In her 2017 autobiographical book, What Happened, Hillary Clinton writes at length about the price of being a woman in American politics. Especially though not exclusively during the 2016 presidential campaign, which she lost to her opponent, a political newbie by the name of Donald J. Trump.
Repeatedly Clinton describes how difficult it was to be a woman in public life, from the early days during which she was wife of the governor of Arkansas (beginning in 1979), all the way through to 2016 when she was the odds-on favorite to win the White House. Clinton was regularly and relentlessly slammed for a range of sins from being too aggressive to being too uptight. She writes, her hurt and anger hardly concealed, about the ways in which “her face, her body, her voice, her demeanor” were always being scrutinized and about how her “stature” was always being “diminished.”
Fast forward to Nikki Haley in New Hampshire, where she just finished campaigning against the self-same Trump, now for the Republican Party presidential nomination. Haley lost the primary to Trump by 11 points. But she did not lose because she was a woman. In fact, arguably the most striking thing about the entirety of Haley’s campaign so far is that her gender has essentially been a non-issue. Sure, last night, during his ostensible victory speech, Trump commented, derogatorily, on her what she was wearing. “When I watched her in the fancy dress, that probably wasn’t so fancy,” he couldn’t help but snipe. But in the main, whatever the gripes against Haley during this primary season they have not been grounded in her womanhood.
Credit Haley for striking an excellent balance between looking feminine and looking professional. And for striking an excellent balance between being proactive and being aggressive. Anti-Trumpers have been railing against her for not taking on Trump more fulsomely and forcefully. But it could well be that she’s the “last woman” standing precisely because she did not. Could be that had she done so early on, gone on the warpath against Trump months ago, she would’ve long been gone.
Similarly, credit the American people for making progress – for putting gender to the side. This could of course still change. Trump is not done. But if he takes her on for being a lady, he’d better watch out.