Two Women, Hillary and Sarah

Hillary Clinton was just as qualified to be Governor of Arkansas and President of the United States as Bill Clinton, but we live in a somewhat misogynistic society, and Bill had first dibs on those honors. While Bill had high educational accomplishments, Hillary’s were even better. In high school, Hillary was a student leader and a member of the National Honor Society. After high school she attended Wellesley and graduated magna cum laude. She was president of the student government at Wellesley and was the first student to give a commencement address there (she received a seven-minute standing ovation). She was considered by her fellow students likely to be the first woman President of the United States. After collage, she graduated cum laude from Yale Law School.

Sarah Palin’s educational record is…well… you know.

There is good reason to believe that Hillary is the smarter of the two Clintons. As evidence, one has only to look at the transcript of her January 13, 2009, confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on her nomination to be Secretary of State. At the hearing she gave a dazzling display of her knowledge of foreign affairs. It can be found at www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/us/politics/13text-clinton.html.

Contrast this with the pathetic performances of Sarah Palin in interviews with Katie Couric and Charles Gibson. When Couric asked Sarah about her claim that the proximity of Alaska to Russia enhanced her foreign policy credentials (the subject of a Tina Fey spoof), Palin did not deny it. Republican sources have averred that Palin did not know the names of the three partners in NAFTA, and may or may not have thought that Africa is just a country and not a whole continent full of countries!

In her confirmation hearing, Hillary was questioned in depth about foreign affairs by some very smart senators. Richard Lugar, Republican senator from Indiana, is one of the most knowledgeable and respected experts in Washington on foreign affairs. He delved into Hillary Clinton’s positions on international matters. She showed a full grasp of complicated issues such as the recent Russian cut-off of natural gas to the Ukraine as well as WMD proliferation prevention assistance.

In case anybody thinks that all female politicians in Alaska are intellectually challenged, there is Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, a graduate of Georgetown University and Willamette College of Law. One has to wonder why, if he wanted a female Alaskan politician as running mate, John McCain didn’t choose bright Lisa rather than dim Sarah (knowing his predilection for pretty women, perhaps it had something to do with Sarah’s beauty-pageant good looks).

An example of the colloquy between Senator Murkowski and Hillary Clinton can be found in the following: “MURKOWSKI: Will ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty be a priority for you? CLINTON: Yes, it will be, and it will be because it is long overdue, Senator. The Law of the Sea Treaty is supported by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, environmental, energy, and business interests. I have spoken with some of our -- our naval leaders, and they consider themselves to be somewhat disadvantaged by our not having become a party to the Law of the Sea.” I wonder if Sarah Palin even knows what the Law of the Sea Treaty is.

I highly recommend reading all 63 pages of the transcript of Clinton’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (You’ve got nothing better to do, do you?).

Some people may be annoyed that I make this comparison between the brilliant and accomplished Hillary Clinton and the intellectually dwarfed Sarah Palin. The reason is that there is still much talk of Sarah Palin being nominated as Republican candidate for president in 2012. Such a nomination would put into question the intelligence of the Republican Party leaders and voters. There are plenty of exceptional Republican women who could be considered for such a nomination. The Republicans don’t need Sarah Palin and neither does the country.