We don't have BIG cable (meaning all the stations). No MTV, no Nickelodeon, no SciFi (sigh), no CNN. So at 8 pm on Thursday, I tuned into CNN online to watch the Dems. At about 8:30 pm, my 7-year-old daughter walked in with her Harry Potter in hand (2nd book, yep, she's smart), ready for bed, and was immediately caught up by the debate. She sat in my lap and watched for over an hour.
This is a kid who watches an odd assortment of shows. In the morning at breakfast, she's quite happy with Clifford the Big Red Dog. Every night she sits with her father and eats dessert, and they might watch a nature show, or a cooking show (she loves the Chinese chef), or (one of her big favorites) Antiques Road Show. So I wasn't totally surprised that the lack of cartoons didn't prevent her from being interested in the debates.
What did surprise me was that every time Hillary spoke, my daughter cheered.
You need to understand that we talk politics a lot in our house. The first word she could spell was "Kerry". She canvassed in Harrisburg, PA with us and even got a reluctant independent to listen to us (she fell in love with the woman's cat, so the woman fell in love with her). She knows the faces of evil ("Mom, yucky Bush is on the TV!"). She knows what our values are ("When I'm President, the first thing I'll do is make sure no one's poor anymore). And she knows that we have not chosen our Democratic candidate yet. During the debate, I would point out good things different candidates said (e.g., Richardson on mental health parity, Obama on health coverage, Edwards on the corruption of corporate influence, Biden when he was funny).
But although we've talked with her about the 3 front-runners (sorry Kucinich, Richardson, Dodd, Biden, Gravel supporters -- but even a smart 7-year-old can only handle so much), discussed their ideas and views, she has chosen Hillary Clinton as her candidate. Obviously, this is not about the issues -- this is a little girl seeing a big girl run for President. And she loves that. Even though Hillary is blonde and white (and my daughter is from China), she identifies with her.
The funny thing is that my older daughter, 19, seems to feel the same way. My older daughter is to the left of Al Sharpton, to the left of Kucinich. I assumed she'd choose Edwards, since her main issue is the poor and oppressed. Or Obama, because she strongly identifies with the African-American community. But she's planning to support Hillary.
It reminds me of my early feminist days when just seeing a woman running for office was such a heady feeling.
For those of you who will be furious at this, who will say that Hillary Clinton is not the best candidate for women, who will say that gender should not be the deciding factor -- that a candidate's policy stands, values, leadership, inspirational ability, ability to resist corporate influence, etc. should all be the main issues; I agree with you. It's why I'm still watching all the candidates, and reading about them (though I admit my husband sent $ to Obama, I've sent $ to Edwards).
But I thought you all should know that my daughters don't seem to share those views. They are girls, and they want a girl to win.