PM on March 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
I would say comparing the legacy of Ambassador Ferraro to Sarah "Finger Gun" Palin does (the memory of) Ms. Ferraro quite a disservice.
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posted by Ink-stained wretch at 2:22 PM on March 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
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posted by Ink-stained wretch at 2:22 PM on March 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
I would say comparing the legacy of Ambassador Ferraro to Sarah "Finger Gun" Palin does (the memory of) Ms. Ferraro quite a disservice.
Both of them were paid by Fox News.
GERALDINE FERRARO, [paid] FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR:
Both of them were paid by Fox News.
GERALDINE FERRARO, [paid] FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR:
Well, listen to what I said. I think what America feels about a woman becoming president takes a very secondary place to Obama's campaign, a kind of campaign that would be hard for anyone to run against. For one thing you have the press which has been a uniquely hard on [Sarah Palin]. It's been a very sexist media. Some just don't like her and the others are caught up in the Obama campaign.And later, in August, a piece for Fox News which some wondered was an endorsement of McCain-Palin:
If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman of any color, he would not be on this position. He has to be lucky to be who he is. And the country's caught with him.
There are a lot of women who are disaffected by how Hillary was treated by the media, by how she was treated by the Obama campaign, by how she was treated by the Democratic National Committee — [Democratic party chairman] Howard Dean not speaking up when sexism raised its ugly head in the media. They’ll be looking to see what happens now.posted by orthogonality at 2:36 PM on March 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
the first woman on an American presidential ticket
Not quite, but she was the first from a major party.
Some of the previous female candidates:
Victoria Woodhull ran for president in 1872, years before women had the right to vote.
Comedian Gracie Allen got 40.000 votes in 1940.
Charlene Mitchell ran for president on the Communist Party ticket, as the first black woman to run for president of the United States. She received 1075 votes.
Also of interest: in 1964, Republican Senator Margaret Chase Smith (Maine) received over 83,000 primary votes from at least six states. At the convention she got 22 delegate votes from 4 states.
posted by iviken at 3:12 PM on March 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
Not quite, but she was the first from a major party.
Some of the previous female candidates:
Victoria Woodhull ran for president in 1872, years before women had the right to vote.
Comedian Gracie Allen got 40.000 votes in 1940.
Charlene Mitchell ran for president on the Communist Party ticket, as the first black woman to run for president of the United States. She received 1075 votes.
Also of interest: in 1964, Republican Senator Margaret Chase Smith (Maine) received over 83,000 primary votes from at least six states. At the convention she got 22 delegate votes from 4 states.
posted by iviken at 3:12 PM on March 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
There are a lot of women who are disaffected by how Hillary was treated by the media, by how she was treated by the Obama campaign, by how she was treated by the Democratic National Committee — [Democratic party chairman] Howard Dean not speaking up when sexism raised its ugly head in the media. They’ll be looking to see what happens now.
Doesn't sound like much of an endorsement to me. The first part is just truth. The last sentence... well, does the context make it clear she was talking about Palin? Or might this have had something to do with the Obama/Clinton rift?
Nicely done obit post, John Cohen (...from someone who was not hugely impressed by Ferraro personally, but hugely glad for the precedent she set).
posted by torticat at 3:25 PM on March 26, 2011 [2 favorites]
Doesn't sound like much of an endorsement to me. The first part is just truth. The last sentence... well, does the context make it clear she was talking about Palin? Or might this have had something to do with the Obama/Clinton rift?
Nicely done obit post, John Cohen (...from someone who was not hugely impressed by Ferraro personally, but hugely glad for the precedent she set).
posted by torticat at 3:25 PM on March 26, 2011 [2 favorites]
The senior George Bush patronized her in typical male chauvinist fashion. (How long since you read the term male chauvinist? The attitude lives.)
Because they did not want to create a sympathy vote for MS Ferraro, they attacked her through her husband - sound familiar to the attacks on Hillary because of Bill?
posted by Cranberry at 3:25 PM on March 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
Because they did not want to create a sympathy vote for MS Ferraro, they attacked her through her husband - sound familiar to the attacks on Hillary because of Bill?
posted by Cranberry at 3:25 PM on March 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
I was pretty young during her VP run - elementary school. My memory of it is dominated by the general feeling she was a pushy, tacky, brassy woman who didn't know her place. This was, of course, a reflection of how the adults in my life viewed her. Wow, how different I am now. Today, I am an independent professional woman who would crush someone who held me back because of my gender. I guess the world does get better, even if it's slow getting there.
posted by double bubble at 3:31 PM on March 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by double bubble at 3:31 PM on March 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
orthogonality: "So, I'm sad for her family, I sad to see anyone die at 75, but this was not the passing of any great stateswoman or liberal lion -- she was a pretty average New York politician, who happened to be in the right place at the right time."
