This is an interesting opinion piece from New York Magazine about how the year that came in heralding feminism as the year when women were able to be treated equal ended up exposing just how prevalent sexism still is.  That the firestorm around these two women, Hillary and Palin, ended up being about contrived emotional responses to female stereotypes more than about their ability or political stances.  It's a good read but I am not crazy about the author or her tone. Her basic thesis however seems dead on that the way these two women were treated was on a emotional reactionary basis and that they were cast into female stereotypes in a way in which men rarely are.

Source