Prague, Nov 10 (CTK) – The U.S. presidential election has refuted the illusion that women are perceived as equal to men since Democrat Hillary Clinton’s defeat by Republican Donald Trump in it was mainly due to her being a woman, Ondrej Houska writes in Hospodarske noviny (HN) yesterday.
If a woman wants to achieve something, she is excessively pushy, while a man is healthily ambitious. A woman who knows what she wants, is hysterical, while a man is purposeful, and if a man cheats on his wife, this is naturally her own fault. All these cliches were heard during the American presidential campaign, in which Clinton was exposed to such attacks that would never be targetted at a man, HN correspondent Houska writes.
The allegedly “choky political correctness” of which Czech President Milos Zeman and his predecessor Vaclav Klaus are constantly complaining was apparently put aside in the United States. The fact that Clinton is a woman was one of the main reasons for her failure, Houska writes.
He admits that Clinton was far from being a perfect candidate. However, the American public did not examine her programme in detail and reject her because of it. She was rejected because she is Hillary Clinton. It is true that the personal profile is an inseparable part of every candidate, but Clinton was literarily crucified, Houska says.
He cites British comedian David Schneider who clearly expressed this discrepancy on Twitter. “Poor America. Such a tough choice: a lying, misogynist, racist, dangerous, unpredictable narcissist, or a woman who used the wrong email,” Schneider writes.
It is definitely a mistake to use one’s private e-mail in the post of secretary of state, which Clinton did, but in the light of what Trump is saying and what policy he proposes, this is insignificant. Would her e-mails draw such a high attention if she were a man? Houska asks.
The effort to discredit and defame a rival candidate as much as possible is a common weapon in a political fight. Trump bet all on this to strengthen the already strong doubts about Clinton with the aim to make a part of her potential voters not to go to elections. He perfectly succeeded as considerably fewer young people and African and Hispanic Americans voted for her than she expected, Houska writes.
It is unbelievable that within the campaign, the American people were scrutinising Clinton’s e-mails, but did not mind at all that Trump had not released his tax returns. Only the elites buying The New York Times could read this, HN writes.
Trump was forgiven many controversial statements, for instance, that he knows more about Islamic State than generals. “If Clinton had said this, it would have been her political suicide long before the election on November 8,” Houska writes.
The presidential election has sent a very alarming signal about the United States. A major part of the U.S. society apparently does not want to admit that a woman could lead the country, he adds.
“Donald Trump now faces an important task to unite all the people he managed to offend and scare in his campaign with those to whose prejudices he appealed. If he succeeded in this, he could make a great president after all,” Houska writes in conclusion.
