That's absurd. Voting should be about putting the most qualified person into the job. 'Empowerment'? Seriously? What does that even mean?

I completely agree, I have nothing against feminist, or women at all. I really think we have gotten to the point where people of mild intelligence or better really dont feel negatively towards race, gender, or anything of the sort. People need to grow up and look at the bigger picture.

I heard someone call into a program on NPR, and say they were going to vote for Clinton, just because she was a woman.

To me, this is evidence of a double standard of bigotry. Here's how I see it:

A woman says, "I'm going to vote for Hillary Clinton because she is a woman, and I believe it's important for society to have a woman as President."

Is the same as... an African-American saying, "I'm going to vote for Barack Obama because he is an African-American, and I believe it's important for society to have an African-American as President."

Is the same as... a white male saying, "I'm going to vote for John Edwards because he is white a man, and I believe it's important for society to have a white male as President."

That last one doesn't sound so good... does it?

Voting or not voting for someone because of the color of their skin or what's in their pants is a form of bigotry. It is more "empowering" to run for office, be treated like everyone else, and not get the job... then get the job simply because of WHAT you are, not WHO you are.

Being an African American female, I totally agree with all three of you. I would be just as stupid as the person not voting for hilary because she's a woman or not voting for barack because he is black if I were to vote for either of them for either of those reasons.

What happened to voting for what you believed in? when did that tuck its tail between its legs and crawl into the hole of bigotry? People will make (and have made) poor choices if the basis for their choices are such superficial traits.