Ready for Mrs. President?
Published in La Crónica de Hoy
(Mexico) on 7 September 2016
by Concepción Badillo (link to original)
The world has seen 51 women reach the highest position in their countries. India achieved this years ago; the same in Israel, Great Britain, the Philippines, Germany, Chile, Liberia and even Pakistan where in some parts women cannot even leave their house unless accompanied by a man. Then, why is it that only now for the first time does the United States have a female candidate at the top of a ticket with the chance of becoming commander in chief of the last remaining superpower on the planet?
Is it because sexism is hidden within this modern and advanced country? Or is it that gender equality has not come very far in the 40 years since historian Richard Neustadt famously wrote, "When the head of state puts down dissent, we are handing over all power to just one man."* The answer is no, since it is estimated that 90 percent of Americans are ready to elect a woman. This is a breakthrough since 1937 when Gallup conducted its first poll regarding a female president and less than a third of the people favored this.
The problem is that Hillary is not just any woman. Two months until Election Day and everything is up in the air. It is impossible to predict if Mrs. Clinton will reach the nation's highest office because every day new accusations come to light, giving pause to her supporters as they question if each revelation will be serious enough to stop her from becoming president. The controversy du jour is the favors or preferential treatment supposedly given to those at home and abroad who donated funds to the Clinton Foundation, which itself promotes noble causes.
Of course there are many who are certain that nothing will stop Hillary and the presidency will be hers. This is mostly because her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, has many more red flags. It is also because there is a strong political and social movement backed by President Obama, Hollywood and other media. Just like in 2008 when they pushed for the election of the first African-American president, they now want the first woman in the Oval Office.
As we know, then-Secretary of State Hillary used her personal email in opposition to guidelines, but not against federal law, to communicate through her official address. Now the main criticism is that when the investigation began, she deleted 31,830 emails regarding her job duties, giving rise to speculation that she intended to erase information that could be used against her.
Hillary has always been under scrutiny from the public eye, from the Monica Lewinsky scandal, accusations of fraud in the Whitewater controversy, so-called theft from the White House after moving out, the attack on the U.S. embassy in Libya, and now the email controversy that just will not go away and maybe the reason that she has not held a formal press conference in nearly a year.
Polls currently show her tied with Trump, plus or minus a few points, but neither has a clear advantage. However, the elections are not until Nov. 8 and a lot can change in 64 days, especially after the first debate on the 26th of this month. Moreover, keep in mind that the election is not won by popular vote but instead by the Electoral College. Up to now, the same party has managed to remain in the White House for three consecutive terms only a handful of times. Adlai Stevenson could not follow Truman, Nixon failed to replace Eisenhower, Humphrey failed after Lyndon B. Johnson and Al Gore failed to succeed Bill Clinton.
It's the home stretch. Those who still are undecided will have Hillary under the microscope. They will analyze everything from her policies to her body language, eating habits, personal relationships and certainly her outfits. As superficial as it sounds, that is the difference from male candidates. Nobody wastes time talking about Trump's suits, but they do about Hillary's handbags and pants. This is further evidence of the urgency to end the good old boys’ club of the presidency.
*Editor’s note: The original quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.
Is it because sexism is hidden within this modern and advanced country? Or is it that gender equality has not come very far in the 40 years since historian Richard Neustadt famously wrote, "When the head of state puts down dissent, we are handing over all power to just one man."* The answer is no, since it is estimated that 90 percent of Americans are ready to elect a woman. This is a breakthrough since 1937 when Gallup conducted its first poll regarding a female president and less than a third of the people favored this.
The problem is that Hillary is not just any woman. Two months until Election Day and everything is up in the air. It is impossible to predict if Mrs. Clinton will reach the nation's highest office because every day new accusations come to light, giving pause to her supporters as they question if each revelation will be serious enough to stop her from becoming president. The controversy du jour is the favors or preferential treatment supposedly given to those at home and abroad who donated funds to the Clinton Foundation, which itself promotes noble causes.
Of course there are many who are certain that nothing will stop Hillary and the presidency will be hers. This is mostly because her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, has many more red flags. It is also because there is a strong political and social movement backed by President Obama, Hollywood and other media. Just like in 2008 when they pushed for the election of the first African-American president, they now want the first woman in the Oval Office.
As we know, then-Secretary of State Hillary used her personal email in opposition to guidelines, but not against federal law, to communicate through her official address. Now the main criticism is that when the investigation began, she deleted 31,830 emails regarding her job duties, giving rise to speculation that she intended to erase information that could be used against her.
Hillary has always been under scrutiny from the public eye, from the Monica Lewinsky scandal, accusations of fraud in the Whitewater controversy, so-called theft from the White House after moving out, the attack on the U.S. embassy in Libya, and now the email controversy that just will not go away and maybe the reason that she has not held a formal press conference in nearly a year.
Polls currently show her tied with Trump, plus or minus a few points, but neither has a clear advantage. However, the elections are not until Nov. 8 and a lot can change in 64 days, especially after the first debate on the 26th of this month. Moreover, keep in mind that the election is not won by popular vote but instead by the Electoral College. Up to now, the same party has managed to remain in the White House for three consecutive terms only a handful of times. Adlai Stevenson could not follow Truman, Nixon failed to replace Eisenhower, Humphrey failed after Lyndon B. Johnson and Al Gore failed to succeed Bill Clinton.
It's the home stretch. Those who still are undecided will have Hillary under the microscope. They will analyze everything from her policies to her body language, eating habits, personal relationships and certainly her outfits. As superficial as it sounds, that is the difference from male candidates. Nobody wastes time talking about Trump's suits, but they do about Hillary's handbags and pants. This is further evidence of the urgency to end the good old boys’ club of the presidency.
*Editor’s note: The original quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.