I’m with Dana Goldstein:
Now that the endless primary is over, American women — especially those engaged with politics — owe Hillary Clinton a “thank you,” no matter which candidate or even political party they support. Clinton has profoundly altered and enhanced, probably forever, the role of women in American political life….
Over the course of this historic, thrilling, aggressive primary election, we’ve seen more female pundits than ever before writing and speaking about presidential politics. We’ve experienced unprecedented interest from male politicos in women’s participation in the electoral process. And demands for women’s leadership have been given their fairest hearing to date in the United States, with Democrats nationwide expecting Obama to give close consideration to female vice-presidential prospects — not only because there are a few wildly successful and talented women who would be great at the job, but also as a gesture of good will toward the feminist energy that animated so many Clinton supporters….
Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas are among the top three most frequently-mentioned vice-presidential prospects, trailing only Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia… it is inconceivable that the lady governors would be receiving anything close to a fair hearing had Clinton not first demonstrated how hungry a large segment of the Democratic base is to see a woman president. Neither Napolitano nor Sebelius endorsed Clinton, but both must feel some debt toward her path-breaking campaign, which raised their own national profiles.
Check out the whole thing.
