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The
First Lady and Other Women in Politics As a nation we esteem or disparage the President of the United States for his abilities to govern, lead his party, and project an inspiring personality. I say “his” because we elect only men to be President. Every President, save one, came with a wife. We give her the semi-honorific title of First Lady, and we esteem or disparage her as well. Like it or not, she’s part of the deal. She must appeal to us, because unlike Orson Welles in Jane Eyre, the President can’t hide his wife in a locked room for four years. While he can ask a cabinet officer to resign, he can’t ask his wife to quit. I don’t think the country’s ready for a First Ex. Where am I going with this? Let’s look at what we seek or demand in a First Lady, the nation’s most powerful, unpaid non-elected official. After that, there’s a serious need to look at all women in all politics. In a surface way, liberals and conservatives differ in what they want in a First Lady. Here’s a brief exercise in pigeonholing: Job. I think liberals are more ready for “hard edged” professionals. For them, it’s OK that Mrs. Clinton is an attorney. For conservatives, it’s more comfortable that Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Nixon were essentially housewives. Looks. My guess is that flashy First Ladies (notably Jackie Kennedy and to some degree Hillary Clinton) appeal more to liberals. I think conservatives would trust more in a grandmotherly Barbara Bush or a dowdy Pat Nixon. Religion. Liberals would be suspicious of explicit religious declarations from a First Lady. We’re content to see clips of the First Family exiting the Washington National Cathedral on a Sunday morning. I think the conservative Religious Right would love to see a First Lady making straight-out statements about Jesus. Like and dislikes. Liberal First Ladies go sailing off Nantucket, while conservative First Ladies bake cookies. The left looks for adventure, while the right looks for comfort. Of course, this is all hopelessly overgeneralized. Further, there are numerous exceptions. Republican Elizabeth Dole held a cabinet position and now heads up the American Red Cross. Betty Ford was often more outspoken and sensible than her husband. And Hillary Rodham Clinton’s use of her middle name grates on many liberals and conservatives. Americans expect a First Lady of either party to: 1) look reasonably good, 2) appear bright but not intrusive, 3) appear not to influence policy decisions (even though she sleeps with the President, for Heaven’s sake!), 4) adopt a pleasant program of good works, 5) be a good ribbon cutter, and 6) travel well in foreign countries. She’s got to give up her day job. Also, it’s a big plus if she doesn’t speak to spirits or channel for Martha Washington. Well, all this is completely unrealistic and hypocritical. We’re asking Presidents’ wives to perform like overage Barbie dolls in the White House playset. This totally undervalues the First Lady and women in general. In the 1990 census, we had 121,239,418 men and 127,470,455 women. Subtract the 25.6% of both genders who were under 18, and there’s still a majority of women of voting age. So why is it that the 1995-1996 House of Representatives had ONLY 48 women Representatives (31 Democrats and 17 Republicans, if you’re interested)? Don’t we realize that if women voters wanted it, our House, Senate, and Presidency could potentially be 100% staffed by women? Women as voters do not assert their power. You can rest assured, therefore, that women are under-represented throughout government – at all levels, both elected and appointed. It is a rare exception that Nevada County has two women Supervisors. I’m beginning to think that we voters, including women, don’t like women in politics, and I don’t know why. It’s a shame, because if women were really there, they might change the country overnight. It may be that every man in America has repressed memories of getting his infant butt wiped too hard during a diaper change. So maybe we don’t vote for women. But what about women? Maybe there’s wage disparity and maybe there’s a corporate Glass Ceiling. So what? Women can still dominate in the voting booth. I’m glad we
have Pat Schroeder, Christine Todd Whitman, and Madeline Albright.
But where is our Indira Ghandi, Golda Meier, or Margaret Thatcher?
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