Academic

Victim Victorious: Does Change of Face Mean Change of Pace in the American Presidential Race?

By Bridget Crawford

FeministLawProf Lolita Buckner Inniss (Cleveland State) asks that question at her blog, racelawinniss. On the Democratic candidates, Professor Inniss points out that regardless of who wins,

Either will owe a large part of his or her success to the fact that he or she has ?street cred? of a whole other kind?Wall Street cred, the type of credibility that buoys not just American spirits but American markets. Regardless of the extent to which they may represent communities who have suffered and who continue to suffer hard times, both Barack and Hillary are still, at the end of the day, members of the most august governing body in the United States and Ivy League educated lawyers married to Ivy League educated lawyer spouses. After all, the presidency is no job for the too outcast or the too outraged. A cynical take on this would be to see it all as an elaborate iterative process that fosters regression towards the political mean.

Does this mean that we shouldn?t celebrate the ascension of Hillary and Barack? Of course not. But we do need to keep in mind that while the victor of this contest may take the spoils they are little likely, at least at first, to roil?too much change could be hazardous to their political health.

Professor Inniss’ full post is here.

-Bridget Crawford

Full post as published by Feminist Law Professors on February 06, 2008 (boomark / email).