Even with former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) claiming the top spots in early polls on the Democratic primary for president, it was surprising to hear liberal women on a recent cable TV news “town hall” dejectedly speculate that the United States is “not quite ready to elect a woman president.”
Their assertion is not only wrong, but insulting to us all.
Understandably, many women are disappointed — even disgusted — that older white men, who arguably could be considered political retreads, can throw their hats into the ring and quickly vault to the top of the polls. But maybe that says more about the qualifications of the women candidates who are running than it does about Biden and Sanders.
The United States is more than ready to elect a woman president — and has been for years. In 2007 and 2008, most people honestly did not expect a first-term, African American senator from Illinois to win the White House. Barack Obama not only proved them wrong, he also proved that their biased assessments of racism in America were wildly off the mark in that instance.
When Obama was sworn in as our 44th president, some Republicans joined Democrats in expressing tremendous pride in his win and what it represented about the progress made in race relations. Some people may not believe it, but there are conservatives who, like their progressive counterparts, think the winners of elections should be the most qualified candidates — no matter their race or gender — who have real-world experience and unteachable intangibles to bring to the table.
Many of us also believe the world could be a better, safer, fairer and more productive place if more women led nations, religions and corporations. Sure, political correctness dictates that we not discuss the differences between men and women, but sometimes those differences tip the scale of talent and qualifications decidedly to the side of women. While it’s not necessarily about gender, it can be about temperament. It can be about judgment, or experience. It can be about placing more value on the lives of children and other human beings.
For example, we’ve all seen single mothers who work two or three jobs to care for their children, putting themselves last. They can be among the toughest people you’ll meet, women who personify strength, sacrifice, perseverance and leadership. There is not a politician in office today who is more of a “leader” than these women.
It’s fair to discuss and even debate — civilly — the state of the world and humanity after roughly 6,000 years of male rule and dominance. Through physical strength and brutality, men made themselves the dominant gender tens of centuries ago; they’ve barely loosened the reins since. And we’ve had countless wars in which hundreds of millions of men, women and children died. Starvation and disease have claimed hundreds of millions more.
Yes, physical strength plays an important, often needed, role in life. But mental toughness, wisdom and sound judgment — qualities one might find in those single mothers, for example — may be just as critical when it comes to our survival and advancement as a species.
The United States is more than ready for a female president. When one appears who stands head and shoulders above the competition because of her skills, intelligence and real-world experience, voters will recognize it and elect her. She is out there, and her time soon will be upon us.
Douglas MacKinnon, a political and communications consultant, was a writer in the White House for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and former special assistant for policy and communications at the Pentagon during the last three years of the Bush administration.