NPR: Gender Bias? Editor Defends the Clinton Pick

Gender Bias? Editor Defends the Clinton Pick

Filed under: Election 2008, Sound Off

For the longest time, newspaper editorial boards were all-male, and so were presidential fields. This election cycle, the Des Moines Register's editorial board is largely female, and the presidential field features a senator from New York named Hillary Clinton.

Who, it should be noted, just won the Register's endorsement on that side of the ticket. Executive editor Carolyn Washburn came on our show today and talked about the process of making the pick--followed by the process of defending it. The editor says Clinton just blew the group away.

"We all had our shields up, to be honest, in the same way that many, many Americans have their shields up about her," Washburn remembers. "We finished an hour and a half with her and came out and looked at each other and went, 'Wow.' She's just extremely impressive."

Laura Conaway

1:14 PM ET | 12-17-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

I'm less worried about gender bias than the wine and dine bias (see the NY Times article about how involved Bill Clinton got and how the Clintons met with them over and over).

Not to mention the actual text of the endorsement sounds more like they're endorsing Biden! (one of the truly experienced candidates)

Sent by Amy | 3:29 PM ET | 12-17-2007

Clinton is the most prepared to lead? Prepared to lead what? Maybe she is prepared to lead half of the country as George Bush has done. America is looking to its post-blue-red-state politics when people of different ideological stripes can still work together to get things done for the American people. Clinton can't offer this type of leadership because she doesn't transcend political divides. Her election will just sink the country further into the abyss of political bitterness and rancor. Newspapers should refrain from political endorsements.

Sent by Maxwell Oteng | 3:52 PM ET | 12-17-2007

I know some media outlets are saying that the Register's endorsement is important, but I personally don't get what all the fuss is about. Yes, Edwards surged in the polls after receiving the paper's endorsement back in '04, but he was a virtual unknown at the time and the endorsement gave him some much needed media attention (??? at least that is what I vaguely recall happening).

By comparison almost everyone knows who Clinton is, and it would seem unlikely that the folks in Iowa would change their opinions of Hillary because of a single newspaper endorsement. The one thing it did do however was to deny some additional momentum to the Obama campaign.

Sent by Will G | 3:56 PM ET | 12-17-2007

Living in Des Moines and reading the Register each day the impact of their endorsements are minimal, at best. In fact, they usually backfire. For example, a recent referendum they endorsed received just 15% of the vote. Two out of three Des Moines school board candidates they endorse are defeated. The issue isn't whether this endorsement will help Hillary Clinton. The question should be, will it hurt her?

Sent by Phil R | 4:54 PM ET | 12-17-2007

The Washington Post reported yesterday that the Register actually has done a superb job at picking the wrong candidate. According to Chris Cillizza, the last time they "endorsed a single winning candidate" was back in 1980.

Sent by Will G | 6:52 PM ET | 12-17-2007

so very hard to know where to begin the divide...gender, religious, racial, intellectual, political, economic...you name it and we got it!!! at this point in our precarious state of affairs, i would say gender bias is the least of our worries...hillary is very smart and not full of religious dogma which has been a major factor in creating divisional tensions in our country...probably any of the democrats running for pres. would be a red flag rather than a red, white and blue one primarily because they understand the importance of the privacy and personal nature of religion and the secular purposes of government...and half this country "JUST DON'T GET IT". it makes me extremely sad to how distracted we have become over issues that have absolutely no priority when it comes to solving our nations problems and helping those who are the most needy. by the way, i think hillary would be brilliant!!! ...get over it!

Sent by jan | 8:01 PM ET | 12-17-2007

. . . And by "wrong candidate" I mean past Democratic candidates who failed to win Iowa. Apparently most of the the Des Moines Register's Republican faves placed first in the contest.

Sent by Will G | 11:33 PM ET | 12-17-2007

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