at first i was a bit skeptical about having a female president, but in the end everybody pretty much has the same issues for debate. I first thought it would be a problem to have a female president because of the issue that many people bring up about stress and emotion being too much to handle and that only men can handle this high power of a role. She's already a senator, has proven herself, and therefore i'm indifferent if she gets elected.
I have much experience with women working as leaders and heads of businesses, schools, and even student groups. My mom is a high school principal and does a wonderful job running her school. I personaly don't have a problem with a woman president as long as she is competent and will do a good job and I think that can be said for most of "our" generation. However, I don't believe that a the "older" generation will vote for a women as president because they are too stuck in their ways. Thats why it is so important to vote. In the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries voters between the ages of 18 - 29 made up more than 30% of they votes cast. In summary, if you want to see a woman president, its going to be our generation that puts her there!
The Washington Post had an interesting article about the role and response of young women voters to Hilary Clinton, looking specifically at the students from her all girls alma mater.
The article brings up the tension experienced by female voters who desire to have a woman president or at least want to support the efforts of a female contender, but who don't necessarily feel Hilary Clinton is the best candidate. The pressure to "support your kind" can lead to a one dimensional view towards voting and the type of essentializing we were discussing in class. Simply voting for Hilary because she is a woman is irresponsible.
talldecafhazelnutlatte- I agree with you on the idea that some people are just supporting Hilary for the fact that she is a women. I have also heard a lot of talk about this being an issue. I don't feel that it is ethical to choose a candidate based on their gender; you should vote for a candidate because you feel they will be the best for the position.
Bad_apples- I also agree with you on the issue of the older generation and it being hard for some of them to change their views on women in power.
I think Hilary is a great canidate for President. I also like Obama very much and was a big fan of Richardson. Either way I think we are living in a very cool time in terms of our political structure. I too have also had very strong female influences in my life and what I would be interested in knowing is if those who have had strong female influences in their lives are more supportive of having a woman for president. To me it seems to make sense that by having that woman role model you might be more inclined to vote in a way that reflects that. What do those who maybe didn't have a working mother or a real strong female figure think about it? Are you more inclined to vote for a man? Do you think that influenced you at all?
This can be as big of an issue as we or our media wants it to be. The fact is if she is the best canidate- then so be it. All of us must hold ourselves accountable when voting and realize that just because she is a woman doesnt mean she cant do it- nor does it make her any more qualified. Being a good leader is about surrounding yourself with good people, communicating and listening well. Gender should never play a role in deciding that.
There are some good points being made here about our generation voting in a woman as president and that the concern for voting Hillary in by women because she is a woman does seem to have some legitimacy to it. The older generation comment I think goes beyond just age, but literally across borders. The US continues to have a growing negative perception in global affairs. The challenge I see for any woman as our president is to not be completely and utterly dismissed by other world powers. Just because our generation as Americans allows us to consider and even promote a woman as our president, the world at large does not share our attitude. The presidency not only represents us at home, but the world abroad and in our current declining global position of power can we afford to make such a dramatic change at this point in time? I think given a little more time, events like Hillary running for presidency gives a strong signal that change will happen and to be ready and to support it. However, I don't think that we are in a position now for the world to respond to our selecting a woman president at this time.
I, myself, had never been skeptical of Clinton and her presidental running. I look up to her for being a woman who is going for what she wants to pursue. However, I do believe it's important to carry on some of the masculine characteristics of our previous male presidents, instead of showing too much of her femininity and showing tears such as she did before winning New Hampshire. Here is a great article on the subject that I encourage you all to read.
The article covers Clinton's save in New Hampshire while many wonder if it was the tears that caused her women voters to switch their votes. As much as I would love to see a woman president in office, I believe it is important for Clinton to to address her country as the strong leader she can be. Seeing a presidental candadite tear up leads me to wonder how she will handle issues at hand once elected. One issue that I would appreciate being addressed would be "What will Hillary Clinton do with the U.S. military if she becomes president?" Will her feminine characteristics overtake her actions?
