On Politics, Women and Generational Anxiety

[groovedaddy]

Eighty-eight years after American women fought their way into the voting booth, some latter-day activists here are having trouble adjusting.

They saw Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as their reward, a final acknowledgement that it was worth all the bras burned and lawsuits filed and marches on an all-male Washington. But Mrs. Clinton failed to win what may be her only shot at the Democratic nomination, and these women are trying to get used to the fact that a new generation is taking center stage here: one represented by Michelle Obama.

On Monday night and throughout Tuesday’s series of women’s events, Mrs. Obama displayed the kind of grace and female strength that political consultants love and many Americans yearn for in a first lady.

Her convention speech touched all the necessary bases: we come from modest stock; we worked hard; we earned fancy degrees, yes, but then we went back to help the community and raise a family — a really adorable family.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/opinion/27weds4.html?th&emc=th