By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Posted April 11, 2008 – What am I missing here?  A British pop singer, Elton John, tells a cheering audience at a fund-raiser for Sen. Hillary Clinton that the only reason Clinton is trailing her opponent is because Americans hate women.

I think I’m put off by those comments.

John said he’s amazed at the “misogyny” of some Americans.  “Having said that, I never cease to be amazed at the misogynistic attitude of some people in this country – and I say to hell with them,” he said. “There is no-one more qualified to lead America.
“The reason I’m here tonight is to play music, but more importantly as someone who comes from abroad, is in America quite a lot of the time [and] is extremely interested in the political process, because it effects the whole world.”

So my question to John is: “To hell with who?”  Is he implying that those who are not supporting Clinton “hate” women.”

Get real, Sir John. 

No one can deny sexism exists in this country, but couldn’t the reason that Clinton is trailing Illinois Sen. Barack Obama be that he is running a better campaign? 

It’s difficult to give credence to gender bias when race in American politics has been so pervasive.  And that’s provable by looking at just a few telling statistics: In the history of the United States, there have been only three African Americans elected to the U.S. Senate, and there have been only two Black elected governors. And while only a fool would argue that sexism is not a real problem, it is also true that women outnumber Blacks in Congress by double digits.

I doubt that any honest, intelligent student of history would suggest that Whites – in states like Idaho, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Utah, Wyoming and Mississippi, to name a few – poured out in droves to pick Obama because they hate women. History would also suggest that it wasn’t because they love African Americans either.

Let me proffer another argument. Perhaps there is a growing number of Americans who have come to realization that, at the end of the day, it’s more about who they trust to end the political shenanigans that deny them opportunities and who they believe will guarantee a better life for them and their families.

And, just perhaps, they realize that it really doesn’t matter whether that deliverer is a woman or a Black man. Just as Obama has attracted voters who would have scoffed at the idea of choosing a Black man just a few years ago, so has Clinton drawn voters who in the recent past would never have chosen a woman.

If John’s point – that Americans are vicious women-haters – how did Clinton outlast a battalion of gifted male politicians in this nominating process?

So the mere fact that Clinton is a woman is hardly the reason she’s trailing Obama in the race for the Democratic nomination. 

Sir John should stick to what he does best: raising money. Clinton’s campaign said the event at the Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan raised $2.5 million, so we know he’s good at it.

He’s also spun a serious hit or two. In fact, Clinton borrowed one of the singer’s songs as a theme for her campaign: “I’m still standing.”

She’s still standing because she’s smart, talented and a political tiger. Her gender has nothing to do with it.