Hope and Changeby digbyBefore we leave Iowa behind completely, I did want to post this little piece from TIME Magazine. Apparently at one point all the candidates showed up to give speeches at a high school.
Afterward, TIME asked several groups of students to give the first word that came to mind after seeing each candidate (or their surrogates) speak. Here’s what they had to say.
Bachmann: Crazy. Different. Crazy. Wavering. Rude. Woman. Minnesota. Woman. Crazy. Crazy. Extreme. Woman. Waterloo. Homey.Romney: Meh. Alright. Mormon. Kind. Chill. Money. Politician. Bad. Money. Money. China. Mormon. Children. Accomplished.Paul: Hero. Likeable. Conservative. Strong. Concerned. Best. War. Amazing. Libertarian. Old. Not-my-favorite. Good doctor. Awesome. Supported.Santorum: Okay. Awful. Awesome. Unknown. Underdog. Wonderful. [No answer]. Nice. Conservative. Family. Religion. Pretty good. Immigrant. Unique.
I’m not going to parse all that, but I did think it was interesting that Bachmann was pretty much defined as a crazy woman. Not that she isn’t a loon. But it does show that “male” is still such a default that being a woman is notable — even among young people. Granted, she was the only one running, but she’s still a member of half the population. Depressing.