Madame President?

Yesterday the USA Today had a poll showing Hillary Clinton leading the Democratic pack in the hunt for hte Presidential nomination, not that there is much of a pack, but that is beside the point. Yesterday, Chris Core on WMAL in Washington DC, discussed the possibility of Sen. Clinton or any woman being President.

On a personal level, the concept of a woman president is an idea whose time, I believe, has come. There have been many nations with women leaders, Great Britain, Israel, India and others. True, no super power has ever been led by a woman and as the only one left, the United States is the only, but also the best option.

The possibility of a female president in my lifetime excites me, but I wonder from whence will the lady come. To be certain, Hillary Clinton is the most likely candidate right now, and whether she admits it or not or the Democratic party admits it or not, she is running. But Hillary Clinton carries a lot of baggage with her, including a great deal of negative baggage from her time as First Lady. On the other hand, her recent moves to moderate her stances, means that she may be looking to distinguish herself from her husband and embrace the views of others.

So who is to stand in her way. Well, Condoleeza Rice comes to mind almost immediately among Republicans. Can you imagine a Rice/Clinton race. As Dick Morris points out, Rice may be the only obstacle to Hillary Clinton becoming the first woman President. Rice, in addition to being appealing to the GOP base, would accomplish much in her election. She would be the first woman AND the first African American elected president, although I think Rice would take more pride in the former rather than the latter. Being an African American woman would shatter so many myths and put to rest so much historical baggage, that American may finally start to move forward on racial issues.

Second, Rice's candidacy would undercut Clinton in three key demographics--blacks, Hispanics and women. No doubt about it, there is a significant enough segment of blacks who would vote for Rice merely because of her race, simiarly so would Hispanics. The woman vote would be split, with conservatives going to Rice and liberals to Clinton. The independent women could break either way. I doesn't take a political genius to understand that a Condi Rice candidacy would doom any Democratic run in 2008, regardless of who was on the Democratic ticket.

Rice's story is compelling, one of will and education triumphing over conditions. Growing up in the segregated South, Rice experienced and overcame so many more obstacles that Clinton. She, through sheer work and force of will, has entered a rarified atmosphere of national and world leaders, a testament to her smarts and toughness. There are efforts around to draft Condi Rice into the race in 2008, but that may take time.

Some Condoleeza Rice Sites

www.americansforrice.com
www.draftcondi.us