Scandal‘s Mellie deals with the problems of being an intelligent woman

Mellie had to learn how to dumb it down tonight on Scandal in order to be a “woman of the people,” and it represented a sad truth of our society.

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The metaphor was absolutely not lost on us, thanks to creator Shonda Rhimes.

If male politicians seem like they have all the answers, they’re leaders. They’re knowledgable. But if a woman does, like Mellie (and *cough* Hillary Clinton), she’s a know-it-all. She thinks she’s better than everyone else. She isn’t relatable.

It’s a terrible double standard that Scandal dives right into as we dig into the first primary debate in our fake — but eerily close to our real life — election on the show.

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Mellie has absolutely sold me this season. I’ve always thought she was an amazing character on the show, but I am finally starting to genuinely root for her as a person. She deserves the chance to prove herself to the country. She’s been waiting long enough. And although I love Susan Ross and respect Edison Davis, Mellie is my girl. And that’s saying something, considering in the real world, I’m a *gasp* proud Democrat.

But more than Mellie’s party line, she’s fighting for votes as a woman. She is suddenly responsible for proving to the country that women are more than capable. That they’re worth more than the 78 cents to a dollar of a man. And even through some serious blunders, like tonight’s burgergate, she can and probably will rise to the top. And once she gets to the top she will own it with Olivia (Kerry Washington) by her side.

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Now that’s a White House I want to see. The only better scenario I could imagine is if Olivia herself decided to run for president. Uh, Season 10 maybe?

Which candidate on Scandal are you rooting for?