You've Come a Long Way, Maybe: Sarah, Michelle, Hillary, and the Shaping of the New American Woman (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From The Washington Post

From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com In the early 1970s, I agitated along with two other girls to join our elementary school's all-boy patrol squad. And we prevailed -- sort of. The bureaucracy would not go so far as to permit girls to usher schoolchildren across the street, but it did let us hold the front doors open. It still felt like a victory, even on freezing mornings when we stood at our posts watching our breath. The changes of the 1970s came at an enormously formative time for me: In junior high school, my friends and I debated "women's lib" with a panel of boys who enjoyed baiting us. We argued our position with such vehemence that one day our social studies teacher kept us after class and asked, indulgently, "What am I going to do with you?" Where had we gotten our motivation? I have no idea. I did not grow up in an intellectual culture and certainly was not reading Simone de Beauvoir. Rather, I think, our activism was absorbed from a pastiche of sources, high culture but definitely also low. Newscaster Nancy Dickerson, Congresswomen Shirley Chisholm and Barbara Jordan, comedians Lily Tomlin and Goldie Hawn -- all had a collective and equal impact. That's probably why my favorite section of "When Everything Changed," Gail Collins's rich account of the past 50 years of the women's movement, is the section on the 1970s, an era that delivered a grand merging of the sublime and the ridiculous. Yes, the decade lacked the passion and gravity of the 1960s, but it also spared us the seriousness and shoulder pads of the 1980s. It was a frequently embarrassing but genuinely pivotal period, a time when advancement and backlash were happening simultaneously. The 1970s gave us Roe v. Wade, for example, and Phyllis Schlafly, and pitched battles over the Equal Rights Amendment. They gave us a national child-care bill that was vetoed by the Nixon White House as perilously close to Sovietization. They gave us Billie Jean King's victory over Bobby Riggs, a match-up that, as Collins shows, really did matter: As cheesy as it was, it came at the precise moment when men -- or some men -- were mocking the idea that women could compete in what was seen as a male domain, and when women athletes were paid a fraction of what men were. The 1970s gave us Title IX, which awarded women athletic-program parity and caused a thousand girls' soccer teams to bloom. Since then, progress has been real, if at times halting and indecisive. It led to two women contending seriously for the nation's top political offices in the last presidential election, and to their continuing public presence: Hillary Rodham Clinton at the State Department, Sarah Palin on the book trail. As Leslie Sanchez points out in "You've Come a Long Way, Maybe," their campaigns told us a lot about women's new and considerable political strengths, and exposed old-fashioned stereotypes to which they are still subjected. (Ladies, when making public speeches, let it never be felt that you are "nagging.") Collins's fast-moving history reminds us of the triumphs, mortifications and hilarity of the early decades, as well as the personalities. Remember Bella Abzug? Millicent Fenwick? Stewardesses? These working women were among the first to approach the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, protesting weight and age restrictions as well as rules saying they had to quit their jobs when they got married. The airlines defended their attractiveness standards so stubbornly that Rep. Martha Griffiths tartly asked, "What are you running, an airline or a whorehouse?" Collins reminds us that there was a time when sex discrimination was clear-cut and indisputable; a time, almost refreshing in its clear moral wrongness, when a woman entering medical or law school was seen as taking a spot that should have gone to a man; when divorced women were considered too unstable to have credit cards; when there were help-wanted ads "For Women" and others, advertising better-paying jobs, "For Men." Collins tells the story of Lorena Weeks, a phone-company clerk who applied for a somewhat strenuous switchman's job and was turned down. She took the case to federal court and struck a blow against job discrimination. Collins also reminds us that black women were shouldered out of the way during the civil rights movement, despite the fact that they -- sick to death of riding segregated buses to cleaning jobs -- were often more radicalized and courageous than the male ministers who provided the face of the movement. Then Collins gets to the 1980s, a time, she says, when women were optimistic about having it all -- until they learned that it was inadvisable to put photos of children on their desks, much less ask for the day off for a school conference. The early activists, she argues, mistakenly thought society would change to accommodate women in the workplace. They "had not considered the possibility that society might remain pretty much the same as always, and simply open the door for women to join the race for success while taking care of their private lives as best they could." A drawback of the book's survey approach is that Collins must race through material on which one would prefer to linger. From the 1980s she sprints toward the present, when girls are doing so well in school that boys are sometimes given preference in college admissions. At this point, discrimination becomes a more confusing concept. Collins grants this and points out that while feminism did not offer women "perfect bliss," it did give them the opportunity for lives that are fuller and more complete -- the chance "to face the dark moments on their own terms and to exalt in the spaces between." For some, their dark moments must have been truly unexpected. Collins cites Gloria Steinem saying that if she'd thought "even for a millisecond" that the battles of the 1970s would lead to Sarah Palin, "I'd shoot myself." But lead to Palin the battles did, which is one reason this seems to be a major stock-taking moment. Maria Shriver just issued a report on the state of American women; there are a number of vigorous Web sites about women's issues. One senses a moment of collective mulling over the fact that, of the two women who sought high office in the last presidential election, neither got there. Sanchez's book looks at some of the marquee names in that election -- Palin, Clinton, Michelle Obama -- to see what they tell us about the gender zeitgeist. Sanchez, a Republican strategist, begins "You've Come a Long Way, Maybe" by taking a shot at the "feminist agenda," saying that when she was growing up, feminists struck her as "zealots" who had nothing to say to her. Her criticism is not new or unfair -- zillions of people have taken aim at the women's movement as exclusionary and upper-class -- but you'd think an author who criticizes male commentators for stereotypical language would have worked harder to spell out her objections, rather than dismissing the movement with the hoariest epithet of all: "strident." And in the long run, her concerns seem to me the same ones a bona fide feminist might harbor. Looking at Clinton and Palin, she susses out how their campaigns made true advances but also exposed lingering public perception problems. On the plus side, both women were able fundraisers. Thanks to them, it "is no longer axiomatic that women cannot raise the same kind of money as men seeking high political office." Sanchez also deconstructs the double standard she saw at many points in the campaign. She argues that no man would have had his "likeability" dissected to the extent that Clinton did. The Hillary nutcracker, the comments about her hair and her age, Mike Barnicle's remark that she looks like every man's "first wife standing outside a probate court" -- it adds up. And she points out that when male hecklers shouted at Clinton, "Iron my shirt!," people were not nearly so appalled as they may have been if someone had yelled at Michael Steele, the black GOP chairman, "Shine my shoes!" She argues convincingly, sounding more like a feminist every minute, that "we don't yet take sexism nearly to heart the way we do racism and other forms of prejudice." Sanchez also argues that Palin was unfairly judged on whether she could be vice president and pay sufficient attention to her children. This is a rich point to ponder. I agree that there was a double standard at work in the 2008 campaign. If a female politician spent as much time away from her young children as Barack Obama spent apart from his daughters when he was running for the Senate and later for the White House, she would be widely viewed as a neglectful mother. But Palin is not a perfect example. She accepted the tap for running mate at a time when a daughter was in a personal crisis. And because of the tabloid mess the family saga has devolved into, thanks to that classy Levi Johnston, fairly or unfairly it is sometimes hard not to think of Palin as Mrs. Jellyby in "Bleak House," meditating on Africa -- or in Palin's case studying up on world geography -- while her children tumble down the stairs. Still, Sanchez makes many good points. She astutely notes that part of the "overall paradox" of Clinton's candidacy is that the first woman "with a real shot at the Oval Office was not seen as representing a change." She quotes Vicki Haddock, then of the San Francisco Chronicle: "It's as if in the last half-century, the notion of a female president went from heretical to banal without ever having become, you know, reality." And Sanchez poses the ultimate question: What ranks might a future first female president come from? She points out that we seem to expect presidents to have "married and had children," so that nixes lots of women. And since we expect political mothers to pay reasonably close attention to their young children -- something we do not require of political fathers -- a woman with school-age kids is at a disadvantage. Given that it helps to have national exposure, she wonders if one source might be the corporate sector: Meg Whitman? Carly Fiorina? Where will the battles of the 1970s lead? And when will we know the answer? In Gloria Steinem's lifetime? Mine? Yours? [e-mail]
Copyright 2009, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.

