It’s Time for the United States to Have a Woman President

Isn’t it past time for the United States to have a female president? I think so, but I am not here endorsing any specific candidate.

During my lifetime there have been many women leaders in government who would have made excellent presidents. Some of them were candidates but did not receive their party’s nomination. I think Maine senator Margaret Chase Smith would have made a good president. Imagine if she had been elected in 1964 instead of the man who won the election. Surely Shirley Chisholm would have made a better president in 1972 than the man who won that election!

Think of the numerous nations of the world that have had women heads of state and heads of government: Germany, Israel, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, the Philippines, Liberia, Norway, India. I’m sure there are more. Those are the ones that come to mind immediately.

I believe it is time for the United States to have a female head of state/government. (Our president combines both roles.) Again, I am not endorsing any candidate; I am only joining the growing chorus of those Americans who believe our lack of a female president signals sexism and that we very well might be a better nation if we were led by women as well as men–at the very highest levels of government.

I have been watching with pleasure the Sunday evening television program “Madam Secretary.” Obviously this is one of the messages of the writers–that a woman can and very well may bring a special “touch” to government that would benefit everyone. The lead character strives so hard, sometimes with success and sometimes not, to bring people together to find compromise. And she goes out of her way to listen to people who are generally ignored. Can a man do that? Well, yes, but perhaps it comes more naturally to a woman.

I am hopeful that, as the series progresses, eventually the show will become “Madam President.” We Americans need a vision, even if only fictional, of what difference a female president might make.

We have now had an African-American president. Whatever I may think of his policies, I am glad that we have had a black man in the White House–finally. It was way past time. (I think Edward Brooke would have made a good president and I suspect the only reason he wasn’t nominated was his being African-American.)

Now, having said all that, the question you may ask is whether I would vote for a female candidate just because she’s female? No. But all other things being equal–between her and a male candidate–I would vote for her because it’s time girls and young women saw where they can be–how high they can rise.

Note to commenters: Do not use your comment to campaign for or against anyone by name; stick to the topic–whether it is time, even past time, for the U.S. to have a female president. I will not approve comments that amount to political campaigning.