AP: Feminists sharply divided between Clinton, Obama

By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer Sat May 10, 10:31 AM ET

NEW YORK – No constituency is more eager to see a woman win the presidency than America’s feminists, yet — despite Hillary Rodham Clinton’s historic candidacy — the women’s movement finds itself wrenchingly divided over the Democratic race as it heads toward the finish.

At breakfast forums, in op-ed columns, across the blogosphere, the debate has been heartfelt and sometimes bitter. Are the activist women supporting front-runner Barack Obama betraying their gender? Are Clinton’s feminist backers mired in an outdated, women’s-liberation mind-set?

Ellen Bravo is a Milwaukee author and activist who advocates on behalf of working women — and is an Obama supporter. She faults Clinton for her 2002 vote authorizing the Iraq war and believes the Illinois senator would be more supportive of grass-roots political action.

Copley News: Clinton campaign affirms a kinder, gentler Hillary

Clinton campaign affirms a kinder, gentler Hillary

By Dana Wilkie, COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
January 10, 2008

WASHINGTON – Suddenly, her campaign strategists are using words like “more open” and “accessible.” Her key congressional supporters are talking about her “warmth” and “feeling.”

Expect Hillary Rodham Clinton to show a more “human” side in coming weeks – perhaps the same side that many analysts and members of her staff said helped turned the tide for the New York senator in winning New Hampshire’s Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday.

Showing her personal side may have worked in New Hampshire, but analysts warned that she must be careful not to appear calculating in displaying her emotions.

“We have to watch for two things,” said Carol Jenkins, president of the Women’s Media Center, a nonpartisan group that analyzes how high-profile women are covered in print, radio and TV. “They cannot be manipulative. But they do have to strive for the same right, the same option, to be as inspirational and emotional as the guys.”

Full text avilable at http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20080110-9999-1n10clinton.html.

OC Register: Hillary Clinton: victim of sexism, actor or modern leader?

Hillary Clinton: victim of sexism, actor or modern leader?
Women seeking power walk a narrow path when it comes to showing their feelings.

By JANE GLENN HAAS, Register columnist
January 10, 2007

Hey, didn’t the president – the current guy in the White House – weep openly a year ago at a Medal of Honor ceremony? Were his tears real? Why are his tears OK and Hillary’s déclassé?

Enough already! Let’s get back to important news, like what’s Brittany Spears up to today?

But we can’t, Carol Jenkins tells me. She’s the head of the Women’s Media Center, www.womensmediacenter.com, and, yes, she keeps watch on the nation’s attitude toward women.