Well, whatever. Accurate or not, that does not diminish the impact she had on a lot of women in my generation. I was 12 in 1984; her being on the ticket was formative and inspirational and pretty critically timed for me. I owe her, I am grateful to her, and I take my hat off to her.
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posted by DarlingBri at 3:34 PM on March 26, 2011 [2 favorites]
Well, whatever. Accurate or not, that does not diminish the impact she had on a lot of women in my generation. I was 12 in 1984; her being on the ticket was formative and inspirational and pretty critically timed for me. I owe her, I am grateful to her, and I take my hat off to her.
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posted by DarlingBri at 3:34 PM on March 26, 2011 [2 favorites]
Ferraro earned her JD with honors from Fordham University as one of the two women in her graduating class of 179. She was appointed Assistant District Attorney, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and was Secretary of the House for the Democratic Caucus. She had published THREE books she actually wrote herself. She helped lead the passage of a Superfund renewal bill.
I'm not in any way saying she was the be-all, end-all of sterling, unblemished politicians. I was not a huge fan. But she also wasn't a left-no-mark politician. Nor was she someone who was not very intelligent, but had a lot of street smarts and rode the wave of a grass-roots movement, which is how I would characterize Palin. She was smart and she was tough. She had a kid with drug issues, made some offensive remarks and had some suspicious financial dealings, all of which seem to be prerequistes for being in public office. That she was paid by FOX, and that she wasn't (presumably) a fan of Obama doesn't make her irrelevant.
posted by Ink-stained wretch at 3:37 PM on March 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
I'm not in any way saying she was the be-all, end-all of sterling, unblemished politicians. I was not a huge fan. But she also wasn't a left-no-mark politician. Nor was she someone who was not very intelligent, but had a lot of street smarts and rode the wave of a grass-roots movement, which is how I would characterize Palin. She was smart and she was tough. She had a kid with drug issues, made some offensive remarks and had some suspicious financial dealings, all of which seem to be prerequistes for being in public office. That she was paid by FOX, and that she wasn't (presumably) a fan of Obama doesn't make her irrelevant.
posted by Ink-stained wretch at 3:37 PM on March 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
Respect to Ms. Ferraro.
The Republican machine was ticking on all cylinders in the '84 election; Reagan was at his prime even while intellectual senescence was becoming evident, Lee Atwater was at the top of his game (heights which seem trivial after the accomplishments of Karl Rove in years following), the economy looked great as long as you weren't part of the working classes whose jobs were - at the time - slowly trickling overseas, or living in a part of the country where the factories were closing up and cities were dying, or just young and trying to find a job anywhere that wasn't relevant to Department of Defense contracts.
So a vote for Ferraro was a vote for a candidate I disapproved of, but that was the year the Democrats could have run Don Quixote for President and the results would have been the same. Walter Mondale was running, a man who should have taught us all that there's a difference between being right and winning an argument. In the fantasy world version of events we could expect that Ms. Ferraro would have held an office at arm's length from the corridors of power; proven by tradition and Dan Quayle, proven (in that other sense of the word) by Dick Cheney. In reality, it was Four More Years and everybody knew it. The once-dominant Democratic party had been kneecapped, and it hasn't really been able to walk normally since.
I voted Dem in the 84 presidential election, which meant a vote for Ferraro -- a woman whose politics I did not like -- as vice president. Somewhere to the left of Reagan and, more significantly, Margaret Thatcher, but somewhere to the right of Walter Mondale. I could live with that, and I filed my protest vote.
Ferraro blazed the trail of American politics in the same way that Pyrrhus won battles; all the same, she did her part to chip away at that goddamned glass ceiling; she was smart, she held her ground, she got ahead, and she didn't do it by acting Palinesque - like a goddamned bimbo from the sticks.
So. Here's hoping a woman can eventually hold a major office in America. Without having to act like she's more uptight than whomever she's running against. Without having to act like she's dumber than shit.
