Men May Dominate Obama Administration: This is Change You Can Believe in?

In response to all the thoughtless comments by giddy Obama supporters such as Rep. Clyburn that now all children in America can believe in the possibility of fulfilling their potential, I’ve said repeatedly: “Only male children in America have received that assurance; female children will have to wait.”

At first glance, it appears that President-elect Obama won’t contribute much to gender equality on behalf of all those little girls in America, including his own daughters.

Politico’s Lisa Lerer reports:

“The early teams released by the Obama administration have tended to be male-dominated. On Wednesday, four women and eight men were named to Obama’s transition advisory board. His agency review team is headed by seven women and thirteen men. And last week, Obama met with his key economic advisers — four women and 13 men.

“So far, Obama has named four members of his top White House staff. Three are men – chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, press secretary Robert Gibbs and chief congressional liaison Phil Schiliro. And one is a woman – senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.

“Additionally, Vice President-elect Joe Biden has named Ron Klain as his chief of staff.

“The senior staff assisting with the transition is more evenly divided, with Jarrett, a mentor and close friend one of the three top aides overseeing it.

“While Obama has not made any Cabinet appointments, the names that are circulating have worried some in the women’s rights community.

‘“I have been struck by how few women have been mentioned for high-level positions,’ said former Vermont Gov. Madeleine Kunin, who worked on the Clinton transition. ‘It’s still very early, so I don’t want to reach conclusions yet. But the rumors are a flashing yellow light.’

“The mention of Clinton Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers is seen as particularly problematic. As president of Harvard University, Summers said that innate differences between men and women might be one reason fewer women succeed in science and math careers. The controversial comment led to his ousting as president.”

Read Lerer’s post in its entirety here.

Thanks in Part to Rep. Clyburn, Female Children Still Excluded from the American Dream

I have to disagree with a comment by Rep. James Clyburn on Obama’s win yesterday as reported by Sam Stein in the Huffington Post:

“Rep. James Clyburn, one of the most prominent African Americans in Congress, spoke briefly about the broad historical significance of Barack Obama's election as president.

“Saying he was moved but not too emotional, the South Carolina Democrat discussed how the most momentous change would be the ability to tell young students with conviction and certainty that they can grow up to be anything they desired.”

Thanks in part to Rep. Clyburn’s participation in the Obama camp’s smearing of both Bill and Hillary Clinton as racists during the Democratic primary, thereby contributing to Sen. Clinton’s defeat, Americans will have the ability to tell only male students hereafter that they can grow up to be anything they desire; we’ll have to wait awhile longer to offer that promise to female students.

Incidentally, prior to the 2008 presidential race, Rep. Clyburn and the Clintons had been long-time friends, and Clyburn knew very well the Clinton record on human rights issues was impeccable.