The Psychology of the Alpha Female and Why Hillary Won the New Hampshire Primary

There is something to be said about the silent unity of women. Whether or not many of us would acknowledge it is probably irrelevant. I am not sure many of us were prepared for the new dynamic a woman would bring to the presidential election of 2008. In fact, as a young woman who fully intends to be successful, I have never entertained too long the idea that my male counterparts might pose a competitive edge on me solely because they are male.

I, like many other women, do not play the gender card because I operate on a playing field I believe to be level with my male counterparts. It is only fair. I believe in that. We believe in that.

But what happened in Iowa was deeply depressing to me. The fact was that this was a small blip in the grand scheme of things. The hype was that this was a dooming loss for Hillary because she did not just lose first place, she lost second place as well. The media sent a chilling air not only through the electorate - but also through Hillary's campaign. As we waited for New Hampshire to make their decisions last Tuesday, we all believed we knew what was going to happen.

But thank God for New Hampshire, they never let you tell them how to vote. In two surprising races - the New Hampshire front runner predictions were turned upside-down. John McCain's win was attributed to his "straight talk." One would think that Hillary's far smaller margin (ie - less surprising win) would also be attributed to her talking about the issues and being the "competency candidate."

God forbid a woman do something right - no one believes that this could be. The media looks at the stats from the past to predict how voters will make their decisions but this election is unlike any other election in history. There is a woman and a black male running on the democratic side and their favor is far greater than the prototypical white male who is in third place. On the republican side we have McCain who is not taking money from lobbyists and who is telling us the truth. then there is Huckabee, a man who could really be called the "grassroots candidate" but who is largely unqualified for the job. Huckabee also brings evangelicals to the polls and garners applause when he talks about his faith. This has not happened before. We also have the supposed front-runners who are not running in the front during this election. Mitt Romney could be the posterchild republican front runner but he is a muslim. How he does in Massachusetts with the republicans will say a lot about how well people think he would do as president. Once upon a time his style of politics would have been something we wanted in charge. I predict Guliani will win over the Massachusetts Republicans. Massachusetts Republicans remember Romney as the absentee governor. He did nothing significant for Massachusetts and I would be quite shocked if he even came close to the support Guliani gets in the bay state. We also have Guliani. Guliani has been divorced. Just about every candidate on the republican side demonstrates what evangelicals do not want to see as the candidate they support. I think what this round also shows is how evangelicals have been fooled for years into supporting the candidate that fiscally oriented republicans lobby into office. It's all on the report card. This year America is looking for transparency. We are all in a sorry and hopeless state.

The middle class is growing hopeless as their jobs go away and the rich grow more greedy as they grow like competing cancerous tumors that are killing America's economy by hijacking its resources and selling them for a quick hit of profit. Like Cancer, these companies will have no life support if America buckles.

But we all have faith in America. No matter how blind. We all believe that America will stand strong and tall. That woman or man, black or white, whatever your religion, you get a fair chance.

As New Hampshire women saw last week - the media undercut Hillary and dismissed her before she even got a fair chance. The undecided majority considered both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Attending Barack Obama's speech is like taking a euphoric drug. You join in, you chant, you want to believe in him. You want to get on his magic carpet and soar again. When I talk to women who care - women of age 24, age 30, age 45 and age 63 - we all question: Barack Obama - how are you going to handle the issues that we face right now. Obama's eloquent orations can woo us but women have been wooed before. It is shaming but we wake up clear headed the next day and vow to have more respect for ourselves to make better decisions next time. Women saw a softer side of Hillary as she broke down in New Hampshire. We saw how much pressure she was under and it saddened us. Even I thought to myself... well I guess I should take another look at Obama. But then women made decisions on their own. And they voted in support of the candidate who was competent. The dismissal of Hillary so early in the race was unfair but her very human tears reminded females nationwide that she is not a robot. She is an emotional human being, and we can relate to her. We all admire her strength now that we know she has emotion and it validates her as a human and a woman. Women see her strength in her ability to rule this nation now and she will continue to be a force to be reckoned with. For every celebrity that backs Obama - more woman will feel for Hillary as she deals with being the female fighting for the job - we are never the "popular" option. I do know this. I would never acknowledge it but I remember having to prove myself as a contender through action.

Women prove their competency through action in nearly every high paying job they may have. The male is slated as the popular one. The male is the one to watch. The male may get the promotion if the woman does not act fast to show just how incredibly competent she is. Hillary has more to prove once she takes office and I believe women everywhere can not wait to see her do it.