In the meanwhile, respect to Ms. Ferraro. She blazed a trail. She deserves respect.
posted by at by at 3:38 PM on March 26, 2011 [5 favorites]
The Republican machine was ticking on all cylinders in the '84 election; Reagan was at his prime even while intellectual senescence was becoming evident, Lee Atwater was at the top of his game (heights which seem trivial after the accomplishments of Karl Rove in years following), the economy looked great as long as you weren't part of the working classes whose jobs were - at the time - slowly trickling overseas, or living in a part of the country where the factories were closing up and cities were dying, or just young and trying to find a job anywhere that wasn't relevant to Department of Defense contracts.
So a vote for Ferraro was a vote for a candidate I disapproved of, but that was the year the Democrats could have run Don Quixote for President and the results would have been the same. Walter Mondale was running, a man who should have taught us all that there's a difference between being right and winning an argument. In the fantasy world version of events we could expect that Ms. Ferraro would have held an office at arm's length from the corridors of power; proven by tradition and Dan Quayle, proven (in that other sense of the word) by Dick Cheney. In reality, it was Four More Years and everybody knew it. The once-dominant Democratic party had been kneecapped, and it hasn't really been able to walk normally since.
I voted Dem in the 84 presidential election, which meant a vote for Ferraro -- a woman whose politics I did not like -- as vice president. Somewhere to the left of Reagan and, more significantly, Margaret Thatcher, but somewhere to the right of Walter Mondale. I could live with that, and I filed my protest vote.
Ferraro blazed the trail of American politics in the same way that Pyrrhus won battles; all the same, she did her part to chip away at that goddamned glass ceiling; she was smart, she held her ground, she got ahead, and she didn't do it by acting Palinesque - like a goddamned bimbo from the sticks.
So. Here's hoping a woman can eventually hold a major office in America. Without having to act like she's more uptight than whomever she's running against. Without having to act like she's dumber than shit.
In the meanwhile, respect to Ms. Ferraro. She blazed a trail. She deserves respect.
posted by at by at 3:38 PM on March 26, 2011 [5 favorites]
Ah... so sad. She was very influential in my early understanding of feminism. Even though my family wasn't particularly political, her run in 1984 certainly made an impression on my 11 year old self. She went one to be onr of my sightings of a famous person. 1993, when I was 20 and sophmore undergrad, I attended (fittingly) a women's studies conference in DC. As I was crossing the street near the capitol, I saw her on the opposite corner, and exclaimed to my friend "It's Geraldine Ferraro!" She smiled and waved. I was totally thrilled. So maybe she wasn't the most brilliant politician or influential world leader. She helped many little girls all over the US understand what could be possible. She has my everlasting gratitude.
posted by kimdog at 3:39 PM on March 26, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by kimdog at 3:39 PM on March 26, 2011 [2 favorites]
Accurate or not, that does not diminish the impact she had on a lot of women in my generation.
No, I hear you. There was Ferraro the symbol, and Ferraro the politician.
I suspect that any woman politician could have been the symbol, the first major-party female candidate for VP, and that some (e.g., Elizabeth Holtzman) would have been better symbols.
Because Ferraro the politician was -- well, other than being a woman, she didn't break a lot of ground, she wasn't particularly progressive or impressive.
And the family corruption, and the Archie Bunker-esque reaction to Obama in some way tarnishes her legacy.
posted by orthogonality at 3:44 PM on March 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
No, I hear you. There was Ferraro the symbol, and Ferraro the politician.
I suspect that any woman politician could have been the symbol, the first major-party female candidate for VP, and that some (e.g., Elizabeth Holtzman) would have been better symbols.
Because Ferraro the politician was -- well, other than being a woman, she didn't break a lot of ground, she wasn't particularly progressive or impressive.
And the family corruption, and the Archie Bunker-esque reaction to Obama in some way tarnishes her legacy.
posted by orthogonality at 3:44 PM on March 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
Yeah, Ferraro is/was a difficult figure. On one hand what people are bringing up regarding her pretty well documented less-than-stellar across the board progressiveness is spot on, but she did serve a bigger, if unintentional, role in her act of reaching for the brass ring so publicly. For that I am glad she ran way back when. I am glad folks like DarlingBri was able to take inspiration from her. Sometimes that is exactly what we need.
