Almost two years away, chatter about a new president is already stirring.
But the names being tossed around aren’t your ordinary George, William, Theodore or Ronald.
Hillary and Barack, among others, have their eyes on the White House. For the Republicans, the name Condoleezza keeps coming up.
People are talking about their politics, but that’s not all people are discussing – two are black, and two are women.
After a streak of 43 white, male U.S. presidents, could No. 44 be black? Female? Black and female?
Each has a political agenda at a time when America seemingly hungers for a strong leader to redirect the war in Iraq, keep a careful eye on several international threats and look after a whole barrage of domestic issues, but it often seems media and citizens alike tend to focus on these candidates’ demographics just as much as their politics.
The question is often heard – is America ready for a … president? A frequent response – I don’t think Americans will vote for a … candidate.
The word missing from these statements is never “white” or “male.”
Perhaps it is time we, as Americans, begin to question whether those are really the questions we need to be asking.
Despite a long tradition of the elitism of the white male, there is no reason America should consider a woman or a racial minority incapable of functioning as our country’s top leader.
Women have served in Congress, on the Supreme Court and on a local level for decades.
In the last election, a record number of women won seats in the House of Representatives and Senate. We now have 65 female representatives in the House and 14 female senators.
So why, 138 years after the first female candidate and 88 years after women gained the right to vote, do we continue to ask if a woman could be president?
The inclusion of racial minorities in U.S. politics is a similar story.
Racial groups that have been viewed as unworthy of political mention have risen to a certain degree in Washington, D.C.
In 1984, the Rev. Jesse Jackson provided America with its first viable candidate outside the demographic mainstream, but not much has truly stirred in the 20 years since.
In Congress, there are 43 black senators and representatives, 25 Hispanics, six Asian-Americans and one American Indian.
So why is it, with numerous minority members of Congress and 24 years after a viable black candidate, that we continue to ask if a racial minority could be president?
It’s simple.
We, as Americans, question whether a woman or a racial minority could become president because we continue to say that it’s questionable as to whether one of these minorities would seal the deal. We say that “America” wouldn’t vote for such a candidate, and so we, the “America” of which we speak, don’t vote for them or support them.
In political science, it’s this thing called Duverger’s Law. It says that in a majority voting system, it is only natural to have a two-party system. With that two-party system in place, it is said that a voter will not vote for a person whom he thinks won’t win.
We don’t think women can win presidential elections.
We are plagued with the notion that “America” refuses to elect minorities.
We don’t think racial minorities can win presidential elections.
Robert Ford, a senator in the South Carolina State Legislature, said in an interview with Time Magazine that “we in the South don’t believe America is ready to elect a black president.”
When a black politician from a region with a high percentage of black voters doesn’t have faith in the potential of minority politicians, what do the rest of us think?
We have been deceived. The deception comes from our own notions of what “America” is. The underlying notion of white, male supremacy remains in our culture to such a point that even those who say they would vote for a minority do not do so because the falsity of white, male dominance is embedded in all of our minds.
The presidency is the ultimate representative of a republican nation like the United States.
If that were true of our nation, however, one would be confused to find women or minorities on the streets, in the workplace or even in Congress.
On the surface, it is easy to say that women and minorities have been overlooked for too long, while white men have had plenty of time to voice their opinions – 229 years by the time the next election happens.
At a time when we seem to be dividing economically, socially, politically and ethically, we need someone who can rebuild the esteem associated with the concept of America.
Certain things make a great president, and though this has never been proven in our country, those things are not gender or race.
We need to stop looking at presidential candidates as “women” or “black” and start looking at them as national leaders and representative of our nation.
It would be misguided to elect Hillary, Barack, Condoleezza or any other minority purely on the basis of demographic characteristics, but it would be a grave disservice to our country if we were not to vote for one of them for the same reason.
In the 2008 presidential election, we must vote for the one candidate who best embodies the need of the American people.
We must set stereotypes and biases aside and let the best man – or woman – win.