Thanks for your comments on the poll. I'm unable to amend it because of dailykos rules. Sorry about the confusion.
Jezreel
A much touted rally by supporters of presidential hopeful; Sen. Hillary Clinton was scheduled for today in New York City to protest against what many believe to be sexism by the media and voter suppression in FL and MI.
An ad promoting the rally, located here, claimed that it was not endorsed by or affiliated with the Hillary Clinton for President 2008 campaign.
In reviewing reader posts here it does not appear that the rally was successful. And it also does not appear to have received much coverage by the media.
While there has doubtless been some evidence of media bias in the campaign coverage of both Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama, it is not clear that a rally protesting unfair media coverage would have garnered additional support for her presidential campaign. It is possible, however, that the rally would have had the opposite effect. It may have helped to cement an uncomplimentary public image of Mrs. Clinton by portraying her as a victim thereby disqualifying her in the public mind from holding the most powerful political office in the U.S.
America has never had either a female or African-American President. Therefore, both Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton are pioneers in the American political arena. Being a pioneer is never easy because the bar for measuring success is always harder to pass. Both candidates should have expected they would be subjected to enhanced media criticism, public scrutiny and of course gender and racial biases. In order to accomplish their goals, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama must be able to remain above the fray.
Because of the historical nature of their candidacies, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama must be able to set the standards by which future women and African-Americans seeking presidential election may be judged. Whining about being asked the first question during Presidential debates and complaining about being treated unfairly by the media simply does not help Mrs. Clinton's candidacy.
It is not clear who sponsored the rally. However,in the past, the N.Y. chapter of NOW has severely criticized politicians such as Sen. Ted Kennedy and implied that he and other male politicians are being chauvinistic at best and at worst misogynistic because they have not supported Sen. Clinton’s presidential bid.
A letter written by the N.Y. chapter of the National Organization of Women,strongly implied that Sen. Ted Kennedy and other male politicians should support Sen. Clinton just because she is a woman because the time has come for America to elect its first female president.
Since the NOW letter was publicized on January 28, 2008, it has been confirmed by media research groups at here that Sen. Clinton and her proxies have appealed to racial prejudices among voters in an effort to further divisions and garner support for her candidacy. The degree to which Clinton has deliberately tried to cast herself as a victim of gender bias is unclear.
Senator Clinton may have legitimate gripes about her treatment by some elements of MSM. However, race baiting, engaging in smear and whisper campaigns and using other exploitative political tactics do not enhance Sen. Clinton's candidacy. Instead those tactics only reinforce preexisting negative stereotypes of women. They only strengthen perceptions that women are emotionally driven, manipulative, divisive, cunning and destructive regardless of whether those preconceptions are valid.
Today's failed attempt to rally anti-media sentiment was, in my opinion, a direct response to Clinton campaign tactics to generate an emotional response to her candidacy and generate votes.
America needs a President who transcends the hatred and political exploitation of the past. We need a President who can help to unify our country and provide leadership in tackling a disastrous economic forecast, an unpopular war, a loss of moral standing in the global community, a war against terror, a housing crisis, a health care crisis and a near trillion dollar trade deficit.
We can no longer afford the divisive, exploitative politics of the past.