| Politico: Clinton emphasizes her gender strategy RAW STORY
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 "Roberta Stokes said she cried Monday morning when she heard Hillary Rodham Clinton ask whether America is ready for a woman to be president," Ben Smith writes in today's Politico. "A lot of people don't understand that a woman is strong enough to do that." But Stokes said she'd also been moved when Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., came to Columbia last week, carrying the promise that he could become the first black president. "I couldn't make a choice right now on them," she said. Excerpts:
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Clinton spent Monday morning before a mostly black, mostly female crowd in the South Carolina capital, and she seemed to grasp Stokes' choice clearly. Her pitch was equally clear: One pioneer at a time.
"I believe this presidential election is about breaking barriers," Clinton said. "This is the campaign and I am the candidate with the experience to break those barriers."
Clinton's tailored case to a black audience reflected her new directness in talking about herself as a woman and a mother. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher reportedly took voice lessons to sound more like a man; Clinton has gone in the other direction since announcing her bid for the presidency, speaking more explicitly about her sex than ever before in her political career. And while the shift has the lofty aim of trying to change national attitudes toward women, it also reflects a cold, strategic reality.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
Originally published on Tuesday February 20, 2007.
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