My debate is the possibility that the United States will ever have a woman President or Vice President?
Both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party have nominated one woman each for Vice President. Geraldine Ferraro was the V.P of a ticket that lost 49 states to one. It wasn’t her fault, she was the VP candidate of Walter Mondale, and by 1984, the economy was doing well under Reagan and there was no reason to jump ship.
Then of course for the Republicans is Sarah Palin. Like Mondale, I think McCain was looking for someone who could ignite his flagging campaign, and I think that Palin actually did help McCain get the votes in some of the states that he won. But McCain/Palin got trounced.
I think Hillary was too political, and Obama was more exciting. I also don’t think that the country really wanted her in the first place. If she won the nomination, would she of picked a man or another woman? What kind of dynamic would that have been. Would McCain then pick a man, or goes with Palin? I never understood the whole Palin nomination anyway, she’s a first term governor of a state that is going to vote Republican regardless who is nominated.
It seems to me that the two parties are now nervous to even entertain the possibility of nominating another female for Vice President. If you are well ahead in the polls in the general election in the fall against an opponent, getting a female candidate can take some of the limelight away from me. If I am behind in the race, and see that female V.P.s are 0-2, do I follow the so far losing strategy? Since 1984, the Deocrats have never nominated a woman VP and I doubt the Republicans will for a long time.
I also think that most Americans are of the mindset that a man would be better at this job than a woman. I don’t necessarily agree with that, but there it is.
(Personally, I think Palin is sexy but dumb as a pile of bricks. But hey, she’s a millionaire from her schtick, so she isn’t that dense.
Hillary Clinton came pretty close to winning in 2008: she lost the primaries pretty narrowly, and if she’d won the primaries would have pretty likely been elected. In 2016 she will be 69, an age when it’s not impossible to be elected – Reagan was that age when first elected.
So it could be Palin in 2012, or Clinton in 2016 – it’s just a matter of time now before a woman in elected as POTUS.
“Ever” is a long time. I think it will happen sooner rather than later, relatively speaking. I’d guess it will not be Palin or Clinton, but there are other women who will come to the forefront. I’d say the odds favor having a women president or at least VP by 2024 if not earlier. Women VP candidates will be pretty common now, I think, and seen as a way of “balancing” the ticket.
Yes. I don’t think people see it as an issue anymore. Women candidates are no longer novelties and are no longer defined by being “women candidates.” It would have to be somebody less polarizing than Palin or Hillary, (and a hell of a lot more qualified than Palin), but a moderate woman candidate with good credentials as as good a chance now as a similarly qualified male.
I think if it wasn’t for Obama we’d have one now. It’ll be a mixture of the right moment - 2008 was one of those, where the incumbent party was so out of favor - and the right person with the skills to assuage the doubts of those who are reluctant to vote for women. So my answer is absolutely yes.
If you’d asked 50 years ago whether the US would ever have a black POTUS or VP, or Germany a female Chancelor, or Great Britain a female Primer Minister, the answer would have ranged from laughter to some nice, burly guys with a very-long-sleeved shirt. The times have definitely changed, the US getting a female #1 or #2 is a matter of time.
Of course it will happen eventually – it just takes a candidate that will inspire the nation. Whatever we may now think of Margaret Thatcher, she had a force of personality which completely overode her sex. She was voted in back in 1979 when women still had a hell of a way to go in equality terms, and she led the right wing party of the day. None of that mattered at the time - her personality just swept gender aside.
I’m not seeing anyone in your future that could match the pull that Hillary had. It’s a shame Hillary didn’t get the nomination but she came pretty close. Hillary’s supporters are hoping that she can still run in 2016 but that’s unlikely. The only way that she could be president is if Obama shows himself to be a complete idiot and gets primaried this 2012. Obama is far from being a complete idiot - so it’s a “no go” for a Hillary Clinton presidency this 2012 and 2016 would be too late for her. Sarah Palin may have some chance were it not for the fact that she is an idiot.
I definitely see a woman on the ballot in the next election, even if it’s not Sarah Palin.
I’m wondering when there will be a Jewish, Muslim, or Asian (eastern or southern) president. I don’t think the nation would balk at the idea of a Jewish or Asian presidential candidate now, but a Muslim president; probably not before 2050. I think someone who is not outwardly religious (as opposed to a foaming SDMB/Dawkins-type atheist) would be acceptable on the ballot in the next 10 to 20 years.
Is Sarah dumber than Angle? Angle is favored for Senate in Nevada. So you may as well put her on the presidential ballot in 2 years. All things are possible now. Perhaps it will be a Palin/Angle ticket. We deserve it.
There is some scuttlebutt/rumor that Biden will be dumped as VP in favor of Clinton in 2012. Assuming an Obama/Clinton ticket wins, that opens the door for Hillary to be the Dems choice in 2016.
I don’t think this is even in question anymore. It will happen and there is no real bar to it…it’s just going to take the right candidate at the right time. Luck and a skillful campaign will see just about anyone go all the way to the top spot.
What I’d like to know is when will these kinds of thread become the fodder for mirth? I mean, what next after we get a woman president? ‘Will a gay man/woman ever be elected president?’ ‘Will a porn star ever be elected president?’ ‘Will a Mormon/Muslim/Sikh ever be elected president?’ ‘Will a red headed, left handed dwarf Anabaptist ever be president??’ ‘Will an Agnatiest ever be elected president with a first name starting with X??’
Stature alone will not elect a woman to what is culturally and by deep symbolism and tradition a Man’s Job. The US will not have a woman president until there is a candidate who inspires us in traditional, basic, masculine ways better than any of the men running. She will have to not transcend, but embody, stereotypes of strength, resolve, competitiveness, and simple hard ideals that reach the most reactionary among us.
I don’t think so. Basically, it’s going to be the right person at the right place and in the right time with the right campaign staff that’s going to decide when those check boxes get, well, checked. I don’t see any bar to any of them happening except that it’s a very select group of folks who even get the chance to vie for the top spot, with a lot of luck along, and that most of those groups represent a smaller percentage of the population (and, more importantly, of the pool of folks who would run for the top office) and so are going to have a lower probability of winning the presidency than the very low probability of even a rich, white male christian guy with a wife and 2.5 kids and a really cute dog.
We could have had a woman already in the WH (Hillary would have won had she beaten Obama IMHO), the rest on the list would just take an exceptional person like Obama being in the right place and positioned correctly and there you go. Well…possibly the red headed left handed dwarf might have a bit of trouble, but I think the rest of the group COULD be elected depending on the person and circumstances.
