At the risk of being branded an “angry white, male-chauvinist misogynist” (see “Fight for Democratic nomination is now about misogyny and racism,” Maureen Dowd, The Daily Sentinel, March 6), I have concluded that Sen. Hillary Clinton may have disqualified herself as a credible candidate for (Vice) President of the United States.

Last week in Texas and Ohio, Hillary fielded a campaign ad — now known as the “3 a.m. ad” — which directly appealed to the fear of some voters that Sen. Barack Obama was somehow not sufficiently experienced to answer the phone and respond appropriately. The real question is: At which voters’ fears was this slick Rovian campaign ad directed?

According to a reportedly leaked Hillary campaign memo, the “3 a.m. ad” was targeted at her “core constituency” — middle-aged women with children, many of whom lack a college education (and, thus, by Steve Acquafresca’s apt definition, may be “unsophisticated”).

Moreover, the “3 a.m. ad” was premised on the stereotypical conventional wisdom that women (as a gender) are particularly susceptible to emotional appeals (such as to fear), and that women with children are rightly predisposed to be protective of their sleeping offspring (and thus more apt to react emotionally to purported threats to their “security”).

Thus, not only did Hillary cynically borrow a page from George Bush’s fear-mongering play book, but by doing so, she deliberately insulted her own demographic. In other words, by her own devious (another allegedly “female” trait) logic, Sen. Clinton (a middle-aged woman with a child) is purportedly less likely to respond appropriately to a “3 a.m.” phone call than either of her male challengers — Sens. Obama or John McCain.

So, Hillary can add me to the lengthening list of “angry white men” who would prefer not to vote for her, even though I’d like to see Bill back in the White House. Even an aging John McCain might more calmly answer the 3 a.m. call than a devious, emotional cynic
BILL HUGENBERG
Grand Junction

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