That is the ditzy blonde that portrayed the ditzy Irma on "My Friend Irma."
Posted on 01/27/2006 9:19:20 AM PST by pissant
Last week there was a virtual coup in the realm of global women's leadership. Chile elected its first female president, Michelle Bachelet. Liberia swore in its first female president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who, incidentally, is also the African continent's first female president. Meanwhile, here in the United States, Geena Davis, the United States' first female president on television, won a Golden Globe for her role as President McKenzie Allen on ABC's "Commander in Chief."
Female heads of state are not a 21st-century invention. For years, we have seen some women -- Margaret Thatcher in England, Indira Gandhi in India, Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan and Angela Merkel in Germany -- ascend through political dynasties, monarchies or the parliamentary system. These women have broken barriers and often have been inspirational leaders, but they are among an extremely small and elite group.
Only 11 of the 193 nations, including Liberia and Chile now, have a woman in the top position. The glaring omission from this list is the United States, indisputably the world's leading democracy.
The recent elections of Bachelet, Johnson-Sirleaf and Merkel serve as a wake-up call to the United States and may hold the most important lessons for us about when and why a woman may be president here soon.
These women, with no political coattails on which to ride, have broken through the ultimate glass ceiling and are deemed effective leaders by demonstrating toughness and competence without losing their appeal -- the traditional barrier to women's political leadership at the highest levels. Bachelet and Johnson-Sirleaf endured painful experiences, such as imprisonment and exile, and transformed them into a passion to unify and bring their countries to a new era of peace and prosperity.
Johnson-Sirleaf, a former World Bank economist, known as the "Iron Lady" from her years opposing the policies of Charles Taylor and two periods of imprisonment, overcame 22 candidates and conquered what many considered to be her main opponent, a male-dominated culture. In her inaugural address, she promised her country "far-reaching reforms -- constitutional reform, land reform, judicial reform, civil-service reform, devolution of power," which is no small feat for a country deeply divided after 14 years of civil war.
Bachelet, a 54-year-old physician and single mother, won 53 percent of the vote in ultra-conservative Chile. She was tortured and imprisoned by Chile's former military junta. She is the first woman to be elected president of a major Latin American country who did not come to power because of marital ties. "Who would have said, 10, 15 years ago that a woman would be elected president," she said as she laid out her agenda to address a range of social issues, including poverty, public heath, housing and education.
Merkel, born behind the Iron Curtain in communist East Germany, has been in office less than four months and already has shown her toughness and authority by saying that Germany will not be intimidated by Iran's refusal to disarm their nuclear program and calling on President Bush to close Guantanamo Bay.
According to a Roper Public Affairs poll, nearly 80 percent of Americans are ready for a female commander in chief. The poll also revealed an interesting shift in the public's perception of women in non-traditional roles. More than half thought a woman would do as well as a man in foreign policy, homeland security and the economy. This last new mark of acceptance probably owes a great deal to the visible female national security leaders of the Clinton and Bush administrations, with both Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright serving as secretaries of state.
Perhaps we stand on the brink of a turning point here at home. First lady Laura Bush has called on Rice to run, and there is a widespread expectation that Sen. Hillary Clinton will, as well. We may soon have an opportunity to see what happens when two women -- who have proved their ability and authority -- compete for the presidency. Their simultaneous candidacies would begin to normalize females in the race and would allow us to choose a leader based strictly on her ability, not gender.
Unfortunately, the closest we have come to seeing a female commander in chief is on television. Yet the possibility is far from fiction. If the elections of Bachelet, Johnson-Sirleaf and Merkel serve as real examples, the international acceptance of women leaders winning national races is clearly gaining momentum.
The question is whether the United States will continue to lag behind, watching the rest of the world define 21st-century leadership, or we will finally live up to the true spirit and meaning of democracy.
We had one.... Buchanan.
Not the first. Patty Duke played one in the '80s.
(polite cutesy)
Thank you!
Thankyouverymuch!
LOL!
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And Pissy can drive her around in his chick car as she waves to the masses of her adoring FReeper fans!
HOLD on! I'm not sure if pissants qualified to operate a keyboard, much less a car!
Can't we at least have tryouts?
Oh! Or maybe even a 'Survivor' type of driving test? :)
Lol! You're so right Mama T. I mean how many times has he crashed his tricycle this week! I swear, that boy has a death wish! We'll find another driver and let Pissy be in charge of handing out flyers or something. He can't do too much damage that way!
If you want the female vote, you'll need to be seen with me. ;o)
OK by me as long as she's not a lawyer.
And if I want the male vote, I'll definitely have to be seen WITHOUT you!
Guess that just leaves me kinda screwed, don't it?
(wink, wink. nudge, nudge :)
The pity vote? Lol!
Wanna BET?
He'd probably have to hospitalized for massive paper cut injury
Gotten from stripping naked and rolling around in 'em!
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For a driver? HMO....
I know!
Jackie Chan!
(grin)
Lol! Well, that's why I nominated you, Mama! You're the smart one. Paper cuts - hahahaha! I guess poor Pissy is out of a job!
That is the ditzy blonde that portrayed the ditzy Irma on "My Friend Irma."
Gee another female member of "feminist majority" writing articles pushing a Hitlary presidency.
Let's see now, we are supposed to elect our president according to world trends, in order to appear "progressive"?
I'd be happy if the next ten presidents in a row were women with the qualities of a Janice Rogers Brown or an Ann Coulter, or others like them.
"I'd prefer an unmarried man as president...for a change"
Janet Reno is available...but is Reno married?
We can make him Executive Food Tester and General Jester.
That way, if he falls down and hurts himself, we won't feel too terribly bad when we all laugh out loud!
Brilliant! I was thinking almost the same thing!
I thought we could put him in a chicken suit and he could be your mascot! Lol! I think your idea of jester is PERFECT though, M'lady! Jester it is!!!!
Merkel seems pretty good (competent and honest, at the very least) and Thatcher was certainly one of the best world leaders in the late 20th century.
She might as well just say "Vote for Hillary or you're a bigot, but you might want to question her credibility because Merkel is not the German head of state.
I love Laura Ingraham's playing of the clips of that turd. You won't get such sappy dialogue from a Lifetime movie.
Funny. She talks about "McKensie Allen" as if she actually was real, or meant something, but omitted from her list of female heads of state any mention of Golda Meir. No bias there, not even unconscious bias. Dumb media bitch.
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