Cracks In The Glass Ceiling

We're going to have a long time to discuss differences in policies and engage in specific debates about policies and accountability (102 days to be exact after the convention is over on Thursday), but last night the Democratic party made history when they officially made Hillary Clinton their nominee for president.  

Years ago, when Mrs. Clinton conceded the Democratic nomination to a young senator from Illinois named Barack Obama, she gave a stirring speech in which she made mention to the 18 million votes that came close to cracking a glass ceiling that has kept women from ever serving as the President of the United States (that line, by the way, comes from Michelle Obama's speechwriter, Sarah Hurwitz, who worked for Mrs. Clinton during her 2008 campaign).

So it seemed only fitting that on the night the DNC formally made Secretary Clinton their designated nominee that they mark the occasion with some kind of pomp and circumstance.  You can watch the video Slate referred to as "gloriously cheesy" below.   

CBS News, YouTube

It was a moment tailor-made for political punditry.  Secretary Clinton, appearing live via-satellite (or are we calling it Skype-llite these days?) phoned in a short statement from New York to the delegates in attendance.  While it's easy to become jaded or allow any preconceived notions of Secretary Clinton cloud the significance of the moment, let's not lose sight of the symbolism of last night's major moment.  

Even if you despise Hillary Clinton and everything she stands for, I would hope that for one night you would be able to suspend your hatred to give the occasion and what it stands for, the moment it deserves.  The fact that your mother, your sister, your wife, your daughter or granddaughter can one day be president.

There are some who will say that Mrs. Clinton's use of the woman-card is unfair.  That she's using it as a crutch to guilt her way into office.  Which is an interesting theory given how well that strategy has historically worked for getting women elected to become President in the past.  

But for these people below (and many more like them), the nomination holds the type of significance some women thought they may never get the opportunity to see.  

Yeah, maybe that literal glass ceiling moment might have been a little over-the-top or cheesy, but given the years of misogynist and sexist jokes that have come at the expense of Secretary Clinton and the many female politicians that have come before her, we can give the excessive CGI a bit of a pass.  

Yeah, it might make a few of the same guys who were mad that a bunch of female Ghostbusters ruined their childhood, but fuck 'em.  The internet has already given their backwards cynicism too much of a voice anyway.   

And yeah, the camera turning to the women in that audience were pre-planned photo-ops likely being exploited by the mass media, I don't care.  Those cracks were hundreds of years in the making and I hope every female who's ever felt disenfranchised or disheartened felt a genuine sense of hope that they may one day live to see a female president (even if they truly do not wish it to be Secretary Clinton).

It's days like this that go beyond political lines (I hope) and that are indicative of the greatness we are capable of here in America.  That every US citizen gets a moment like this, where they can see that there is truly opportunity for all.  

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