There's no doubt (at least in my mind) that this election year is one of the most exciting in recent years, not only because of what I hope is a sharp turn away from President Bush's policies, but also because, if things play out like they appear they might, we will have our first female or non-white president ever. Obviously, people should not vote for either Clinton or Obama based solely on those facts, but still - I think it's nice that two candidates who are not white males are making such a stir. But back to the issue at hand. I honestly do not have a firm grasp on each individual candidate's ideologies and platforms, but I plan on researching more and more as the election draws nearer (I find the two year buildup to each national election a bit much, and I usually don't follow candidates until a few months before November). That said, I have no problem with a woman president whatsoever. I'd like to think that I consider people equals on all levels, and as long as Clinton shows herself to be a competent leader, I say go for it. Personally, my vote is going for Obama at this point, but that could change.
I personally love the idea of a female president. I think having someone from a different background other than white, male would be great. This would bring new perspectives to our country and could bring about major change. I believe women would gain more respect as a whole and would be more motivated to do bigger and better things. I still believe there is an unequal balance of power in this country between sex and I think Hilary sees that too and would put forth a great effort to change this imbalance. I am just excited a woman has even made it as far as she has in the presidential race and I wish her all the best.
Honestly, as a person I think it's great, but as a country I think we have a lot to worry about. Although it's upsetting, there are a lot of people (not always men, but a lot are) who see a woman in a position with so much power as a joke. Furthermore, I would worry about her getting bullied by the Senate and House. I believe Clinton has great ideas, but I think no matter what she will bo over-critisized constantly and it will be forever distracting from the important things going on. It would be a great step forward though, and only one person can be a first. Maybe it would set up our country to better handle it in the future!
I think a women is entirely capable of becoming President. While not every woman, or man for that matter, would be a good choice for president, gender should not matter. We need a president who will be strong and stand up for their people but they also need to have some emotion. I would not want a cold hearted person as president who only care about numbers looking good rather than a country where the people also feel good.
Personally, I wouldn't mind if Hilary got the presidency in 2008. However, I do not think our country as a whole is ready for that. A big concern I have, is when she would meet with other world leaders...particularly ones from countries who do not uphold women with respect. I feel she would have problems communicating with these world leaders, and vice versa. Which is sad. But, I do admire her for running and choosing to take a stand for what she believes, reguardless of her gender.
I agree with a lot of the comments being made about Clinton as being our possible president. My biggest concern is not that she has liberal views (as I am more conservative in many of my stands in politics) but more the respect issue. A previous post kind of touched on this, but I don't think the issue so much is if America is ready for a women president, but more if the world is. I think it is evident that many Americans, both men and women, liberal and conservative are looking a change and not afraid of bringing a women into power. However, I don't believe that the rest of the world is ready for a US female president. I think that, unfortunatly, there is a stereotype against women being too emotional, not strong enough to handle the position, etc. and leaders in other countries believe these stereotypes, as the women citizens of their country are not as liberated as able to enjoy the same rights as us here in the US. If other leaders don't respect the women in their country, what makes you think that they are going to respect the women leader of our country's thoughts, opinions and feelings on world affairs? Its disappointing to think that the lack of respect of other nations hinders our ability for history to be made by voting a women president into office, but unfortunatly, it is a reality that we have to take into account when choosing a leader.
I think it would be great to have a female president. Hillary Clinton is competent and capable of leading our country. She has a lot of great campaign issues, she wants to end the war in Iraq and she is going to do everything in her power to end it if and when she becomes president. I have wanted the war to end for a couple of years, so I am in favor of a presidential candidate who wants to take action. I believe she would do the best job she could and that's all we can ask of anyone, male or female.
I am a huge supporter of women in the White House. However, I do not want to see a woman elected this year. I think it will be essential to election of future females to have a strong leader in there the first time and hopefully ever time after that. I say this because politics is still a male dominated field. I think although a woman is more than capable of running this country it will take a lot of effort to convince skeptical individuals. So I think it will take the right candidate to step in and prove women can do. Arguably, we have not had the right male in office yet to be fair.