A person is a complex being, some good, some bad, Ferraro fulfilled a necessary and unenviable role of being (major party) first. Whatever reservations I may have had with her while alive I can honestly say cheers to her for that 1984 run. May she rest in peace.
posted by edgeways at 3:46 PM on March 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
A person is a complex being, some good, some bad, Ferraro fulfilled a necessary and unenviable role of being (major party) first. Whatever reservations I may have had with her while alive I can honestly say cheers to her for that 1984 run. May she rest in peace.
posted by edgeways at 3:46 PM on March 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
Dude, I just finished watching the entire cycle of All In The Family.
There isn't a piece of what she said which is even close to how Archie Bunker would have reacted to Obama.
Just sayin'.
posted by hippybear at 3:46 PM on March 26, 2011 [2 favorites]
There isn't a piece of what she said which is even close to how Archie Bunker would have reacted to Obama.
Just sayin'.
posted by hippybear at 3:46 PM on March 26, 2011 [2 favorites]
Geraldine Ferraro and Ronald Reagan were the players in one of my all time favorite political jokes:
Q: What's worse than a vice president with a period?
A: A president with a semi-colon.
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posted by Benny Andajetz at 3:57 PM on March 26, 2011 [2 favorites]
Q: What's worse than a vice president with a period?
A: A president with a semi-colon.
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posted by Benny Andajetz at 3:57 PM on March 26, 2011 [2 favorites]
Wow. The first election I ever voted in, and her presence on the ticket was of such importance to me.
Thanks, Ms. Ferraro.
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posted by quietalittlewild at 3:59 PM on March 26, 2011
Thanks, Ms. Ferraro.
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posted by quietalittlewild at 3:59 PM on March 26, 2011
Not quite, but she was the first from a major party.
Yes, point taken; I should have added this qualifier.
But as long as we're keeping track of these statements, I have to dispute this comment (by a different commenter):
Here's hoping a woman can eventually hold a major office in America.
First of all, Pres and VP aren't the only "major offices in America." Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Condoleeza Rice, and other women have already held major offices.
Second... Obviously, a woman hasn't yet held the office of President or Vice President. But it's not true that a woman "can't" yet do so (except in the trivial sense that no one aside from Barack Obama and Joe Biden can hold those offices). It is already true that a woman can hold those offices — it just depends on the particular electoral fortunes involved in a given presidential race. In 2008, we saw Hillary Clinton beat male candidates who were longer on conventional political experience, like Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, and Bill Richardson. (Yes, they were very weak candidates, but they were so weak in part because Clinton was so strong, and running for president is a zero-sum game.) She lost the primaries — which, in that political climate, may have been more decisive than the general election — very narrowly to Obama for a variety of reasons. Her own staff have admitted she made a series of strategic and tactical blunders. The fact that she happened to lose doesn't mean it'll be hopeless for a woman to win the nomination or presidency next time. Do I think that'll happen in 2012? No, I don't find it likely that Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann will win, but I'd say the same of Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee. (At least, I hope I'm right!) It's easy to focus intensely on the last presidential election or the next one, but the sample size of something that involves very few candidates just once every 4 years is too tiny to support a grand statement about what women (or blacks or Asians or Jews or gays) can or can't do.
Saying you hope women "can" do something in the future implies that women "can't" do it yet. Yes they can.
posted by John Cohen at 4:06 PM on March 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
Yes, point taken; I should have added this qualifier.
But as long as we're keeping track of these statements, I have to dispute this comment (by a different commenter):
Here's hoping a woman can eventually hold a major office in America.
First of all, Pres and VP aren't the only "major offices in America." Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Condoleeza Rice, and other women have already held major offices.
Second... Obviously, a woman hasn't yet held the office of President or Vice President. But it's not true that a woman "can't" yet do so (except in the trivial sense that no one aside from Barack Obama and Joe Biden can hold those offices). It is already true that a woman can hold those offices — it just depends on the particular electoral fortunes involved in a given presidential race. In 2008, we saw Hillary Clinton beat male candidates who were longer on conventional political experience, like Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, and Bill Richardson. (Yes, they were very weak candidates, but they were so weak in part because Clinton was so strong, and running for president is a zero-sum game.) She lost the primaries — which, in that political climate, may have been more decisive than the general election — very narrowly to Obama for a variety of reasons. Her own staff have admitted she made a series of strategic and tactical blunders. The fact that she happened to lose doesn't mean it'll be hopeless for a woman to win the nomination or presidency next time. Do I think that'll happen in 2012? No, I don't find it likely that Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann will win, but I'd say the same of Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee. (At least, I hope I'm right!) It's easy to focus intensely on the last presidential election or the next one, but the sample size of something that involves very few candidates just once every 4 years is too tiny to support a grand statement about what women (or blacks or Asians or Jews or gays) can or can't do.
