"Hillary Clinton portrays calls to quit as chauvinism" (Poor Nell!) [View All]

[TahitiNut]

Hillary Clinton portrays calls to quit as chauvinism

By Toby Harnden in Washington
Last Updated: 2:03am BST 31/03/2008

Faced with a growing chorus to abandon the uphill battle against Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton is falling back on what she sees as her trump card - her gender.

At other perilous junctures like the eve of the New Hampshire primary and the eve of Super Tuesday, the former First Lady highlighted her femininity during televised tearful moments. Now she is portraying the calls for her to quit as male chauvinism.

In comments leaked to the New York Times, Mrs Clinton is said to have told aides that she would not be "bullied out" of the White House race and in a conversation with two allies compared her plight to "big boys" trying to bully a woman.

During a weekend interview with the Washington Post - arranged at her request - she was asked whether Mr Obama could beat John McCain, the Republican nominee.

She responded: "I'm saying I have a better chance. You cannot as a Democrat win the White House without a very big women's vote. What I believe is that women will turn out for me."

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