Hillary agrees with me

"I trust the american people to make a decision that is not about me or my gender, or about barack or his race, or about bill and his ethnicity, but about what is best for you and your family." --Hillary Clinton

In the great gender debate of last week, this was basically half of my side of the argument. Here is the other half.

"Anybody who's considering not voting for Senator Obama because he's black or for senator Clinton because she's a woman, I don't want their vote. I don't want them voting for me." --John Edwards

I don't deny that if Hillary or Obama win the presidency, that it will constitute an inherent good, and that the national conversation about gender and race equality will reach new heights. But that good isn't infinite, and this isn't necessarily the only chance we have to achieve it. I'd argue that, in the case of Hillary Clinton, it's not actually great enough a good to make up for the inherent trade off--which is the chance to have a truly progressive voice in the White House for the first time in at least a generation.

Also, watch how Edwards handled the follow-up question about his advocacy for women. It was a difficult question, and I think he handled it quite well.