Politics and gender...

I've been thinking politics a bit lately. Guess it is the buzz surrounding the potential candidates for the next presidential race. I was in a conversation with my grandmother, one of the most progressive 96-year-olds you could ever meet. She truly thinks that as a woman, you should vote for Hilary Clinton, simply because she is female. Qualifications aside, women should support women. Period.

I don't know how I feel about that for sure. Clinton's qualifications are more unique than any potential candidate in history. No other can say that they have observed the white house with the perspective that she has. I think I would personally be willing to vote for her on her merits alone. And the fact that she has beliefs that are very centered in the Democrat ideology.

I don't know if I could support her simply because of her sex. That seems to be as limiting as voting against her because she is female. Shouldn't the right candidate be the right candidate not due to their skin color (that's you, Obama), or their sex (Clinton) or even their political party (everyone else)?

I suppose it's food for thought for me. I am lucky that women like my grandmother existed 50 and 75 years ago. They paved a path for me in supporting each other. They made the world a place where I can choose and be who I am, not because of my sex but because of my ideas. Am I progressing with or aganst all they stood for if I make a choice based on merit, not "who" the candidate is?