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Q and A with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison |
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By The Hill Staff
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Posted: 11/17/04 12:00 AM [ET] |
The Hill: What inspired you to write the book?
Hutchison: What really inspired me to write the book is two things. First, in today’s time, where we are seeing women in other cultures uneducated and really oppressed and even abused in some instances, it struck me that the respect for women has always been there in our country. | | FILE PHOTO | | Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison |
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| Our commitment to education in our country and the inclusion of women in our reality is part of the strength of our country and why we have developed to be the strongest nation in the world, and I just thought that that should be talked about, that we should talk about the contribution of women and the spirit that they have.
The Hill: In your interviews, was there any particular insight you related to?
Hutchison: Of course, perseverance would be the first thing that I would say is the trait for success, and that was a strain throughout the interviews I had. Every one of the women had failures, but every one just persevered and made a success of an initial failure.
I loved what Lynne Cheney said, that in our day we didn’t have the athletics that girls have today, where you can learn team sports and you can learn competitiveness, and she learned competitiveness by baton-twirling, and I related to that as an old cheerleader [she laughs], in high school and college. And that was sort of the only competitive thing that we had, we just didn’t have team sports.
The Hill: What inspired you to get into politics?
Hutchison: I got into politics because I couldn’t get a job with a law firm in Texas and I became a television news reporter covering the Legislature. And that really was one of the failures that I had that turned into a plus.
I couldn’t get a job in a law firm. I was very disappointed, very frustrated, but as it turned out it was one of the best things that ever happened to me because I was able to cover the Legislature and I got a lot of experience in television, and then when I ran for the Legislature I was elected.
The Hill: What challenges remain to be overcome for women going into politics?
Hutchison: The paths are totally open for women now. As we gain in numbers and show that we can be effective, we will be able to be elected on our merits with our views and the issues being primary factors. And that’s they way it should be.
I don’t think that being a woman and having to overcome obstacles is going to be significant anymore. ... The barriers have been broken, and now women will be judged on their performance in office, rather than having to meet a higher standard because people have low expectations. In fact I think it is a slight advantage now to be a woman running for public office, whereas before, you had to overcome stereotypes.
The Hill: What stereotypes did you have to overcome?
Hutchison: That I was not conservative. That I was not strong and tough enough to be effective and that I was not very smart, because I have, as you know, a kind of a cheerleader background and image; the stereotype was that I would probably not be a serious policy person, all of which is not true.
The Hill: When your children eventually read your book, what do you hope they learn?
Hutchison: I hope that when my children read the book, or when I can read it to them — that is, when they have more than a 30-second attention span [she laughs] — I hope that they will see that people fail and gain [and] become stronger, better people. That is the lesson I want my children to have, that when you fail, don’t give up.
The Hill: Do you want your kids to go into politics?
Hutchison: No, I hope they do not! I hope that they are well-educated, that they become professionals and that they are the best in their field. I do hope that they are active citizens, that they will help other people in politics.
The Hill: So do you foresee a Senate in the future where women and men are equally represented?
Hutchison: I think that is a matter of time. We are going to see 50-50 representation in a fairly short time. |
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