buckdata - news and views for an unquiet age

The day after tomorrow is Super Tuesday–a day in which some 40 percent of delegates for the summer political conventions will be apportioned, grasped, or at least groped or pleaded for. Due to a change in primary dates, we in California are faced with the possibility of having our primary votes count for the first time in a generation. Excitement is consequently higher than usual. So it is interesting to note that although the governor has endorsed John McCain, the governor’s wife, Maria Shriver, has endorsed Barack Obama. Instead of the 19th century’s separate domains for men and women (the world and the household), we are witnessing the further emergence of separate electoral arenas, with powerful women such as Diane Feinstein, Caroline Kennedy, Maxine Waters and Oprah Winfrey weighing in on the Democratic choices. The news is thus not merely that one already-powerful woman is among those seeking the nation’s top office, but that the opinions of so many powerful women are publicly noted and reported. Hey, it’s about time!