Saying you hope women "can" do something in the future implies that women "can't" do it yet. Yes they can.
posted by John Cohen at 4:06 PM on March 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
I wasn't old enough to vote in 84 (I turned 17 a couple of weeks after the election), but I remember her well. Her presence made a difference to big girls too; it showed us in a tangible way that we could do anything politically.
She wasn't perfect, but frankly, nobody who's grabbed for the brass ring before or since has been. I don't have to like everything she did before, during, or since to offer respect for that.
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posted by immlass at 4:09 PM on March 26, 2011
She wasn't perfect, but frankly, nobody who's grabbed for the brass ring before or since has been. I don't have to like everything she did before, during, or since to offer respect for that.
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posted by immlass at 4:09 PM on March 26, 2011
she really pissed me off during the primaries but there's no denying her achievements and contributions to history
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posted by liza at 4:11 PM on March 26, 2011
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posted by liza at 4:11 PM on March 26, 2011
Frankly, I think every poster invested in minimising the legacy of Geraldine Ferraro probably needs reminding that this was the cultural landscape from which her candidacy emerged. Frankly, she could have been caught eating Republican babies 20 years after she ran, and it wouldn't have diminished the very concrete way she irrevocably altered the world for a lot of us.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:25 PM on March 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by DarlingBri at 4:25 PM on March 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
she really pissed me off during the primaries but there's no denying her achievements and contributions to history
"even if you didn't enjoy her politics, there's no denying her contributions to popular culture. Truly an American icon."
posted by orthogonality at 4:35 PM on March 26, 2011
"even if you didn't enjoy her politics, there's no denying her contributions to popular culture. Truly an American icon."
posted by orthogonality at 4:35 PM on March 26, 2011
Pointing out that Ferraro said and did some really racist things isn't minimizing her legacy; (an anti-busing amendment? Really?) it's being accurate about her legacy. We can still talk about her positive contributions toward gender equality, and the significance she had for a generation of women as the first female VP candidate on a major party ticket without whitewashing (or waving away) her negative contributions to matters of racial equality.
posted by Marty Marx at 4:39 PM on March 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Marty Marx at 4:39 PM on March 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
Can I just say, although I know it's a correct spelling, that "anti-busing" makes me think that someone is trying to outlaw Gary Busey?
(seriously... the rules I learned... to keep the short U sound, you have to double the consonant... "bussing")
posted by hippybear at 4:52 PM on March 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
(seriously... the rules I learned... to keep the short U sound, you have to double the consonant... "bussing")
posted by hippybear at 4:52 PM on March 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
I know what you mean, hippybear. I always have to check it, and it still doesn't look right.
posted by Marty Marx at 4:59 PM on March 26, 2011
posted by Marty Marx at 4:59 PM on March 26, 2011
I really wouldn't have a problem with anyone outlawing Gary Busey
posted by hippybear at 5:05 PM on March 26, 2011
posted by hippybear at 5:05 PM on March 26, 2011
Glad she lived.
She inspired me during the 1984 elections.
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posted by nickyskye at 5:31 PM on March 26, 2011
She inspired me during the 1984 elections.
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posted by nickyskye at 5:31 PM on March 26, 2011
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posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:41 PM on March 26, 2011
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:41 PM on March 26, 2011
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posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:10 PM on March 26, 2011
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:10 PM on March 26, 2011
I was just shy of 16 in the summer of 1984, and a budding feminist. My father, a state legislator, was elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, which was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco that year. We had relatives in San Francisco, so we made a family trip of it.
One of the days of the convention, my father managed to get us guest passes. I remember passing by at least 6 or 7 security checkpoints starting with entering the block the Moscone Center was on. Once we got inside, the mood was electric - there were people everywhere wearing funny hats and campaign buttons, holding signs, rushing around. I briefly got to go on the actual convention floor, and saw TV journalists doing reports in front of cameras. Heady stuff for a shy kid.
