What will Hillary do with her power?
Saturday, May 10, 2008 by Dave Winer.
Oh the political debate is getting interesting! 
Assuming the Democratic nomination is actually decided, then what is Hillary Clinton's future role?
Last night on Larry King I heard Carole Simpson, a black woman, supporter of HRC, say that it's white men calling for her to withdraw. (Transcript.)
Stephanie Miller chimed in "I have ovaries."
Even so, it seems to me that people of all genders are conspicuously not asking Clinton to withdraw out of respect for her power, which she has a lot of. What she does with that power now will have a lot to do with what happens next. I know that's pretty waffly, but I don't know how else to say it. She could blow something up. She could ask women to get angry. If she does, it seems there will be some angry women. Maybe many very angry women. Scary thought. No sarcasm.
Perhaps her role will be analogous to Al Sharpton, sharp-tongued rallier of specialized anger.
HRC is potentially a political leader of women unlike any leader we've ever seen. There have been some powerful women politicians -- Bella Abzug, Golda Meir, Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Benazir Bhutto, Nancy Pelosi.
But what will Hillary do with her power?
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