The Power of 'Madam President'

[William769]

A friend of mine in New York -- a high-powered professional woman -- told me the other day that she thought the country had moved beyond the point where women should want to vote for Hillary Clinton just because she would be the first woman president. "Just vote for the best person," she said, with what sounds like impeccable logic.

But Clinton, according to all the polls, is winning overwhelming support from female voters. And the reason, I think, is that there's a flaw in my friend's logic: Except in some sort of arcane higher-dimensional geometry comprehensible only to mathematicians, you can't get beyond a point that you've never actually reached.

The fact is that we've never had a female president. And for many women across the country -- especially those of the boomer generation who have seen the role of women in American society change so dramatically -- Clinton's election would be a historic milestone and a source of great pride.

That's certainly not the only reason Clinton leads the national polls for the Democratic nomination. She started with universal name recognition and has proceeded to run a smart, largely mistake-free campaign. She is surrounded by the aura of her husband's eight-year administration, and while that may be a mixed blessing if she gets to the general election, it's a huge asset among the Democratic faithful.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/18/AR2007101801702.html