My 2¢: Jumping the Old Boys’ Green Light

After announcing her candidacy at a press conference, Coakley received the following question:

Some of the potential candidates are waiting to make their announcement to see what a member of the Kennedy family does… why are you not showing the deference to the Kennedy family that other candidates are showing?

Thankfully, in the United States, titles are not hereditary.  Presumption that relatives have a first right to a seat keeps power concentrated in the hands of the few who have a history of power.  Rejecting that aristocratic structure, our founders established a system wherein each generation of lawmakers (theoretically) is elected on his or her own merits.

The practical reality may be that political folks want to keep power dynasties together in order to maintain their own perches of influence and authority.  Fair enough. 

But for the press to suggest that a woman is less than deferential for declaring her candidacy in advance of the old boys’ green light rubs me the wrong way.  Lets’ overlook the impression that the press is siding with the powerful.  The thornier issue is the implication that there’s something wrong with a candidate — in this case a woman — not being meek and compliant.  Is “deference” a quality the press would expect to see in a candidate who wasn’t female?  Hmmmm…..