Should a Woman Be President?

This is another of those topics where the answer is short and simple: "it depends." This much I can say, that the US is ready for a change, we desperately need a change. Now we have to choose from the political arena a candidate who will outperform the others.

We know that all politicians lie to a certain degree. They have to resort to that "art" to capture as many votes as possible. Once elected though, they fail to deliver. The question is how much of the promises they will keep. There is no right or wrong. We live in a democratic society where everybody's opinion counts. No matter what a single voter's opinion is, the majority that favors one candidate will win. That is the prescription for being both great and bad. Also, the electoral system is outdated and impractical. Therefore, even democracy fails to prevail. The perfect example was when Al Gore lost the bid for White House, which reminds me of Mr. Bush. This reminds me of political disaster in every thinkable way. He is a man but if I got it right, totally unqualified to be a president.

United States is the country which "leads the world". Here we have "equal rights" for women. Then why is it that when a man like Mr. Bush fails to deliver, it is never questioned whether a man should be a president? We have seen female rulers in many third world or developing countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Philippines in the past. Even the United Kingdom has seen the brilliant administration offered by Margaret Thatcher. Why is it that those countries could be so progressive while US claims to be so and has never itself practiced it? That should be something for us to think about. However, that being said, I would say it is a major decision and we have to look at the whole package to decide for ourselves.

I am a strong advocate for equal rights for women, but that does not necessarily mean I will offer a biased recommendation for a woman for presidency. Considering the lackluster, alarming, arrogant, dumb (and any other negative things that you can think of) performance of our Mr. Bush, I think that America is ready for a change. We are crying for just anybody to rescue us from this "object" that is stuck in our nation's throat. It is about who is qualified to lead a nation. Given the people that are at the forefront of the presidential race, I would say Hillary Clinton will be the best selection, not because she is a woman, but because she has the most balanced package. Also, I wouldn't mind getting two presidents (one as the acting president and one as an adviser) serving at the same time. We elect them and they serve us. Why not get twice the service? So, it is not a matter of what the gender of the president should be. It is about what our expectations are, who is more qualified and more likely to address our concerns. We definitely do not want to see the repetition of an administration's manipulation and distortion of the law in every possible way to gain political advantage. We need somebody who can undo the damage and lead us back to the old glory.

At one point there was a possibility that Mr. Bloomberg would be an independent candidate running for the office, I wondered why? I know he has the experience, but does he have the moral commitment? A person who has belonged to all parties at one point or the other for political advantage and then when it was convenient, just switched or distanced himself for his own gain cannot be a leader. To me he is nothing but an opportunist. A political view without principle or loyalty does not sit well with my philosophy. I would have said the same thing if he had been a woman.

In the conclusion I would say it is not about the gender. It is about the quality, appeal and qualification. It can be either a man or a woman. The question is not should a woman be president? Let me rephrase the question to say why not a president be a woman if she is qualified? Right now we have too many candidates to choose from. Since we do not have one single man at the moment who can prove that he can lead the country in a way where the majority will support him, and we have a female candidate, Sen. Clinton, why not trust the people? Let us allow all of the candidates a fair chance and then if she wins, let it be. A president is a leader and should not be elected out of pity anyway.