the pink politic

Independent Woman Part II

A country once so polarized that it systematically murdered its own citizens has now surpassed the United States in equality at the highest level.

Germany has a female chancellor.

This once ultra-conservative country should be applauded for finally doing something that we only talk, talk and talk about in the United States.

Angela Merkel is blonde, 51 years old and enjoys quiet privacy over media frenzy.

The same can be said for first female president of the United States, Mackenzie Allen.

The 45-year-old redhead and Commander-in-Chief of ABC’s same name primetime drama (also known as Geena Davis) chastised the White House press corps. for hawking her children on their first day back to school after her inauguration.

But something besides the mechanics of their bodies connects these two female leaders. Both embody characteristics that would alone change the fabric of their respective countries.

Allen is a political independent and Merkel is the first East German to become chancellor of Germany.

A male independent president or a male East German chancellor would both garner several headlines alone. Never has the United States had a non-partisan president; he has always had an allegiance to one of our major parties. And not since Germany became a whole entity again, after its years as a divided nation, has an individual from the east taken the most significant leadership role in the country.

It seems the recipe for a female leader is not purely genes or even political persuasion. She has to offer something more.

In an idyllic version of our crazy, mixed up world, merit alone would be reason enough for voters to elect a female president. But if that were the case, it would have happened already. A female president must, in effect, be Superwoman. Why elect a regular old woman when you can just elect a regular old man?

There is something super about both Mackenzie Allen and Angela Merkel. Not only are they women, but they are women who are not afraid to step beyond, through, over, under, or around party lines.

Many speculate that Hillary Clinton will be our first female president. But what is special, refreshing, super about Hillary? Like Condoleezza Rice, another front-runner in the first female presidential discussion, Hillary is too deep within the political system. And with Bill as the First Gentleman, well, talk about the old and familiar.

What about breaking out of the political spectrum altogether? Maureen Dowd one of the most politically informed women in the country, and she’s been a steadfast watchdog of the past two administrations twice a week, every week.

Or, if we insist on keeping our first female president within the political spectrum, what about Sandra Day O’Connor? The retired Supreme Court Justice will be without work within the next few months. And what she lacks in foreign policy knowledge, she’ll make up for in years of sound judicial experience.

And there are countless other possibilities.

Either way, to finally bridge the one glaring equality gap that remains in our country, we need a special kind of woman. A woman who - independent of a man, a party, or an ideology - can stir a nation.

posted by Tina @ 10:11 PM