# 2009 - a woman as Commander in chief ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 12, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143 "2006-11-12T20:27:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Wildfire\_MM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f08c70/32.png) [@Wildfire\_MM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildfire_MM)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/41 "2006-11-13T12:14:39Z")
[QUOTE=tashabot] Oh, I think it could happen. In fact, I know a lot of feminists (not all, I might add, so this is purely anecdotal) who would vote for a woman - ANY woman - on the pure basis that she’s female and not male. There are a lot of feminists out there (both male and female), keep that in mind. ~Tasha [/QUOTE] It would also be legal to wote for a man just because he’s a man if he run against a woman ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/42 "2006-11-13T12:35:33Z")
[QUOTE=Fern Forest] I’m curious. Does Linda Lingle’s (R. Gov. of Hawaii) name ever get bandied about? Republican Governor in a Democratic state who easily, very easily won reelection. [/QUOTE] I doubt it–purely because Hawaii is not a state with a strong past history of governors who have then run for (or attained) the presidency. I could be wrong, of course, I don’t pay that much attention to politics. But being governor of Hawaii just isn’t as much of a selling point in national politics as is being governor of Texas, California, New York, Massachusetts, Virginia or even Vermont. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/43 "2006-11-13T13:59:06Z")
Maybe that’s in part because Hawaii has been a state for a lesser span of time? Someone who’s been governor of a state that gets a lot of votes and who hasn’t managed to anger his constituency will have a better shot at the presidency than someone from a state with few votes (and of course than someone whose ex-governeds would like to give him concrete shoes but think it would be littering), I think. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/44 "2006-11-13T14:11:26Z")
I’m not speaking of “what the public wants.” Or whether I think Hilary Clinton will be president–or should be. But who could be a worse Commander in Chief than the current idiot in charge? His family used pull to get him into the Guard, but he found The Battle of Ellington too taxing. A Commander in Chief needs to be intelligent & to work good military minds. And, perhaps, know when military intervention is not the best policy. But Bush has guarded his title jealously. > [@](#): > > “CINC” Is Sunk > By Jim Garamone > American Forces Press Service > > WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 2002 – The term “CINC” is sunk. > > Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld put out a memo Oct. 24 to DoD leaders saying there is only one commander in chief in America – the president. His memo also forbids use of the acronym “CINC” (pronounced “sink”) with titles for military officers. > > The title of commander in chief is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. Article II, Section 2, states, “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States.” > > Even before World War II, however, the title was applied to U.S. military officers, and over the years “commander in chief” came to refer to the commanders of the U.S. unified combatant commands. Their titles became, for instance, “Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command” or “Commander in Chief, U.S. Transportation Command.” > > No more. Rumsfeld has been using the term “combatant commander” for months now when referring to a regional organization such as the U.S. Central Command and “commander” when talking about a specified unit such as the U.S. Strategic Command. www.defenselink.mil/news/Oct2002/n10252002\_200210252.html ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/45 "2006-11-13T14:59:37Z")
Folks, check out these two search logs from the leaked AOL search logs (skip the first one on the page, cus its gross) [http://www.somethingawful.com/index.php?a=4016&p=4](http://www.somethingawful.com/index.php?a=4016&p=4) Those two about woman presidents is why women are still going to face an uphill battle. And you know what? We can’t tell, but I bet the searcher is a woman herself. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/46 "2006-11-13T15:06:30Z")
Are there any female presidential hopefuls who’ve actually served in the military? A female veteran running against a man with no military service (especially involving Vietnam) could have a big advantage even if she was only a WAC or nurse. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/47 "2006-11-13T17:46:49Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] Yes, but whoever gets elected in 2008 won’t actually _be_ CIC until January 20, 2009… [/QUOTE] Fine, if you want to be all technical about it! ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/48 "2006-11-13T17:49:49Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] Yes, but the President-elect will not take office untill 2009. If women can be CIC’s in Israel and England, I don’t see why it’s a problem in the US. [/QUOTE] And India! Let’s not forget that Third World country that still accepted a female for prez before the States. We’re still just sitting in the dark here. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/49 "2006-11-13T17:53:57Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] And India! Let’s not forget that Third World country that still accepted a female for prez before the States. We’re still just sitting in the dark here. [/QUOTE] She was a Prime Minister and if she wasn’t her father’s daughter she wouldn’t have had a snowball’s chance in hell. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/50 "2006-11-13T17:59:42Z")
The United States is not currently in a position to be knocking other countries for electing the children of previous leaders. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/51 "2006-11-13T18:11:56Z")
Nor, really, has it ever been. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/52 "2006-11-13T19:08:20Z")
[QUOTE=Bridget Burke] But who could be a worse Commander in Chief than the current idiot in charge? His family used pull to get him into the Guard, but he found The Battle of Ellington too taxing. [/QUOTE] So? We’ve had good wartime presidents who never did even that much. Yes, W is an idiot, but his idiocy has nothing to do with his military nonservice. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/53 "2006-11-13T19:22:27Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] So which will happen sooner: a female president or a bearded president? [/QUOTE] Do you mean Oprah? ---
**Author:** ![initech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/439d5e/32.png) [@initech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/initech)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/54 "2006-11-13T19:48:02Z")
Hillary Clinton has a better chance than you might think. Yeah, there is substantial hatred for her from the right, but the same could be said for Bill. We’d re-elect him yesterday, if we could. Hillary has three strengths: 1. They’ve thrown everything they have at her. She’s had eight years, plus another six in the senate, as a primary target for the right. At this point, she’s almost innoculated to further attack. Also, she fights back, and dirty. 2. Bill. 3. There are women in the red states who are conservative, traditional homemakers and vote Republican. But given a chance, they’d punch a ticket to put a woman in charge. There is a quiet feminist streak in middle America, and if properly approached, Hillary could win by a surprising margin. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/55 "2006-11-13T19:56:33Z")
Dammit, **Wildfire,** why can’t you just tell us what country you’re in? ---
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/56 "2006-11-13T20:02:10Z")
I don’t think the U.S. will see a female of black person as President for at least 50 years. No reason why I think that, it just feels right to say that. Personally, I would love to see a black female in office. We need a drastic change. Oprah maybe? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/57 "2006-11-14T01:38:25Z")
[QUOTE=initech] There are women in the red states who are conservative, traditional homemakers and vote Republican. But given a chance, they’d punch a ticket to put a woman in charge. [/QUOTE] I find that **very** hard to believe. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/58 "2006-11-14T02:08:26Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] I find that **very** hard to believe. [/QUOTE] I’d like to hear your explanation for this. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/59 "2006-11-14T02:34:06Z")
[QUOTE=Sam Stone] I’d like to hear your explanation for this. [/QUOTE] For skepticism that “women in the red states who are conservative, traditional homemakers and vote Republican” will switch over and vote Dem **just** so they can vote for a woman, when putting more women in office has never been part of the political value system that has guided their voting behavior up to this point? No, I don’t think that requires any explanation. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143/60 "2006-11-14T02:37:19Z")
**initech** did not, of course, state in that scenario that the female candidate in question would be a Dem, but the way the problem is stated strongly implies it; there would be nothing remarkable in female Pub voters voting for a female Pub candidate, it happens all the time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2009-a-woman-as-commander-in-chief/380143.md?page=4)