Review

"You've Come a Long Way, Maybe is a fascinating exploration the roles of women in politics, in the media and in the electorate. In a call to action only Leslie Sanchez could make, she challenges us all - Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike - to truly consider the concept of equality." - Paul Begala, Former advisor to President Clinton and CNN Democratic Analyst "Who better than Leslie Sanchez to put together a concise and compelling look at women and politics, how far they've come, how far they need to go. A must-read if you care about women or politics or both" - Candy Crowley, CNN Senior Political Correspondent "Leslie Sanchez strong defense of Sarah Palin during the election and her understanding of impact of conservative women in politics, makes this a must-read!" - Sean Hannity, host of The Sean Hannity Show and author of Let Freedom Ring "Leslie Sanchez shows women on the left and the right how to get their seat at the table for developing solutions to America's most pressing problems." - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich 'Leslie Sanchez serves as the perfect guide through this significant moment for politics and for the American woman.' - Patti Solis Doyle, former Hilary Clinton campaign manager "Leslie Sanchez has her finger on the pulse of the diverse latino community.Regardless of your political position, you will find her perspectives thought provoking. She represents part of the broad spectrum of thought as well as the dynamic intellectual strength of Hispanics in America." - Jose Diaz-Balart Telemundo network anchor 'Leslie's take on what the 2008 election meant for women, politics, and power is both practical and smart. Those on either side of the political divide would do well to take note.'--Rachel Sklar, former Media Editor, Huffington Post, and author of Jew-ish

