# Other than Hillary and Condoleezza who could be Madam President? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 10, 2006, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127 "2006-08-10T05:37:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [August 10, 2006, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/1 "2006-08-10T05:37:13Z")
Other than Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice are there any female politicians that could run in 2008 and have a shot at her party’s nomination? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/2 "2006-08-10T06:01:24Z")
Heidi Fleiss? ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/3 "2006-08-10T06:09:14Z")
Oprah? ---
**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:** [August 10, 2006, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/4 "2006-08-10T06:14:12Z")
> [@trublmakr](#): > > Oprah? 2008, not 2030 😉 . ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/5 "2006-08-10T06:18:12Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > 2008, not 2030 😉 . Yeah, not now, but I can definitely see it happening in the next 20 years. That woman has more power than God. Except when she wants to shop at Hermes. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/6 "2006-08-10T06:48:24Z")
The Ploes haves twins in power, so why not the Bush Twins? Dynastic leaders are so in this decade. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/7 "2006-08-10T08:45:45Z")
I hold that the premise of this thread is faulty, as neither Hillary nor Condoleeza could run in 2008 and have a shot at their partys’ nomination. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/8 "2006-08-10T11:43:26Z")
Jennifer Aniston would get my vote, as well as my application for intern. If it weren’t for that pesky Constitution, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm (Canadian-born) would have an outside shot, should she defeat Scamway’s Richard DeVos in 2006. But no, there are no serious alternatives. If Libby Dole was younger, perhaps she could have ran to complete her resume. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/9 "2006-08-10T12:59:15Z")
ANY possibilities? Yes. Not strong ones, but not utterly implausible ones either. On the Democratic side, California Senators Diane Feinstein (once a perennial VP contender) and Barbara Boxer could make credible runs for the nomination. I don’t think either could win, but neither would be joke. On the Republican side, Liddy Dole could seek the nomination and finish in the middle of the pack. But no other Republican female comes to mind who could do even that well. Too many of the GOP’s female Senators are liberals like Olympia SNow and Susan COllins, meaning they’d never fare well in the primaries. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/10 "2006-08-10T14:13:02Z")
I’ve heard Ann Richards’ name tossed about, now and again. Or Christine Todd Whitman? Oh, maybe not _now_, but she’s got potential. Hell, even maybe now. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/11 "2006-08-10T14:22:08Z")
Oprah would get my vote, and I’m not even a fan. _Never_ watched her show. It seems she’s very smart and has a heart. She’s already too rich to be bought. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/12 "2006-08-10T14:23:47Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > But no, there are no serious alternatives. If Libby Dole was younger, perhaps she could have ran to complete her resume. I remember a joke from the 1996 election: I’ll vote for a Clinton/Dole ticket. HILARY Clinton & ELIZABETH Dole. I’ve always had a hunch that the first Madame President will be Chelsea Clinton. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/13 "2006-08-10T14:54:34Z")
Two Republican Senators from Maine: Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. Either of them could win the national election if they could survive the Republican primaries. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/14 "2006-08-10T17:26:31Z")
If we’re talking female Republican Senators, I’d think that Kay Bailey Hutchison would have a better chance at the nomination than Snowe or Collins. Not that any one of them has much of a chance in '08, but Hutchison might have an outside shot at the VP slot if the Republicans feel like they have to put a woman on the ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Airblairxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Airblairxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airblairxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/15 "2006-08-10T18:11:42Z")
2008 is too early for Claire McCaskill in Missouri, and she’s gotta win the Senate election in November, but she’s one to consider. Probably the most likely woman who could win the presidency is Kansas’ governor,[Kathleen Sibelius.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Sebelius) ---
**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:** [August 10, 2006, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/16 "2006-08-10T18:47:25Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I hold that the premise of this thread is faulty, as neither Hillary nor Condoleeza could run in 2008 and have a shot at their partys’ nomination. I disagree. While Condoleezza doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell at getting the Republican nomination (she’s the only woman other than Hillary to get much media speculation on a POTUS run); Hillary could get the Democratic nomination (though she’d loose the general election). ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/17 "2006-08-10T19:41:09Z")
Madeline Albright’s a pretty savvy dame. We could use every iota of her foreign policy skills for the next four to eight. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/18 "2006-08-10T20:25:14Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Madeline Albright’s a pretty savvy dame. We could use every iota of her foreign policy skills for the next four to eight. However, she’s also not a natural born citizen, and thus ineligible to the Presidency. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/19 "2006-08-10T21:08:42Z")
I think being governor, as opposed to the US Senate, has proven to be the best background for a presidential candidate. Other than the Canadian governor of Michigan, are there any current female governors? ---
**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:** [August 11, 2006, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127/20 "2006-08-11T02:12:47Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > I think being governor, as opposed to the US Senate, has proven to be the best background for a presidential candidate. Other than the Canadian governor of Michigan, are there any current female governors? Yes, there are eight female state governors; 2 Republicans and 6 Democrats. Of them I think Napolitano and Sebelius have the best chances of getting the nomination in 2008. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-hillary-and-condoleezza-who-could-be-madam-president/368127.md?page=2)