17 comments:
at first i was a bit skeptical about having a female president, but in the end everybody pretty much has the same issues for debate. I first thought it would be a problem to have a female president because of the issue that many people bring up about stress and emotion being too much to handle and that only men can handle this high power of a role. She's already a senator, has proven herself, and therefore i'm indifferent if she gets elected.
I have much experience with women working as leaders and heads of businesses, schools, and even student groups. My mom is a high school principal and does a wonderful job running her school. I personaly don't have a problem with a woman president as long as she is competent and will do a good job and I think that can be said for most of "our" generation. However, I don't believe that a the "older" generation will vote for a women as president because they are too stuck in their ways. Thats why it is so important to vote. In the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries voters between the ages of 18 - 29 made up more than 30% of they votes cast. In summary, if you want to see a woman president, its going to be our generation that puts her there!
The Washington Post had an interesting article about the role and response of young women voters to Hilary Clinton, looking specifically at the students from her all girls alma mater.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/10/AR2008011003941.html?referrer=facebook
The article brings up the tension experienced by female voters who desire to have a woman president or at least want to support the efforts of a female contender, but who don't necessarily feel Hilary Clinton is the best candidate. The pressure to "support your kind" can lead to a one dimensional view towards voting and the type of essentializing we were discussing in class. Simply voting for Hilary because she is a woman is irresponsible.
I don't think the link to the washington post article fit in that last post so here it is again:
Young Feminists Split: Does Gender Matter?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/
content/article/2008/01/10/
AR2008011003941.html
If you can't copy and paste that, just google the article title.
talldecafhazelnutlatte- I agree with you on the idea that some people are just supporting Hilary for the fact that she is a women. I have also heard a lot of talk about this being an issue. I don't feel that it is ethical to choose a candidate based on their gender; you should vote for a candidate because you feel they will be the best for the position.
Bad_apples- I also agree with you on the issue of the older generation and it being hard for some of them to change their views on women in power.
I think Hilary is a great canidate for President. I also like Obama very much and was a big fan of Richardson. Either way I think we are living in a very cool time in terms of our political structure.
I too have also had very strong female influences in my life and what I would be interested in knowing is if those who have had strong female influences in their lives are more supportive of having a woman for president.
To me it seems to make sense that by having that woman role model you might be more inclined to vote in a way that reflects that. What do those who maybe didn't have a working mother or a real strong female figure think about it? Are you more inclined to vote for a man? Do you think that influenced you at all?
This can be as big of an issue as we or our media wants it to be. The fact is if she is the best canidate- then so be it. All of us must hold ourselves accountable when voting and realize that just because she is a woman doesnt mean she cant do it- nor does it make her any more qualified. Being a good leader is about surrounding yourself with good people, communicating and listening well. Gender should never play a role in deciding that.
There are some good points being made here about our generation voting in a woman as president and that the concern for voting Hillary in by women because she is a woman does seem to have some legitimacy to it. The older generation comment I think goes beyond just age, but literally across borders. The US continues to have a growing negative perception in global affairs. The challenge I see for any woman as our president is to not be completely and utterly dismissed by other world powers. Just because our generation as Americans allows us to consider and even promote a woman as our president, the world at large does not share our attitude. The presidency not only represents us at home, but the world abroad and in our current declining global position of power can we afford to make such a dramatic change at this point in time? I think given a little more time, events like Hillary running for presidency gives a strong signal that change will happen and to be ready and to support it. However, I don't think that we are in a position now for the world to respond to our selecting a woman president at this time.
I, myself, had never been skeptical of Clinton and her presidental running. I look up to her for being a woman who is going for what she wants to pursue. However, I do believe it's important to carry on some of the masculine characteristics of our previous male presidents, instead of showing too much of her femininity and showing tears such as she did before winning New Hampshire. Here is a great article on the subject that I encourage you all to read.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article3160305.ece
The article covers Clinton's save in New Hampshire while many wonder if it was the tears that caused her women voters to switch their votes. As much as I would love to see a woman president in office, I believe it is important for Clinton to to address her country as the strong leader she can be. Seeing a presidental candadite tear up leads me to wonder how she will handle issues at hand once elected. One issue that I would appreciate being addressed would be "What will Hillary Clinton do with the U.S. military if she becomes president?" Will her feminine characteristics overtake her actions?
There's no doubt (at least in my mind) that this election year is one of the most exciting in recent years, not only because of what I hope is a sharp turn away from President Bush's policies, but also because, if things play out like they appear they might, we will have our first female or non-white president ever. Obviously, people should not vote for either Clinton or Obama based solely on those facts, but still - I think it's nice that two candidates who are not white males are making such a stir. But back to the issue at hand. I honestly do not have a firm grasp on each individual candidate's ideologies and platforms, but I plan on researching more and more as the election draws nearer (I find the two year buildup to each national election a bit much, and I usually don't follow candidates until a few months before November). That said, I have no problem with a woman president whatsoever. I'd like to think that I consider people equals on all levels, and as long as Clinton shows herself to be a competent leader, I say go for it. Personally, my vote is going for Obama at this point, but that could change.
I personally love the idea of a female president. I think having someone from a different background other than white, male would be great. This would bring new perspectives to our country and could bring about major change. I believe women would gain more respect as a whole and would be more motivated to do bigger and better things. I still believe there is an unequal balance of power in this country between sex and I think Hilary sees that too and would put forth a great effort to change this imbalance. I am just excited a woman has even made it as far as she has in the presidential race and I wish her all the best.
Honestly, as a person I think it's great, but as a country I think we have a lot to worry about. Although it's upsetting, there are a lot of people (not always men, but a lot are) who see a woman in a position with so much power as a joke. Furthermore, I would worry about her getting bullied by the Senate and House. I believe Clinton has great ideas, but I think no matter what she will bo over-critisized constantly and it will be forever distracting from the important things going on. It would be a great step forward though, and only one person can be a first. Maybe it would set up our country to better handle it in the future!
I think a women is entirely capable of becoming President. While not every woman, or man for that matter, would be a good choice for president, gender should not matter. We need a president who will be strong and stand up for their people but they also need to have some emotion. I would not want a cold hearted person as president who only care about numbers looking good rather than a country where the people also feel good.
Personally, I wouldn't mind if Hilary got the presidency in 2008. However, I do not think our country as a whole is ready for that. A big concern I have, is when she would meet with other world leaders...particularly ones from countries who do not uphold women with respect. I feel she would have problems communicating with these world leaders, and vice versa. Which is sad. But, I do admire her for running and choosing to take a stand for what she believes, reguardless of her gender.
I agree with a lot of the comments being made about Clinton as being our possible president. My biggest concern is not that she has liberal views (as I am more conservative in many of my stands in politics) but more the respect issue. A previous post kind of touched on this, but I don't think the issue so much is if America is ready for a women president, but more if the world is. I think it is evident that many Americans, both men and women, liberal and conservative are looking a change and not afraid of bringing a women into power. However, I don't believe that the rest of the world is ready for a US female president. I think that, unfortunatly, there is a stereotype against women being too emotional, not strong enough to handle the position, etc. and leaders in other countries believe these stereotypes, as the women citizens of their country are not as liberated as able to enjoy the same rights as us here in the US. If other leaders don't respect the women in their country, what makes you think that they are going to respect the women leader of our country's thoughts, opinions and feelings on world affairs? Its disappointing to think that the lack of respect of other nations hinders our ability for history to be made by voting a women president into office, but unfortunatly, it is a reality that we have to take into account when choosing a leader.
I think it would be great to have a female president. Hillary Clinton is competent and capable of leading our country. She has a lot of great campaign issues, she wants to end the war in Iraq and she is going to do everything in her power to end it if and when she becomes president. I have wanted the war to end for a couple of years, so I am in favor of a presidential candidate who wants to take action. I believe she would do the best job she could and that's all we can ask of anyone, male or female.
I am a huge supporter of women in the White House. However, I do not want to see a woman elected this year. I think it will be essential to election of future females to have a strong leader in there the first time and hopefully ever time after that. I say this because politics is still a male dominated field. I think although a woman is more than capable of running this country it will take a lot of effort to convince skeptical individuals. So I think it will take the right candidate to step in and prove women can do. Arguably, we have not had the right male in office yet to be fair.
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