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Other chances
Jun. 10th, 2008 12:00 amOne of the truly mystifying responses of those supporting Senator Clinton, in the wake of her concession, has been the assertion that Clinton's loss means it is not possible for a woman to become President. This post by Erica Jong at The Huffington Post is typical: "(L)osing my last chance to see a woman in the White House feels like shit."
Ms. Jong is, per Wikipedia, 66 years old. The Census Bureau says (NOTE: .PDF Adobe acrobat file at link), that a white woman of 65 had an average life expectancy of 20 years in 2004. That would kick us out to 2028, or five more Presidential election cycles from now.
Meanwhile, back in 2006, the White House Project identified "8 for '08" -- that is, 8 women who they believed could be considered seriously for President. (Yes, Senator Clinton was among them.) They were 4 Democrats, and 4 Republicans. It's a list that looks reasonable to me:
Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)
Mayor Shirley Franklin (D-Atlanta)
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
Governor Janet Napolitano (D-AZ)
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (R)
Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS)
Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
It should be noted Governor Sebelius is being mentioned as a Vice Presidential possibility for Senator Obama, which means by definition she's also a Presidential possibility.
Ms. Jong is, per Wikipedia, 66 years old. The Census Bureau says (NOTE: .PDF Adobe acrobat file at link), that a white woman of 65 had an average life expectancy of 20 years in 2004. That would kick us out to 2028, or five more Presidential election cycles from now.
Meanwhile, back in 2006, the White House Project identified "8 for '08" -- that is, 8 women who they believed could be considered seriously for President. (Yes, Senator Clinton was among them.) They were 4 Democrats, and 4 Republicans. It's a list that looks reasonable to me:
Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)
Mayor Shirley Franklin (D-Atlanta)
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
Governor Janet Napolitano (D-AZ)
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (R)
Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS)
Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
It should be noted Governor Sebelius is being mentioned as a Vice Presidential possibility for Senator Obama, which means by definition she's also a Presidential possibility.
