Highly Visible Women

As we hobble into Spring, all eyes are on 2016 – when these eyes really should be on the summer months. Maybe it was the extended-dance-mix winter we had that just. kept. going. Or maybe it was something in the ether that made people act strangely (because folks were acting pretty damned inexplicable this year). But I think mayhaps we have forgotten that summer even exists because it seems that instead of looking to the 2014 midterms as a harbinger of something interesting, everyone is skipping that part and getting to the Show.  And this Show smells like talcum powder.

Yes, Hillary Clinton is going to be a grandmother. Mollusks! Chelsea Clinton is preggers which means that if Hillary runs for president and is elected, she will be the first First Lady to be POTUS, the first woman to be leader of the free world, and the first Bubbe to have her finger on the button. A tip of the hat to those who grew tired of the “she’s a girl!” narrative – this is definitely something new to prattle on about. No less than David Gregory on Meet the Press addressed this obviously essential new development, because with few other unfolding developments in the 2016 race one should clearly watch the development of Chelsea’s uterus instead. My all-time favorite thing, maybe ever, is the claim by a few on the Right that somehow Hillary somehow staged the pregnancy. As if murdering Vince Foster, covering up Benghazi, and faux-ducking shoes wasn’t enough – she Gerry rigged a gestation. I get what they’re saying: Hillary is good. So good, she should be president. 

Wait. That’s not what they’re saying.

Moving on, the other gal in the IP mix these days is Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren who is about to release a book memoir called “A Fighting Chance.”  This is such a classic IP move that the HBO show “Veep” has already mocked it with the lead character releasing a book called “Some New Beginnings: Our Next American Journey” prior to her own run for president. (By the way: One of the show characters ridiculed the “New Beginnings” title by saying “It’s so full of shit there’s a colon in the middle of it.” Ha!) But what the fake candidate and the possibly real candidate have in common is a book tour which gives candidates fake and real plenty of face time with the media and the American public. This, of course, is why you release a book. But despite Politico calling her “hot,” (only in Washington, friends) Warren swearsshe’s not running. Okey dokey. I’m certain a release of “A Fighting Chance” has nothing to do with running for higher office. Nothing at all. 

What all of this means for IP watching is that – just maybe – women’s issues will be central I the 2016 presidential race. Or maybe we will be distracted by the super cute, teeny tiny socks that Chelsea & Marc’s bundle of joy will wear.  Given the seriousness of the news media, it’s an even bet either way, but one can always hope.