Finally all the hubbub settled down and things got underway. The main order of business that day was the nomination of the vice-presidential candidate. They called on the states in alphabetical order, and the head of each delegation would make a flowery speech that basically boiled down to "my state is awesome and all our votes are for Geraldine Ferraro." After 3 or 4 states, they skipped right to New York, which I remember being confused by at the time. What happened to alphabetical order? But then the head of the New York delegation, Ferraro's home state's delegation, called for a "vote by acclimation". A voice vote. Rather than go through each state, everyone would yell out yes or no. The motion was approved, and the person at the podium asked "All in favor of nominating Geraldine Ferraro as the Democratic candidate for Vice President of the United States?" The entire center, the delegates, the visitors, and I shouted YES! I remember thinking that I was there, in person, as history was being made. A throng of voices had nominated the first ever female major party candidate for national office, and I was one of those voices.
So, say what you will about the woman, but she helped to open a door that will not be closed again.
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posted by booksherpa at 7:50 PM on March 26, 2011 [7 favorites]
One of the days of the convention, my father managed to get us guest passes. I remember passing by at least 6 or 7 security checkpoints starting with entering the block the Moscone Center was on. Once we got inside, the mood was electric - there were people everywhere wearing funny hats and campaign buttons, holding signs, rushing around. I briefly got to go on the actual convention floor, and saw TV journalists doing reports in front of cameras. Heady stuff for a shy kid.
Finally all the hubbub settled down and things got underway. The main order of business that day was the nomination of the vice-presidential candidate. They called on the states in alphabetical order, and the head of each delegation would make a flowery speech that basically boiled down to "my state is awesome and all our votes are for Geraldine Ferraro." After 3 or 4 states, they skipped right to New York, which I remember being confused by at the time. What happened to alphabetical order? But then the head of the New York delegation, Ferraro's home state's delegation, called for a "vote by acclimation". A voice vote. Rather than go through each state, everyone would yell out yes or no. The motion was approved, and the person at the podium asked "All in favor of nominating Geraldine Ferraro as the Democratic candidate for Vice President of the United States?" The entire center, the delegates, the visitors, and I shouted YES! I remember thinking that I was there, in person, as history was being made. A throng of voices had nominated the first ever female major party candidate for national office, and I was one of those voices.
So, say what you will about the woman, but she helped to open a door that will not be closed again.
.
posted by booksherpa at 7:50 PM on March 26, 2011 [7 favorites]
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1984. I was eight, and that election is the first one I can recall with any sort of memory. I remember thinking that Ms. Ferraro looked a lot like one of my teachers, and I recall that my parents were grumpy about the certainty that Reagan would win.
But mostly I remember that (as a young girl in a Catholic school where I was not permitted to wear trousers, be an altar server, volunteer to bring up the milk crates or take a harder math class all because of my gender) it was also the first time I realized - really really realized that even if men and women were treated differently that maybe people were trying to change that.
It's the first time I understood (even vaguely) what 'women's rights' meant, and what feminism meant and that it was still happening and it wasn't just a bunch of dead women who campaigned for the right for women to vote.
posted by FritoKAL at 7:55 PM on March 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
1984. I was eight, and that election is the first one I can recall with any sort of memory. I remember thinking that Ms. Ferraro looked a lot like one of my teachers, and I recall that my parents were grumpy about the certainty that Reagan would win.
But mostly I remember that (as a young girl in a Catholic school where I was not permitted to wear trousers, be an altar server, volunteer to bring up the milk crates or take a harder math class all because of my gender) it was also the first time I realized - really really realized that even if men and women were treated differently that maybe people were trying to change that.
It's the first time I understood (even vaguely) what 'women's rights' meant, and what feminism meant and that it was still happening and it wasn't just a bunch of dead women who campaigned for the right for women to vote.
posted by FritoKAL at 7:55 PM on March 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
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posted by quazichimp at 7:58 PM on March 26, 2011
posted by quazichimp at 7:58 PM on March 26, 2011
. Thank you, Ms. Ferraro!
For all of my disappointments in the stunted progressiveness of this nation, yours is a mark that can't be diminished. My sincerest sympathies to her family.
posted by vhsiv at 9:27 PM on March 26, 2011
For all of my disappointments in the stunted progressiveness of this nation, yours is a mark that can't be diminished. My sincerest sympathies to her family.
posted by vhsiv at 9:27 PM on March 26, 2011
Thanks for being the one, Ms. Ferraro. Respect and love to your family.
posted by Lynsey at 11:33 PM on March 26, 2011
posted by Lynsey at 11:33 PM on March 26, 2011
I was 14 in 1984 when she ran, and she spoke at my high school outside Chicago. It was a rare, weird event because it happened at night and we never did anything at night at school that wasn't a basketball game or swim meet. I didn't grasp at the time the momentousness of what seeing the first woman to run for vice president meant, but the energy and electricity were undeniable. The event attracted a lot of interesting people to my sleepy little suburb who woudln't normally have been there. It was the first time I ran into a larger part of humanity.
