Wendy Davis, the Democrat who’s running for governor of Texas, became famous, as everyone knows, by means of her dramatic abortion filibuster at the state legislature and built on that, in her run for governor, with an incredible personal story. One thing: The personal-story part seems to have been, uh, smoothed over. She didn’t spend quite as long living in a trailer as she said. She left out how much help she got from her second husband in paying for her time at Harvard Law School. She wasn’t always the primary caretaker for her children. The question, of course: Would any of the personal stuff matter — either way — if she were a man?
It’s the story of a female politician – meaning she’ll be second-guessed for stuff no male politician ever would. Via the New York Times magazine.
Or to put it another way: If you want to be an important politician someday, make sure you’re there for the kids. Unless, of course, you’re a man. Via the New Republic.
And speaking of female politicians, Byron York says that Hillary Clinton’s past is fair game. Of course, it is, just like every politician’s past . But what if you’re saying it’s fair game but what you mean is you want to replay Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky? Via the Washington Examiner.
If you read one thing today, or have to put it aside to read another day, read this: The wonderful Roger Angell, at age 93, on love and death, life and love, memory and desire, memory and invisibility. And dogs. And everything else. This Old Man, via the New Yorker.
After Chattanooga: How the UAW lost at the Tennessee VW plant. Via Jacobin.
What Americans don’t know about science. Here’s what you can guess: They don’t know a hell of a lot. Via the Atlantic.
