Gloria Steinem questions McCain's POW credentials

Posted By Blake Hounshell Monday, March 3, 2008 - 10:35 AM Share

Speaking at a rally this weekend for Hillary Clinton, feminist icon Gloria Steinem had this to say about John McCain:

Suppose John McCain had been Joan McCain and Joan McCain had got captured, shot down and been a POW for eight years. [The media would ask], ‘What did you do wrong to get captured? What terrible things did you do while you were there as a captive for eight years?’” Steinem said, to laughter from the audience.

McCain was, in fact, a prisoner of war for around five-and-a-half years, during which time he was tortured repeatedly. Referring to his time in captivity, Steinem said with bewilderment, “I mean, hello? This is supposed to be a qualification to be president? I don’t think so.”

As you might imagine, the Clinton campaign has distanced itself from Steinem's comments.

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OLI@DAL.CA

10:49 AM ET

March 3, 2008

I'm not sure if the first

I'm not sure if the first quote there is supposed to be entirely humorous or entirely serious. Probably a small combination of both. Nevertheless, it's a great example of a situation where using gender comparisons is completely inappropriate, not to mention pointless. As for the second bit, I think she was trying to get at the ever-repeated idea in American politics that heroic military experiences should be weighted as heavily as policy and leadership experiences in the political arena. However, the way she went about doing this was utterly tactless. Whenever something is prefaced with "I mean, hello?" you know the point is going to sink like a stone.

 

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