I've loved Martha Burk ever since she raised holy hell about the discrimination against women by the He-men down in Augusta, Georgia who host the boys club they call the 'Master's' Golf Tournament. As is the patriarchal tradition, the 'Masters' let black men in, but they man the blockades and throw fits of Alpha male outrage at the mere thought of letting women in. But I digress.
In the following piece, Martha says what women everywhere are thinking about Obama: (Read it all!)
National women's organizations have been lobbying Obama, who has said he is a feminist, to reopen the White House Office on Women's Issues. So far the answer is a big fat no - women's concerns will be under the already swamped Office of Public Liaison. That's a tiny shop that's chronically understaffed and overstretched. Even with the best intentions, there's almost no chance they can interface with women's advocates in a meaningful way, much less shape policy to overcome the many setbacks we inherited from the Bush years.
In a direct insult to women, George W. Bush closed the Clinton-era White House Office on Women's Issues in his first week, then ensconced the first-ever church/state liaison office in the same space. For our new president to "keep the faith" with religious groups while short-shrifting women is equally insulting. There is no doubt that women are responsible for his election. Females went for Obama by 56 percent to McCain's 43 percent, while men split their votes about evenly. The Jesus crowd, on the other hand, voted 60% against the president. . .
Women's groups are elated that the Texans are finally out of the White House. But if the new president wants their continuing loyalty, he ought to follow some good ol'
