Hillary Clinton applauds historic female-dominated debate, shrugs off Madeleine Albright's comments


When asked about Madeleine Albright suggesting over the weekend that women are obligated to support Hillary Clinton — saying "there's a special place in hell for women who don't help women" — Clinton told the audience at the Democratic debate Thursday night that it was a quote Albright has long been fond of using.
"She's been saying that for as long as I've known her, about 25 years," Clinton said of her husband's former secretary of state. Clinton added that she has always found it important to "unleash the full potential of women and girls in our society," and said she has "no argument with anyone making up her mind about who to support. I just hope by the end of this campaign a lot more are supporting me." Clinton made it clear she is "not asking people to support me because I'm a woman," but to back her "because I think I'm the most qualified, experienced, and ready person to be the president and commander-in-chief."
Clinton also said that she was told out of about 200 presidential primary debates, this debate — with Clinton onstage and moderators Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill asking the questions — was the first time a majority of participants were women. Indeed, of the four people on stage, Bernie Sanders was the only man.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"We'll take our progress wherever we can find it," Clinton said.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
June 1 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Donald Trump's golden comb-over, brain drain in America, and a new TACO presidential seal.
-
5 cartoons about the TACO trade
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on America's tariffs, Vladimir Putin waiting for taco Tuesday, and a new presidential seal
-
A city of culture in the high Andes
The Week Recommends Cuenca is a must-visit for those keen to see the 'real Ecuador'
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges