Women, what do you think a female VP or Pres. will get you?

[Anonymous]

I am a woman too, I just don't see how a woman in office changes things. (We do need more female legislators though).
Please let me know what you expect to get with a female in office?

[Anonymous]

a big crack in the glass ceiling

[Anonymous]

This is the wrong question... or maybe just bad wording. Not everyone is looking to "get something" from the government, as though it "owes" me something.

To answer the question as I think you mean it, though, seeing a woman picked as a VP nominee for the first time in 24 years more than anything else gives me hope that the playing field is slightly more level -- maybe it's crack number 18,000,001 in that glass ceiling.

[Anonymous]

A role model for our daughters.

[Anonymous]

Well, let's see. How about something close to equal representation? More than 60% of Democrats are women; 30% of our convention speakers were women. And although we make up 51% of the population, we comprise just 15% of Congress. I'm tired of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, let's see. How about something close to equal representation? More than 60% of Democrats are women; 30% of our convention speakers were women. And although we make up 51% of the population, we comprise just 15% of Congress. I'm tired of that.

16:20 here. Thank you, role model poster. I meant to include that too. The message "anyone can be president" we're supposed to be getting really means "anyone with a penis can be president."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, let's see. How about something close to equal representation? More than 60% of Democrats are women; 30% of our convention speakers were women. And although we make up 51% of the population, we comprise just 15% of Congress. I'm tired of that.

16:20 here. Thank you, role model poster. I meant to include that too. The message "anyone can be president" we're supposed to be getting really means "anyone with a penis can be president."

AND an ivy league education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, let's see. How about something close to equal representation? More than 60% of Democrats are women; 30% of our convention speakers were women. And although we make up 51% of the population, we comprise just 15% of Congress. I'm tired of that.

16:20 here. Thank you, role model poster. I meant to include that too. The message "anyone can be president" we're supposed to be getting really means "anyone with a penis can be president."

AND an ivy league education.

Yep. Because the previous presidents with penises and Ivy League educations have done such a good job! I actually think Bill Clinton did a good job with the presidency part, but not with the penis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a woman too, I just don't see how a woman in office changes things. (We do need more female legislators though).
Please let me know what you expect to get with a female in office?

Professional respect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a woman too, I just don't see how a woman in office changes things. (We do need more female legislators though).
Please let me know what you expect to get with a female in office?

You really don't see why it's important to have a woman president or vice president? You think it's fine that every president and vice president in the history of the republic has been male? Do you feel the same way about them all being white?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a woman too, I just don't see how a woman in office changes things. (We do need more female legislators though).
Please let me know what you expect to get with a female in office?

Professional respect.

I can certainly understand the desire for more professional respect. But, doesn't this selection reflect many of the most unfair aspects of a woman's plight in the workforce? Maybe its not universal, but I know of many cases where a competent, hard-working woman was passed over in favor of a younger, prettier, less experienced female. Is Palin a better choice than Elizabeth Dole, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Christine Todd Whitman, or other long-serving Republican women?

[Anonymous]

Elizabeth Dole is older than McCain, or as old. Hutchison asked not to be considered; she is in her sixties and has two small children, so she's looking to scale back. Whitman has trouble related to her current work (she's a lobbyist) and to her statements that NYC's air was perfectly safe after 9/11. So I don't really see any of them as being "passed over," at least not in the way that HRC was. Biden, of course, brought a lot of HRC's negatives but only 9,000 votes to her 18 million. McCain could have chosen Snowe or Collins, but they're too moderate to appease the base.

McCain's a politician. Obama's a politician. They made their choices on that basis. I'm not going to take it as an insult to women that McCain actually chose one for his running mate.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:
McCain's a politician. Obama's a politician. They made their choices on that basis. I'm not going to take it as an insult to women that McCain actually chose one for his running mate.

Are you only concerned about gender, or does candidate's political positions matter? I was just reading John Chait's blog and caught this about Palin's support for Buchanan back in 1999:

"This isn't like supporting Buchanan in the GOP primary. When Palin was supporting him, Buchanan was running as a third (actually, fourth) party insurgent, appealing to conservatives who thought George W. Bush was too moderate. This suggests that she's not just a run-of-the-mill movement conservative but a hard-core right-winger."

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/08/29/sarah-palin-and-buchanan.aspx

Politically, its seems Palin would set women back decades and that's not mentioning the cynical tokenism of her selection. Is gender really the only thing that matters?

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
McCain's a politician. Obama's a politician. They made their choices on that basis. I'm not going to take it as an insult to women that McCain actually chose one for his running mate.

Are you only concerned about gender, or does candidate's political positions matter? I was just reading John Chait's blog and caught this about Palin's support for Buchanan back in 1999:

"This isn't like supporting Buchanan in the GOP primary. When Palin was supporting him, Buchanan was running as a third (actually, fourth) party insurgent, appealing to conservatives who thought George W. Bush was too moderate. This suggests that she's not just a run-of-the-mill movement conservative but a hard-core right-winger."

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/08/29/sarah-palin-and-buchanan.aspx

Politically, its seems Palin would set women back decades and that's not mentioning the cynical tokenism of her selection. Is gender really the only thing that matters?

I don't really care too much about her positions, Jeff. She may well be a hard-core right-winger (though I've never met one who supports gay rights). I'm just not insulted that McCain picked a woman. And I can't stand Jon Chait.

Bottom line: A woman on a major party ticket is meaningful to me and a lot of women. It doesn't mean we'll vote for John McCain. But it's meaningful. If you think she's so very unqualified, then just ignore her. I'm not sure why you care so much about it, but I can sure understand why I and other women find it exciting.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:
Bottom line: A woman on a major party ticket is meaningful to me and a lot of women. It doesn't mean we'll vote for John McCain. But it's meaningful. If you think she's so very unqualified, then just ignore her. I'm not sure why you care so much about it, but I can sure understand why I and other women find it exciting.

What kind of logic is this? If a candidate (gender doesn't matter) is unqualified I should ignore that candidate? Hell no. I am not going to sit by silently while an unqualified candidate attempts to get elected.

Of course I care. I care about this country. I care about the future. I don't want someone of Palin's views to be a heartbeat from the presidency.