Heard on the Bench: “America Isn’t Ready for a Woman President.”

By Jim Heffernan

I’ve spent most of my “bench time” this summer and fall at the Democrats office in town. Most of the conversations I had were with like-minded people who were great fans of Kamala Harris.

My new opening in my “Talking to Strangers” crusade is, “How are you feeling about the recent election?” I’ve tried it out 4 times, and mostly, I encounter disappointed people, like me. I did talk to one woman who was pleased with the election. She was my age and she told me, “America just isn’t ready for a woman president.”

I was surprised and dismayed by her reply, but history tells me it’s a true statement. I blame it on “coded-word” misogyny that neoliberalism uses to keep us divided. I hoped we would be better.

It’s more than party politics that made me want to see a woman elected as president. I truly believe male-dominated government poisons our nation. I think it’s a simple as men tend to be more “me” orientated and women tend to be more “we” orientated. Like the song says, “The rising of the women is the rising of the race.”

Whatever it is, it sure puts the United States in poor company among nations. Here’s a map where the red areas show the countries who have never selected a female leader. I would like to think we are socially more advanced than China, Russia, and the Middle East, but the map says no.