"If Secretary Clinton runs, she’ll be the nominee — the first female nominee of either party."

"That breaks through the ‘old’ tagline that the Republican geniuses are cooking up because, if handled correctly, women of all ages will absolutely be inspired by that. I don’t recommend that be the totality of her message or platform, but there’s no way to hide that fact and it certainly shouldn’t be discounted."

So says Stephanie Cutter, the political consultant and former Obama adviser.

In the past, it's been said — notably by Rush Limbaugh — that Hillary as a female candidate will have special problems looking old. Cutter is flipping that around: Being female is such a positive factor that it will overshadow the oldness. She might even be suggesting that oldness is less problematic for a woman, because there are so many women out there who will be inspired to see an old woman out there still fighting, still in the game.