Can a Woman be President?

Driving to work one morning, I heard a discussion on the radio about whether a woman can handle the task of being the President of the United States. The discussion shocked and disillusioned me.

With the announcement of Hilary Clinton's formation of a Presidential exploratory committee to run for President in the 2008 Presidential election, the nation is holding its breath in anticipation of whether that day will ever come. A day that, 100 years ago, would have been considered impossible. Clinton, stating "I'm in. And I'm in to win," will forever change history http://www.hillaryclinton.com/feature/in/.

Listeners calling the radio show in response to the discussion appalled me. One male listener called in saying that women are too emotional to handle the task of the presidency stating that "women can't handle the same stress men can and do on a daily basis." My first response was "Who is to judge that?!" How can a man know how much stress a woman can or cannot handle? Does it apply to all women? Of course not! Needless to say, I was appalled.

The radio host supported the possibility of a female presidency by challenging the caller with questions like "could you tell your daughter that she could never be president of the United States because she, being a woman, is too emotional to handle the stress?" Surely enough, the listener responded with a Yes! He stuck to his opinion. This of course is fine...everyone has a right to their own opinion but what shocked me most was the reasoning and excuse behind why a woman should be excluded from presidency: emotionality.

As far as Hillary Clinton is concerned, according to the listener, she is also disadvantaged in the possibility of becoming president by having already been tainted by her previous experience at the White House. Having had the duty of a former First Lady, Hillary has already been tainted and influenced by the Clinton administration. So while having two drawbacks of being "emotional" as a woman and "tainted" as a former First Lady, Hillary's chances do not look too good.

The question, however, still remains....can a woman be president? Are emotions really the determining factor in deciding whether a woman can ever become the President of the United States? Can women handle stress less efficiently then men? Are we incapable of doing all that men can? These questions have been haunting women for centuries. In these coming elections, perhaps we will finally get the answers. Check this out http://www.hillaryclinton.com/

Let us know what you think! Write or comment.

Thanks,

Irina