Clinton Sexism Watch, #110 / Palin Sexism Watch, #9

CNBC Big Idea host Donny Deutsch appears as a guest on another CNBC show, Squawk on the Street, to explain how Sarah Palin is the "new feminist ideal" and why Hillary Clinton isn't:


Key Transcript, Deutch Only: …If you were gonna sell a new concept, a Woman in Power, to the American people, if it was a cereal, was a product, what ingredients would you put in? Hillary Clinton never figured it out. She figured it out.

Number one, you'd have supermom in there, no question about it. … Second, she's sexy. Men want a sexy woman. Women want to idealize about a sexy woman. She's the perfect age: 44. She's certainly got experience, life gravitas experience, but she's still young enough to have that physical appeal. … She's a lioness. … Who wouldn't want a lioness protecting their cubs? She's funny, she's real, she's rock solid, she's feisty, she's smart. If I need to sell Woman in Power to the American public, that's what I'm putting in my cereal. Hillary Clinton's cereal maybe only has two or three of those ingredients.

So the huge lesson here is: Before you can sell the candidate, whether it's a man or a woman, you gotta first sell her as a woman. This is the new feminist ideal. This is a seminal moment in pop American culture, beyond politics. This is the new feminist ideal. Women want to be her; men want to mate with her.

…And this is a lesson for women in business also. If you wanna be a powerful woman in business, don't try and be a man. Be a powerful woman. …Finally—and, once again, this has implications for business, for marketing, for fashion—there is the new creation that the feminist woman has not figured out in 40 years—feminist ideal—that men can take in a woman in power and women can celebrate a woman in power. Hillary Clinton didn't figure it out. She didn't put a skirt on!

…[Issues don't matter.] We want to have [Palin] over for dinner. I trust her. I want her watching my kids. I want her laying next to me in bed. That's the way people vote.
Yes, why couldn't that dumbass Hillary Clinton figure out how to be 44? And why wasn't she ever funny, real, rock solid, feisty, or smart? And why did she keep talking about important stuff like the issues? No wonder she lost.

I don't guess I need to point out that a woman who is completely intellectually non-threatening and adheres unflinchingly to the traditional beauty standard isn't actually a "new feminist ideal" at all, but is, in fact, pretty much exactly the ideal that feminism emerged to challenge.

(Thanks to Shaker Blue NY for passing that along.)

Hillary Clinton Sexism Watch: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight, Twenty-Nine, Thirty, Thirty-One, Thirty-Two, Thirty-Three, Thirty-Four, Thirty-Five, Thirty-Six, Thirty-Seven, Thirty-Eight, Thirty-Nine, Forty, Forty-One, Forty-Two, Forty-Three, Forty-Four, Forty-Five, Forty-Six, Forty-Seven, Forty-Eight, Forty-Nine, Fifty, Fifty-One, Fifty-Two, Fifty-Three, Fifty-Four, Fifty-Five, Fifty-Six, Fifty-Seven, Fifty-Eight, Fifty-Nine, Sixty, Sixty-One, Sixty-Two, Sixty-Three, Sixty-Four, Sixty-Five, Sixty-Six, Sixty-Seven, Sixty-Eight, Sixty-Nine, Seventy, Seventy-One, Seventy-Two, Seventy-Three, Seventy-Four, Seventy-Five, Seventy-Six, Seventy-Seven, Seventy-Eight, Seventy-Nine, Eighty, Eighty-One, Eighty-Two, Eighty-Three, Eighty-Four, Eighty-Five, Eighty Six, Eighty-Seven, Eighty-Eight, Eighty-Nine, Ninety, Ninety-One, Ninety-Two, Ninety-Three, Ninety-Four, Ninety-Five, Ninety-Six, Ninety-Seven, Ninety-Eight, Ninety-Nine, One Hundred, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109.

Sarah Palin Sexism Watch: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight. We defend Sarah Palin against misogynist smears not because we endorse her or her politics, but because that's how feminism works.

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