Praise for You've Come A Long Way, Maybe:

 

"You've Come a Long Way, Maybe is a fascinating exploration the roles of women in politics, in the media and in the electorate. In a call to action only Leslie Sanchez could make, she challenges us all - Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike - to truly consider the concept of equality."--Paul Begala, Former advisor to President Clinton and CNN Democratic Analyst

 

"Who better than Leslie Sanchez to put together a concise and compelling look at women and politics, how far they've come, how far they need to go.  A must-read if you care about women or politics or both"--Candy Crowley, CNN Senior Political Correspondent

"Leslie Sanchez strong defense of Sarah Palin during the election and her understanding of impact of conservative women in politics, makes this a must-read!" -- Sean Hannity, host of The Sean Hannity Show and author of Let Freedom Ring

"Leslie Sanchez shows women on the left and the right how to get their seat at the table for developing solutions to America’s most pressing problems."--Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich

“Leslie Sanchez serves as the perfect guide through this significant moment for politics and for the American woman.”--Patti Solis Doyle, former Hilary Clinton campaign manager 

 

"Leslie Sanchez has her finger on the pulse of the diverse latino community.Regardless of your political position, you will find her perspectives thought provoking. She represents part of the broad spectrum of thought as well as the dynamic intellectual strength of Hispanics in America."--Jose Diaz-Balart Telemundo network anchor

 

“Leslie’s take on what the 2008 election meant for women, politics, and power is both practical and smart. Those on either side of the political divide would do well to take note.”—Rachel Sklar, former Media Editor, Huffington Post, and author of Jew-ish

 

“Sanchez makes many good points… and poses the ultimate question: What ranks might a future first female president come from? Where will the battles of the 1970s lead? And when will we know the answer? In Gloria Steinem's lifetime? Mine? Yours? Like the tide, the prospect of a female president keeps advancing, and receding.” -The Washington Post Book Review

 

“Leslie Sanchez argues the 2008 presidential election measured not only how far women have progressed in politics but also what challenges remain… and why women are so tough on one another.” –U.S. News & World Report

 

Praise for Los Republicanos:

 

"Los Republicanos provides an understanding of the Hispanic voter from the unique point of view of an insider who also provides a look into the future of American politics." --Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.)

 

“I hope every single political activist of a conservative nature picks up Los Republicanos and reads it and memorizes passages of it. I think it's that important!” --Michael Medved

 

“Sanchez makes many good points. She astutely notes that part of the ‘overall paradox’ of Clinton's candidacy is that the first woman ‘with a real shot at the Oval Office was not seen as representing a change’. . . And Sanchez poses the ultimate question: What ranks might a future first female president come from?” --Washington Post Book World

 

“Sanchez herself has experienced no shortage of professional success; but her careful analyses of Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and Michelle Obama remind readers that, while women have come a long way since the dawn of the modern feminist movement, women -seeking public office share a daunting task.” --The Weekly Standard

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (October 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0230618162
• ISBN-13: 978-0230618169
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #386,005 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars You've Come A Long Way, Maybe, February 2, 2010

By	Leeanna Chetsko (OH, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You've Come A Long Way, Maybe, by Leslie Sanchez

I found this book quite interesting, as when I watched election coverage in 2008, I was struck by the unfairness of the media toward Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. I enjoyed Sanchez's conversational but informational style as she posed questions, observations, and made conclusions based on polling data, interviews, and opinions.

The author asks the important question of where the first female president will come from, what her background and political experience will be, what her family will consist of. In trying to answer these questions, she compares the backgrounds of Clinton and Palin. Sanchez also looks at how their campaigns were run, and how that impacted the female vote for each candidate (as well as other demographics).

I was most surprised to learn that some of the most insulting or vocal coverage of the female candidates came from *other* females. Sanchez considers the "Mean Girls" factor, and believes that one of the most important lessons all women need to learn is how to fend for themselves in a world where social bullying is a huge problem. It's an interesting proposition, and one I wouldn't have thought of without reading this book.

"You've Come A Long Way, Maybe," sparked some good debates in my house as we considered the questions posed by Sanchez, and looked back at the 2008 election coverage.

4/5.