From Gary Kamiya today in Salon:
But if Clinton is caught in the damned-if-she-does, damned-if-she-doesn’t trap [too feminine or too butch], Obama is caught in a similar, even more extreme one. He has a bigger head start because of racial guilt, but a bigger downside because of racial fear. His tightrope is higher up, but it’s a longer fall. Since he cannot get too confrontational without triggering white racial guilt and fear, he has to remain somewhat amorphous. And to pull that off he has to be consistently inspiring — not an easy task.
Moreover, Clinton also has her own potent gender cards to play. Just as Clinton supporters could only fume as the media anointed Obama as the new unifier after Iowa, Obama supporters could only curse as Clinton garnered massive publicity and female sympathy by showing a little emotion in New Hampshire. I’ll see your beyond-race hoo-ha and raise you a moist-eyed moment, fairy-tale man!
In the end, the race and gender cards may cancel each other out, and voters may make their decision based on more than just the accidents of gender and race. But things could get a lot uglier before that happens. And if they do, the only one cheering will be John McCain.
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