# A woman becoming US president for the first time - has the thunder been stolen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** kamala-harris\ **Created:** [October 26, 2024, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246 "2024-10-26T07:32:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/21 "2024-10-26T12:45:30Z")
What’s novel is the lack of novelty. We should be electing people because they’re the best person for the job, not because of their gender or skin color. And it looks like we might be about to do just that. That’s what’s huge. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/22 "2024-10-26T12:53:18Z")
I agree that the focus now needs to be on defeating Trump, not electing the first woman president. If/when she wins the election, that’s the time to celebrate her landmark status. I remember a lot of people saying about Hillary “I’d love to have a female president, I just don’t want it to be _her_.” ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/23 "2024-10-26T13:01:36Z")
If 2016 knew what 2024 knows, that orange fucker would just be an historical curiosity. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/24 "2024-10-26T13:21:53Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > IMO pushing the fact Harris is non-white and female only hurts her chances of election. It’s a very effective wedge issue in our mostly benighted “swing states”. Better the media downplay it until the win is in the bag. I was going to post, it is about those things to the extent that she herself deliberately pushes that spin. Not sure to what extent the media would be _leading_ such a push. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/25 "2024-10-26T14:37:24Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What’s novel is the lack of novelty. We should be electing people because they’re the best person for the job, not because of their gender or skin color. And it looks like we might be about to do just that. That’s what’s huge. Breaking 200+ years of tradition, apparently ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/26 "2024-10-26T14:52:13Z")
It will be a big deal when it happens, it hasn’t happened yet so it isn’t. The alternative is a much more negative outcome so that’s what everyone focuses on. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/27 "2024-10-26T14:56:06Z")
> [@colinfred](#): > > Betfair would disagree, it’s 60-40 Trump. No so fast. > **[Four accounts put $30 million of crypto on bets that Trump will win White House](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-betting-odds-crypto-election-b2631759.html)** > > ‘There’s strong reason to believe they are the same entity,’ a crypto expert said ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/28 "2024-10-26T15:03:02Z")
The general feel that I have about this election is that it is more about stopping Trump than electing Harris. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of optimism about how she will perform. This seems to be making it less significant that she is a woman and a woman of color. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/29 "2024-10-26T15:22:18Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Hillary had been expected to do it 8 years ago but failed. Hmmmm. Let’s say Hillary had a good chance but “expected” is an overreach. > [@Velocity](#): > > By this point, even if Harris gets it done, the novelty has somewhat already worn off. The novelty was in 1984 when Geraldine Ferraro ran as the Vice-President candidate with Walter Mondale. Also, with the number of female world leaders by 2016 the idea of a woman not named Thatcher running a country was not as absurd. I am purposely leaving out Benezir Butto and Indira Ghandi because most American have no clue who they were but if you do, it adds to “Why haven’t we had a woman President by the 21st Century?” By 2016 the idea that a Presidential candidate having to be a white male was long since gone due to Obama’s win and successful presidency. > [@Velocity](#): > > The election coverage will not be so much about Kamala taking power but rather Trump being denied power. Which is a good thing if we don’t focus on the election as, “Holy shit, a woman of color became President!” and just say Harris beat Trump. > [@Velocity](#): > > Even though Kamala is a woman (and a nonwhite one at that,) this election is _still_ a Trump election - all about Trump, Trump, Trump. Trump the fascist. Trump the Russian agent. Trump the Project 2025 enabler. Which is a brilliant campaign strategy. Look, no current Trump supporter is going to vote for Harris. What the Dems need to is convince the undecided to not vote for Trump and the best person to do that is Trump himself … just stay out of his way and from time-to-time add little jabs that keep him going. Taking Trump as an incumbent, psephologists would tell you that a vast majority of votes have nothing to do with the incumbent’s opponent but rather people voting for or against the incumbent themselves. > [@Velocity](#): > > The media, in fact, has put very little attention on the aspect about Kamala breaking the glass ceiling - it almost goes un-emphasized. Again not a bad thing. > [@Velocity](#): > > So while Kamala will still get much mention about being the first woman to become US president, it will be, IMHO, only about half as much focus as it would have been under normal circumstances. I still don’t understand what the problem is with that. Why does she have to be a woman President or a non-Anglo President. What’s wrong with just being President? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/30 "2024-10-26T17:31:51Z")
I will agree that it is good to not make it about _“it’s time for the first \_\_\_\_ President”_. If you’ve been looking around, there’s no mood for that. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Also, with the number of female world leaders by 2016 the idea of a woman not named Thatcher running a country was not as absurd. I am purposely leaving out Benezir Butto and Indira Ghandi because most American have no clue who they were but if you do, it adds to “Why haven’t we had a woman President by the 21st Century?” Quite. Anyone around who was old enough and paying attention during the 70s had to be aware of at least Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir and Maggie Thatcher… but for a large plurality of the current eligible voters these are just names from the past at best, or even worse, _“well sure, but that’s not America”._ ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/31 "2024-10-26T17:35:44Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > _“well sure, but that’s not America”._ PAKISTAN had a female leader FFS! It’s like the fact that the United States outlawed slavery after the rest of the “civilaized” world did. And we had to fight a civil war to do it. > [@JRDelirious](#): > > I will agree that it is good to not make it about _“it’s time for the first \_\_\_\_ President”_. If you’ve been looking around, there’s no mood for that. And it makes her run a gimmick. When Ferraro ran as the first female VP candidate from a major party, everyone knew it was a gimmick Mondale came up with since there was no way he could beat Reagan. Say what you want about Hillary’s campaign, her running as a female was not a gimmick cooked up by the DNC. Harris running as Biden’s VP was not a gimmick so we shouldn’t minimize her presidential run as Oh we might get a woman president. