Editorials

She's Not Always Nancy Nice, But She Could Be President

Becky O'Malley
Friday February 15, 2019 - 09:26:00 AM

“Her voice was ever soft, gentle and low, an excellent thing in woman.” Shakespeare’s King Lear

”She yelled, threw papers, and sometimes even hurled objects; one aide was accidentally hit with a flying binder…” Buzz Feed News

The snow hadn’t even melted on Senator Amy Klobuchar’s hair after she announced her candidacy for president in a Minnesota blizzard before the planted oppo stories started appearing online.

She “ left employees in tears, four former staffers said…” Buzz Feed News echoed breathlessly.

Funny, Buzz Feed News didn’t manage to get the names of any of Klobuchar’s accusers. Maybe this is because the online publication has just laid off more than 200 people and couldn’t afford to verify the identity of the grumblers with the surviving reporters. Talk about your bad bosses.

Or maybe, just maybe, the horror stories actually originated with some of the same media mills which generated the anti-Hillary propaganda in 2016, and Buzz Feed News sloppily parroted them.

But the most plausible explanation is one which any woman over 40 who’s had any supervisory position could confirm. Women bosses are just not supposed to be, well, bossy. And if they’re too bossy, they’re even accused of being the male version: bully. 

It’s not just men who complain when older women tell them what to do—women can sometimes be the loudest whiners when they’re scolded. It’s likely some kind of primal thing, harking back to a time when Mama said no to a toddler’s desire. 

The Republican attempt in the 2018 midterms to demonize (or witchify) Nancy Pelosi was a lame attempt to tap this reservoir of childish petulance, though it didn’t work in the end. Four minutes on the internet produces evidence of similar accusations over the years against a roster of powerful and mouthy female politicians: Barbara Mikulski, Sheila Jackson Lee, Maxine Waters, and recently notable Elizabeth Warren (But She Persisted) to name a few.  

Politics is a high visibility operation, and the U.S. Congress employs a lot of poorly paid staffers , so it’s not surprising that many of these stories come from there, and some of the grudges are justified. But half the women I know who have managed others in their middle years tell the same tale. My own observations comes from politics, journalism, high tech and the arts. In all these realms I’ve seen the same kinds of gripe-fests, with accusations against female bosses that often boil down to “unladylike behavior” more than substantive complaints. 

All too often, the complainers are too cowardly to speak publically, which means their charges are almost impossible to refute. However I witnessed one incident where the aggrieved individual used an email blast to denounce her employer, and as far as I know she’s never gotten another regular job—potential employers are gun-shy, I suspect, worrying that they’d be the next in her sights. 

By the time women reach retirement age, they are sometimes less threatening to insecure subordinates, turning into harmless cute old ladies. On the other hand, Maxine Waters (Aunty Maxine to her admirers) can still strike terror into the hearts of those who dare to cross her, even at 80. Now she’s going to chair the House Finance Committee, so slackers beware. 

Even godly women lose their temper when necessary. I once heard an elderly priest speak with pride from the pulpit about meeting Dorothy Day, who was feisty right up until her death at 83. “She was one tough lady”, he said, though afterwards he told me that “lady” wasn’t exactly the word he had in mind. 

Though she didn’t win the Electoral College, Hillary Clinton’s popular vote victory in 2016 guarantees that more women will be running for President in the future, and you can bet that most will have in their background some allegation that they weren’t Nice enough at some point. It should be noted that some critics have said that Hillary’s campaign was too Nice—candidates with a certain amount of piss and vinegar might actually look more “presidential” to the voters, they suggest. 

My first impression of Amy Klobuchar was that she is indeed Minnesota Nice much of the time—so I find the rumors that she sometimes loses her temper when things don’t get done on schedule somewhat reassuring. Jimmy Carter is an obviously Nice guy, and he didn’t accomplish much as President in the end. The same might be said of Gerald Ford (remember him?) 

The real problem is that candidates for office should not be rated as if they were vying for the Miss Congeniality ribbon in the Miss America contest. Klobuchar and Warren are both smart, well-educated, and generally sound on issues that matter, with just minor differences in details. They’ve both had the kind of experience with campaigns and other jobs that will matter if they are chosen. I’m not so sure about Kamala Harris (not enough of the right experience) or Kirsten Gillibrand (she once had an A rating from the NRA). And Tulsi Gabbard?? 

Trying to choose between the top two is almost a meaningless task. In all honesty, I’d do anything in my power to elect either one of them. 

I would even work for the others, because every day in every way Donald Trump shows me that my little yaller dawg Larry Potter would be a better president than he is. I’d vote for Sherrod Brown with enthusiasm. 

I worry that my fellow citizens will be bamboozled by the tall tales that the Trumpistas are going to tell about whoever is nominated. It’s too easy to invoke deep-seated role stereotypes to dismiss a candidate that doesn’t meet all your standards for Niceness, but as a survivor of the Ralph Nader and Jill Stein presidencies I hope you can resist the temptation to vote your heart instead of your head. 

(Also, I've met Ralph Nader, and he wasn't always that Nice. In a good way.)