Actually, the boys who had sex with her were also under the age of 18 and sex between minors who are close in age is legal. She was 15, the oldest of them was 16. That is not rape.

Are you for real? Like how would these kids know about the girls past? Do you think she broadcast it to everyone? And how exactly are children supposed to process that and understand the power dynamics?

This. According to all accounts this was consensual sex, the worst these kids should be punished for having sex on school grounds. Yes the girl was a trafficking victim, but I doubt these boys knew that or had the ability to process that or use it in any way. These are kids.

Because the proportionality of the objectification is what makes it bad.

Our military spending isn’t just a US issue though. The Asia-Pacific region of the world depends on it: Japan and South Koreo depend on the US for defense. In a world with a smaller US military, Japan and South Koreo would re-arm against a China that has been very ambitious about its role in the region, and China has…

The danger is that third parties can’t know if this is a first occurance or a freak random thing that will never happened again.

Yah, the French don’t really have a leg up on Americans in the Slavery department. Look at what happened in Haiti.

Wait what? Do we not like Tracy now? Or are you a Tracy hater?

I can agree with that, but its still this assumption of bad faith on our part. Especially with young women: women who grew up in the 90s and 00s should have a much different perspective (even if they didn’t grow up in a perfect society) than women who grew up in the 50s and 60s. Yet, I often find we are coming from…

It worked for Dwayne Elizondo Herbert Camacho.

Sarah Palin managed to become the darling of the right-wing (!) and she was a woman too. And a stupid one (not even on policy, but just in general).

Hilary Clinton is only three years younger than McCain was, and “Obama ran a smarter campaign” was MY point.

Then she needs to make that space. Playing by the rulebook and only having “damned if she does, damned if she doesn’t” options will not work. Trump has already become the best candidate Democrats could run against, and somehow this is more even a fight than it has to be.

We have to stop playing by the 1990s rulebook, for one. If we keep playing by the same rules, we stand a real shot of losing this. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is something Democrats have nothing if not utter competency in.

2016 is not 1996 though, and for people to keep saying “Well back in the 90s” just makes us seem vindictive and even a bit bitter. Neither of which plays well to a General Election audience.

But complaining about it doesn’t endear us to anyone. Hilary CAN be more than “cold” or “too unprofessional.” That is something a woman can definitely do. Will it be hard? Will it maybe have its own pitfalls? Sure.

Obama was never “cold” except to the far-right voter. Centrist voters always took to his “hope and change” and demeanor.

Only somewhat true. Reagan and Nixon won on platforms and carried ideas not that far from Trump. Weeks after coming into office Reagan was defending “religious” schools that were excluding black kids on the basis of race, EXPLICITELY.

But it does mean a Presidential Candidate who wants to win will have to.

You are not alone in that. But I always think people over think it.