In a discussion this inflated, my two cents are worth, well, about five Indonesian Rupiahs. (Oh, snap.) But I've been thinking a bit about this whole question of whether race or sex puts a presidential candidate at a greater disadvantage. A lot of the science seems to suggest that things are harder on the woman. Racial prejudice seems to be easier to overcome with specifics about a person, but prejudice against a gender is there to stay.
My thought...and perhaps it's a totally obvious one...is that we see people in types. And we have a whole bunch of these types, but ultimately it's a finite number. So if you try to think of an "old, black man," you might have five types that come into your head...and there are probably traits besides being old, black men they all have in common. And I think people have to play into these types in some way, otherwise we just don't quite get them. Even as a black man, Obama can play into the Edward R. Murrow-style gravitas. And there's just no type like that for women. If there are wise, gravitas-type women, they're generally low energy. And low-energy won't win you a nomination.
OK, things have gotten too interesting around the apartment for me to continue this post...another time, maybe.
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