It was also the first time I encountered the pro-life/anti-choice movement in force. They showed up in buses and had signs and posters and leaflets that they pressed on us. Pictures of fetuses and machines and the whole gamut of fear imagery that they use to try to sway people into being against abortion.
I'm not making any value judgements, and I don't remember much about her politics, just that she was running against Reagan and my parents liked Reagan so I didn't. But that event did open my eyes to the political world, and how people align themselves behind causes. Those I agree with and those I don't.
Thanks, Ms. Ferraro. RIP.
posted by MarvinTheCat at 2:35 AM on March 27, 2011
It was also the first time I encountered the pro-life/anti-choice movement in force. They showed up in buses and had signs and posters and leaflets that they pressed on us. Pictures of fetuses and machines and the whole gamut of fear imagery that they use to try to sway people into being against abortion.
I'm not making any value judgements, and I don't remember much about her politics, just that she was running against Reagan and my parents liked Reagan so I didn't. But that event did open my eyes to the political world, and how people align themselves behind causes. Those I agree with and those I don't.
Thanks, Ms. Ferraro. RIP.
posted by MarvinTheCat at 2:35 AM on March 27, 2011
I voted for Wally and the Beav in my very first presidential election.
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posted by davelog at 6:39 AM on March 27, 2011
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posted by davelog at 6:39 AM on March 27, 2011
[Clinton] lost the primaries — which, in that political climate, may have been more decisive than the general election — very narrowly to Obama for a variety of reasons.
It wasn't as narrow as she made it out to be. Clinton essentially lost the primaries in February. Obama opened up a lead in pledged delegates in February that she was never able to close despite winning slightly more delegates after February. Obama had all the momentum in superdelegates after March despite Clinton frequently claiming they would support her. She wasn't winning enough support to close the gap and she strung the primaries out several weeks after she had any reasonable chance to win.
posted by kirkaracha at 8:23 AM on March 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
While watching from the outside in '84, I was captivated by the strength and brilliance of her personality. I thought she should have run instead of that boring Mondale.
At peace.
posted by carolusal at 9:05 AM on March 27, 2011
At peace.
posted by carolusal at 9:05 AM on March 27, 2011
I was 14 during the elections, growing up in the suburbs of Houston. Boys on the school bus parroted what the heard their parents say: "I woman can't be president because the president has his hand on The Button [for nuclear weapons], and what if she's having her period?!"
We still haven't had a female president but she showed lots of quiet little schoolgirls that you can try to play with the big boys, and you can even lose at their game, but the trying counts for something.
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posted by Houstonian at 1:09 PM on March 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
We still haven't had a female president but she showed lots of quiet little schoolgirls that you can try to play with the big boys, and you can even lose at their game, but the trying counts for something.
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posted by Houstonian at 1:09 PM on March 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
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posted by SisterHavana at 9:52 PM on March 27, 2011
posted by SisterHavana at 9:52 PM on March 27, 2011
"I woman can't be president because the president has his hand on The Button [for nuclear weapons], and what if she's having her period?!"
Guuh, I had momentarily forgotten that jibe. I turned 11 in 1984, so being so bold as to mention periods was something akin to saying motherfucker out loud.
I was pretty sure by 1980 that I'd been born a die-hard liberal and a feminist, but 1984 cemented it. I remember being quietly thrilled just to see a woman on the ticket, even though I knew it was largely symbolic and that they had no chance of election.
posted by desuetude at 8:34 PM on March 29, 2011
Guuh, I had momentarily forgotten that jibe. I turned 11 in 1984, so being so bold as to mention periods was something akin to saying motherfucker out loud.
I was pretty sure by 1980 that I'd been born a die-hard liberal and a feminist, but 1984 cemented it. I remember being quietly thrilled just to see a woman on the ticket, even though I knew it was largely symbolic and that they had no chance of election.
posted by desuetude at 8:34 PM on March 29, 2011
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