America’s resident batshit crazy Congresswoman, Michelle Bachmann, said in an interview last week that—get this—the nation is not ready for a female president.
This is a particularly shocking statement by a woman who’s essentially built her career on saying almost exclusively shocking and offensive things, because well, correct me if my memory is wrong…but wasn’t it only two years ago when she ran for the Republican nomination in the hopes that she herself would eventually become President of the United States?
Alright, I’m gonna give Bachmann the benefit of the doubt here and assume she didn’t say this out of bitterness over the failure of her campaign, but rather out of fear for the very real possibility of a Hillary Clinton run in 2016, because that’s something I can actually work with.
It’s a fair question and maybe one that we don’t talk about enough. Is America really ready for a woman president?
I’m sure that if Clinton were elected, any miscalculations would be attributed to the fact that she’s a woman, only further proof that we shouldn’t have elected her; much in the same vain that President Obama’s failures are often blamed on his race.
But of course, the real issue here isn’t whether a woman is fit or qualified for the role of President. It’s how she would be received and treated by the public which worries me. I can’t think of many people I’d rather run for election in 2016 than Hillary Clinton, but I must admit I’m not sure how to reconcile the potential change and benefits she could bring our country with the sexism should would face. However, Clinton’s been in the political game for a while so I’m sure she’s more than used to harsh criticism, such as Bachmann’s. (Which, okay, is anyone really losing asleep over anything she has to say?)
In the previously mentioned interview with Bachmann, she also took jabs at Obama stating:
“I think there was a cachet about having an African-American president because of guilt. People don’t hold guilt for a woman.”
…So it seems to me what Bachmann implies here is that any president we elect outside of the “old white male” demographic is because America feels sorry for them? Not because they’re, you know, qualified or the right person for the job?
I agree with anyone who says we shouldn’t just elect a woman for the sake of electing a woman. Of course she should be someone who has as much intelligence and experience as anyone else (a rarity in politics these days). This is precisely why I believe Hillary Clinton is an ideal candidate for the presidency, because her years and years in politics gave her an understanding of the issues and how our government works…not because of any obligation that “it’s time” for America to elect a woman. The fact that Clinton is a woman is only an added bonus.
What do you all think? Is America really ready for a Hillary Clinton (or any other woman) presidency?
ShoutOut! James Madison University 