| I was reading this post suggesting that the treatment of Michelle Bachmann will make it less appealing for women to run for office. I initially bristled at the idea that it she was somehow mistreated by the press and the public. After all, I mean she held views that should have immediately made her inviable for the post. Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann may not have deserved to be treated as serious candidates, but as the author points out neither does Santorum (or Gingrich for that matter). Santorum is easily as wacky as Bachmann, and I think probably a less genuine person. Regardless of whether Bachmann was mistreated (and I think the author is persuasive that she was), I don't think there is any question that it would be harder for a female to seek office. So what is it going to take to get a serious run out of a female presidential candidate?
I fear that the reason that Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann might get worse treatment is that a successful female candidate is going to need a "hook." Even worse it seems like the hooks are going to have to be extremity. The thinking seems to be: If I wanted a middle of the road candidate with mainstream views, there are plenty of boring men I can vote for. If you want my attention as a female, you're going to have to be out in the weeds somewhere. The implication is of course that by default we'd rather vote for a man and you're going to need something special to move us from that position.
As an aside, I do subscribe to the notion that Santorum's lack of qualifications as a candidate played to his advantage in Iowa. He was so bad that he didn't get the spotlight until it was too late for the public to realize how unappealing of a candidate he was. Those desperate to vote for someone who wasn't Romney jumped on the bus without checking it out too closely. In a week they may very well regret that decision, but for the moment they just wanted to vote for someone who wasn't Romney.
We can only hope that a viable female candidate will get her due in a manner similar to Barack Obama --Charisma and gravitas. I only hope that she uses it a little more judiciously if she gets there. |
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