Monday,
February 21 2005
WILL 2008 BE THE YEAR OF THE WOMAN? As a precursor
to their upcoming "First
Woman President Symposium," Siena College just
completed
a nationwide poll asking whether Americans are ready
to elect a woman president. Here are some highlights:
- Respondents
were given a list of 4 women (Hillary Clinton, Condi Rice,
Elizabeth Dole & Barbara Boxer) and asked whether
any of the four should run for president. Clinton finished
first with 53% saying she should run and 37% saying she
shouldn't. Rice finished 2nd with 42% saying she should
run and 41% saying she shouldn't.
- A
majority of those polled - including 81% of Democrats
and 53% of Republicans - said a woman would do a better
job of dealing with domestic issues such as education
and health care.
- Just
over 20% of respondents said a woman would do a worse
job than a man as Commander-in-Chief, with nearly the
same number of people saying a woman would do a better
job. 45% said it wouldn't make a difference.
In
general, I think the country is more than ready to elect
a female president. The results from the last bullet point
above seem to suggest that even while we consider ourselves
a nation at war, most Americans have no problem accepting
a woman as Commander-in-Chief. This confirms something we
already know: perceptions of strength and credibility on
national security are far less a function of gender than
they are of party.
That's
what makes Hillary Clinton so shrewd. She has the ability
to recognize the long view and the skill and discipline
to maintain it. Over the past two years she has occasionally
played to Dem base on the issue of the war, but she's done
it without ever getting caught up in or becoming associated
with the antiwar hysterics of her party.
And
now, while a good number of those on the left are dancing
around Howard Dean, still gripped by an antiwar fever that
induces shoe-throwing
tantrums, Hillary continues to go about the business
of building
her national security credentials and enhancing her
image as a credible future Commander-in-Chief.
This
begs another question which we'll tackle at some point down
the road: Does Hillary really believe anything she says
with regard to national security issues or is it all purely
about political positioning? - T. Bevan 2:32 pm
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