A Woman President

A Woman President
By Pamela S. Meek

"Something which we think is impossible now is not impossible in another decade.”
Constance Baker Motley (First African-American Woman in the U.S. to become a Federal Judge)

In March we celebrated National Women's History Month. We celebrated many heroic achievements of women who have contributed to the economic, political, and social progress of our country. We honored the courage of the early suffragists, including Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who fought for the right to vote. We acknowledge pioneers such as Virginia Claflin Woodhull who in 1872, became the first woman to ever run for President of the United States, as well as other women, past and present, who paved the way for our advancement into the women we are today, and the women we still struggle to become. Many of us have contemplated a woman holding
the office of President of the United States for many years.

The problem is, the world was not ready when we had the right candidates and now, there is a huge question as to IF we have the right candidate running when we might be ready to accept a woman. I have decided to leave my own personal opinion
out of this at this time.

In 1872, Virginia Claflin Woodhull became the first woman to ever run for President of the United States. She ran under the Equal Rights Party. Since then we have had eleven other women who have entered the race.

1884 and again in 1888- Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood ran for President under the Equal
Rights Party.

1964- Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for President by a major party. She received Republican primary votes in New Hampshire, Illinois, Massachusetts, Texas, and Oregon, among others, and had twenty-seven first ballot votes at the Republican National Convention.

1972- Shirley Anita Chisholm was the first African American woman to run for President. She campaigned throughout the country and was on the ballot in twelve primaries in what was largely an educational campaign. She received 151.25 delegate votes at the Democratic National Convention

1972- Patsy Takemoto Mink ran as an anti-war candidate in the 1972 Oregon Democratic presidential primary, winning two percent of the votes.

1976- Ellen McCormack entered 20 state primaries for the Democratic presidential nomination as an anti-abortion candidate, winning 22 convention votes. She became the first woman to qualify for federal campaign matching funds and qualified for Secret Service protection. In 1980, she ran for president again as the candidate of the Right to Life Party, winning more than 30,000 votes from three states.

1984- Sonia Johnson ran on the ballot of the Citizens Party.

1988- Patricia S. Schroeder a Democrat, took preliminary steps toward making a serious run for the presidency, but was forced to drop out before the primaries because she could not raise the necessary funds.

1988, 1992- Lenora Fulani - New Alliance Party. Ran for U.S. President twice and qualified for federal matching funds both times.

2000- Elizabeth Hanford Dole - resigned her position as president of the American Red Cross in January 1999, a position she had held since 1991, to run for the Republican nomination for President

2004- Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun was among ten Democrats seeking the 2004 presidential nomination.

2008- Hilary Rodham Clinton is a current candidate for the Democratic nomination for president.

When checking into the backgrounds of these women, I found that, in my opinion, there were several who would probably actually make it if they ran today. There were a couple who made me wonder what on earth they were thinking, and a few who just made me laugh and very glad they were not elected.

On that note, let’s take a look at what it would take to elect a woman as President in 2008...

1. Political party affiliation; Today we have the Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Right to Life, Green, and a new one I just heard of called the Technologists. Just how important is her party she represents to you?

2. What about personal Ethics? If we define Ethics as the difference between right and wrong used to benefit society as a whole and to improve the human condition, do you feel these personal ethics are important and should they be used to judge a candidate?

3. Stance on Important Matters; How would your candidate need to vote and on what matters do you feel are important?

4. Is Personality important? What if the candidate feels she is superior to others and is rude to her body guards and others she feels are inferior? Should that enter into the political debate? Should someone be elected because everyone likes the way they smile and treat others?

5. Is it enough to be Politically savvy? Just knowing the ins and outs of the political arena is not usually enough, what else would your candidate have to know for you to elect her?

Bonus question…Do you know of a woman who should run for President today? Why?

We would love to hear from each of our readers. Please take a moment and answer our short poll in the Blog area of the magazine. www.hotpsychology.com, to answer our brief questionnaire…or just tell us what it would take for you to vote for a woman
President.