Washington Post front page story already obsolete

In a case of poor timing the Washington Post has a front page story about how the demise of Caroline Kennedy's political hopes means that there is a glass ceiling for women.

With her abrupt exit this week from consideration for the Senate, Caroline Kennedy added her name to a growing list: women who have sought the nation's highest offices only to face insurmountable hurdles.

Like Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sarah Palin before her, Kennedy illustrated what some say is an enduring double standard in the handling of ambitious female office-seekers. Even as more women step forward as contenders for premier political jobs, observers say, few seem able to get there.

Oh come on. This is just silly. You can't tie together three disparate examples and find a trend.

Kennedy failed because she had no political experience and couldn't handle herself in public explaining where she stood on major policy issues. She thought she could rely on her pedigree and just waltz into office. Other than the romance associated with her parents, what qualifications did she really have? If she had been some other multimillionaire with a different maiden name who had dabbled in public service without much accomplishment to her name would anyone have considered her the top New Yorker for the job? Add in the rumored tax and compensation issues related to paying a nanny and she just wasn't ready for prime time.

Hillary Clinton ran a poorly organized campaign and made some major strategic mistakes by neglecting to organize sufficiently for the caucus states and assuming that she'd steamroll through the nomination battle after the first few contests. Plus she was opposed by a superb candidate with a transcendental appeal to voters in Barack Obama. Somehow the idea of reliving a Clinton presidency just couldn't match his charisma.

And Sarah Palin, much as I liked her initial appearance, failed to impress in a couple of high profile interviews and then seemed to fall back on standard campaign lines. Sure she was attacked for things that wouldn't have been brought up for a man such as her children and how she could serve in high office while still being a good mother. She faced much more gender bias than the other two, but she is also younger and, let's face it, a conservative. If after four or eight years she were able to run on a strong record as governor and demonstrate a firm grasp of policy, she could well face a different reaction. But it will be up to her to prove that she is the full package and gender is the least of the hurdles in her way.

And this whole ideal that Kennedy's political dreams died because she reached the glass ceiling is totally silly in face of the news that Governor Paterson is going to appoint Representative Kirsten Gillibrand to the seat. So it seems like a woman is breaking through that glass ceiling after all. Color the front page story obsolete after just 12 hours.