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A bit of erudite patronization By Avirama Golan Tags: Kadima, Elections  Batia G., a helmswoman for a competitive boat racing team, led a small, speedy boat for a training session off the Herzliya shore a few days ago. The sea and weather conditions were unstable: large waves on the one hand and weak winds alternating with quick gusts that encumber steering on the other. Batia G., an experienced sailor who has taken part in many international competitions, has managed to negotiate, with the help of her crew, these difficult conditions, often leading them to victory. In the rubber boat galloping right behind her is the coach, and next to him - as is required by a law that forbids sailing alone in small motor boats - is a long-haired, affable man. "Way to go, Batia," he says. "I thought you were a nerd, but at the end of the day I see that you know how to manage situations where there is no wind, and this is much more difficult." The person offering this praise was correct, but it turns out he was a new student in seamanship, and it is doubtful whether at this stage of his training he is capable of understanding the decisions Batia has to make, the tactics she and her crew decide to employ. It is doubtful whether he can analyze them. It did not deter him from treating her with erudite patronization. After all, she is a woman. Advertisement The macho election slogan of "it's too big for her to handle" is the twin of "way to go, Batia." Whoever coined the term knew very well what and to whom it was intended: the hundreds of thousands of men (and, to our great sorrow, also women) who have supposedly internalized the value of equality between the sexes but actually are convinced that a man's man is needed to lead the country. Or just any man. As long as it is not a woman. This, of course, is utter nonsense. Tzipi Livni may not have been prime minister, as her rivals once were, but she also was not a failing, belligerent prime minister who produced horrifying miscues, or a hurried, opaque prime minister incapable of working with a staff. Indeed, she did not serve in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit, but one may assume that if she had continued to work in the Mossad and become a department head, those same people would continue to claim, without batting an eye, that this is "too big a task for her." The problem is not that "it's too big a task for her," but that it is "too small a task for them." From the moment Livni declared her candidacy for the premiership, she repeatedly said the heavy responsibility causes her to lose sleep at night. The more she was surrounded by a sense of enjoyment and hope, the more she approached the job with seriousness. This is not the case with the men she is facing, from Ehud Barak to Benjamin Netanyahu to Shaul Mofaz. The "task is too small" for all of them, they all have a wealth of experience and they all know exactly what to do and when. What is health, education and welfare for them? It's too small a task for them. By their standards, Angela Merkel, Hillary Clinton and even Margaret Thatcher are not fit to run a country. They have not led one military campaign. Barak's rising poll numbers after the military operation that for the time being looks successful are an expression of the confusion between the ability to lead in battle and leadership in general. People must distinguish between the two and be wary of everyone for whom "the task is too small." Because the real test is when, as mentioned, one tries to manage behind the wheel "when there is no wind, and it is more difficult." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Iranian Jews protest Members of Tehran's small Jewish community demonstrate against IDF operation in Gaza. Missile's view Watch Israel's attack on Gaza from the perspective of the missile.   1.   So retarded. 10:01  |  Eli 30/12/08   2.   livni 10:44  |  chawa 30/12/08   3.   Livni the person is unfit to lead 10:47  |  ARA 30/12/08   4.   only if her name is golda !!!livni needs better english 11:37  |  victor hardman 30/12/08   5.   Sexist Article 11:57  |  Shmuel 30/12/08   6.   A woman leading Israel 12:10  |  edeltraud Suchert, 30/12/08   7.   Duh, remember GOLDA MEIR? 12:13  |  Amon 30/12/08

Read & React Rockets fired from Gaza kill 2 Israelis within hour Responses: 224 ANALYSIS / Hamas is hoping for an IDF ground operation Responses: 135 Grossman / Is Israel imprisoned in the ceremony of war? Responses: 117 Prolonged Gaza operation spells trouble for Israel Responses: 46 Chicago synagogue firebombed; police probe possible link to Gaza violence Responses: 36 More Headlines 00:36 Gaza rockets strike Be'er Sheva area for first time 23:43 Olmert: Gaza offensive to go on until Israel's aims achieved 00:23 IAF unleashes massive strike on Hamas tunnel network near Rafah 23:57 Barak asks cabinet to approve emergency call-up of 2,520 reservists 21:17 ANALYSIS / Hamas is hoping for an IDF ground operation in Gaza 00:11 Ex-U.S. Army engineer Kadish pleads guilty to spying for Israel 22:21 WATCH: Israel's attack on Gaza from the missiles' viewpoint 16:50 IN PICTURES / Firestorm over Gaza 00:45 VIDEO / Mubarak: We'll open Gaza crossing only if PA takes control 22:23 Quartet calls for immediate truce between Israel and Gaza 22:22 IDF war games predict look of Gaza ground operation 13:39 ANALYSIS / Israel's operation in Gaza is entering its problematic phase 21:05 Iran clerics recruit Islamist fighters to aid Hamas' battle against Israel 22:29 Israeli boy, 3, lightly wounded by Palestinian stone-throwers 17:04 Elder child of Chabad Mumbai attack victims dies of long-term illness 14:57 No rest for the shell-shocked in Ashkelon shelters 02:09 Throngs at Ashdod funeral mark 'war against Israeli normalcy' Previous Editions Select Day 30 dec 29 dec 28 dec 26 dec 25 dec 24 dec 23 dec 22 dec 21 dec 19 dec 18 dec 17 dec

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