Glass ceiling isn't a talking point for Clinton, but it is for her supporters

Laura Stegemann watched from across the street as Hillary Clinton’s supporters filled Cowles Commons ahead of the presidential candidate’s visit on Thursday, but didn’t break from her lunch-hour walk to join in.

Although the 55-year-old publications professional plans to vote for the Democratic nominee, she doesn’t count herself as an especially enthusiastic supporter. She admires Clinton’s work for human rights and children, but more than anything empathizes with the challenges she’s endured as a woman in the public eye.

“For her to put up with everything she’s put up with — the misogyny, being treated poorly because she’s a woman, the double standards — it’s the fact that she’s persevered,” Stegemann said. “We’re always expected, of course, to take the higher road. I don’t always. So the fact that she’s been able to keep her wits about her and her composure says a lot.”

Clinton herself said little directly on Thursday about the prospect of being the first female president of the United States, but the promise and the challenge of breaking that barrier were inescapable among partisans at the downtown Des Moines rally and spectators watching from a distance.

Read more: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2016/09/29/glass-ceiling-isnt-talking-point-hillary-clinton-but-her-supporters/91266158/