A boob grabbing a [virtual] boob

Well, the world probably doesn’t need me to jump into the middle of this controversy, nor will it probably notice that I’ve done so. (And that may be a good thing.)

But I wanted to share these thoughts from Susie at Suburban Guerrilla. Her take is one that deserves widespread consideration:

Now, out of the larger context, this is about sexism specifically directed at Hillary Clinton. But I don�t believe that�s the primary dynamic at work in this picture.

The fact is, campaigns are run pretty much like fraternity parties. They�re all about heady testosterone, and male dominance, and above all, attitude and action over principle and actual results. I just can�t stress how much this kind of white male frathouse bullshit is valued, even exalted in the typical campaign. (One campaign manager told me how he crawled into the ductwork of an opponent�s campaign office and left a rotting fish. This was in the Sun Belt, and it didn�t take long for the stench to drive people out. This guy was so proud of this story, and many like it – but he�d never yet won a campaign. But see, that�s not the point! And these silly women just don�t get it!)

You want to know why there are so few female campaign managers at the national level? Because most women have a very low threshold for this particular flavor of male bullshit – attitude coupled with non-performance.

Obviously, the Obama campaign was not filled with non-performers but the point here is larger than the Obama campaign. It’s about how politics and business is done in this country. From the Delaware Liberal in the comments:

This frat house shit can go to any bank in the country where there are tons of young males running around with too much money.

Also in the comments, an exchange between Historiann:

Thanks, Susie, for your interesting insider perspective. You don�t say, but I�m curious as to whether or not the candidate is a woman makes a difference in the tone of the campaign.

and Susie:

It doesn�t seem to matter whether the candidate is a woman, unless it�s a low-level (municipal commissioner, county council, etc.) type race. Otherwise, the candidate is much more of a passenger than a driver.

I don�t think it will change until women are running and staffing the campaigns. I talked about this with Ellen Malcolm from EMILY�s List, and she agreed. She said that�s why they do their own campaign training. I�ve talked to other political operatives about their experiences, and they say they�d love to work for a female-dominated consulting firm. (Yes, even some of the men.)

Really, I do think this frat-boy culture is one of the main reasons Democrats lose races they should win.

This whole post and the comment exchange in response to it deserve your attention.

Some others who have commented here and here, and here.

Where it all started.

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Updated: Anglachel, as usual, is good on why this incident is important:

But this isn’t a campaign and we are talking serious, high-stakes politics. Hillary Rodham Clinton is not an electoral adversary, nor is she just another senator. By virtue of her appointment as Secretary of State, she is the representative of the United States to the world. She embodies American policy and reliability to other sovereign nations. To allow this image of her being treated with disrespect by a close associate of the president, someone who appears to be on track as a member of the administration, says two things to the nations and diplomats she will engage:

1. Go ahead, piss on her. We do.
2. We don’t respect you enough to send someone we respect to treat with you.