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/32 "2024-10-26T17:39:36Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I still don’t understand what the problem is with that. Why does she have to be a woman President or a non-Anglo President. What’s wrong with just being President? Because if you talk to women Americans, we don’t live in a society like that. Because if you talk to black Americans, we don’t live in a society like that. Because if you talk to Indian Americans, we don’t live in a society like that. And especially because if you talk to conservatives, we don’t live in a society like that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/33 "2024-10-26T17:41:23Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > And it makes her run a gimmick. When Ferraro ran as the first female VP candidate from a major party, everyone knew it was a gimmick Mondale came up with since there was no way he could beat Reagan. See also Jesse Jackson, who kept on running for the position of Black President of the United States, and kept on losing. Then Obama came along and ran for the position of President of the United States, and won. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/34 "2024-10-26T17:46:28Z")
There’s also the factor that Harris was a last-minute replacement for the incumbent Biden, rather than being nominated from the first as the Democratic candidate. Almost a sort of preemptive “v.p. takes over the presidency after the president dies/resigns”. > [@Chronos](#): > > See also Jesse Jackson, who kept on running for the position of Black President of the United States, and kept on losing. Then Obama came along and ran for the position of President of the United States, and won Obama is effectively what would be called a mulatto in societies that didn’t follow the USA’s “one drop of blood” rule. With a white mother and a Kenyan father he is literally an African-American; to put it crudely, none of his ancestors ever picked cotton. That made him just acceptable to enough white Americans and even then the Obamamania was severe from the get-go. An old-school “radical” African-American like Jackson was always a non-starter. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/35 "2024-10-26T17:51:09Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Because if you talk to women Americans, we don’t live in a society like that. Because if you talk to black Americans, we don’t live in a society like that. Because if you talk to Indian Americans, we don’t live in a society like that. Trust me, I’ve been spouting anti-racism and especially anti-sexism here for a long time. My point was by putting a qualifier on it, it somehow minimizes the Presidency. Take Obama. He was of course a “Black” President but would you characterize his presidency by that? No, and I almost never hear him described as “Black former President” but just “former President”. So should President Harris be defined as a woman President? No, because we should be able to know she is a woman President without the label. It’s kind of hard to explain what’s in my head. I object to using the label “woman President” to define her and somehow tokenize her. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/36 "2024-10-26T17:53:45Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > There’s also the factor that Harris was a last-minute replacement for the incumbent Biden, rather than being nominated from the first as the Democratic candidate. Almost a sort of preemptive “v.p. takes over the presidency after the president dies/resigns”. You raise a really good point here. By electing her as VP and especially given Biden age and health, we know she could have been President at any point in the last 4 years so have we already gone through her (potentially) being a female as President 4 years ago? ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/37 "2024-10-26T17:57:50Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Anyone around who was old enough and paying attention during the 70s had to be aware of at least Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir and Maggie Thatcher… but for a large plurality of the current eligible voters these are just names from the past at best, or even worse, _“well sure, but that’s not America”._ Well there have been many female leaders since and currently. Heck one of them is a neighbouring country, and three are in the Caribbean. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > It’s like the fact that the United States outlawed slavery after the rest of the “civilaized” world did. Right; as I alluded upthread, as soon as the US does have their first female president, I think at least some will portray it as the US _leading the world_ in feminism. Because I’ve heard plenty of people suggest that the US “showed the world that slavery was wrong”. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/38 "2024-10-26T18:07:21Z")
> [@robby](#): > > I think the Democratic ticket only won one or two states in the Electoral College. Without looking it up: Minnesota (Mondale’s home state) and DC (Who would vote for any Dem). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/39 "2024-10-26T18:10:37Z")
Considering that she’s been so comparatively invisible the past four years that the right is pounding that fact as part of their campaign against her, I feel that her sudden emergence as the presidential candidate was a unique reboot of her public identity. Imagine if Truman had dropped out of the 1952 race and told the convention to nominate his VP, Alben Barkley. Who he? would likely be the response, and he had been a Senator since 1937. He wasn’t even a major candidate in the 1952 convention. (Not that he dropped out of politics: he was still popular enough in Kentucky to be re-relected to the Senate in 1954.) The only mentions I remember about Harris the past four years were articles wondering why we never hear of anything Harris was doing. Then overnight she replaced Taylor Swift as the most-press-covered woman in America. If she wins, that will continue to literally unprecedented heights. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246/40 "2024-10-26T21:00:46Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > The general feel that I have about this election is that it is more about stopping Trump than electing Harris Agree with this. > [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > There doesn’t seem to be a lot of optimism about how she will perform. Definitely disagree with this. I’m seeing huge optimism. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woman-becoming-us-president-for-the-first-time-has-the-thunder-been-stolen/1009246.md?page=3)