Hillary Clinton: Is America ready for a female president

By KEN SIBANDA
Updated: MARCH 2, 2016 19:25
In the coming July the Republicans will choose a most unlikely candidate to run against Hillary Clinton; the business magnate Donald J. Trump. Based on past voting patterns Donald Trump mirrors the conservative and reactionary elements the Republican party has nurtured under the “Tea Party” movement. This ultimately will give him the Republican nod.
Mr. Trump's message, manner of speech, lack of political correctness is what Tea Party goers have hinted as wanting on blogs, demonstrations and on the internet. What the movement wants primarily is a face, an individual who understands them and is not politically correct. This, the Tea Partiers have found amply in Mr. Donald J. Trump. Strange enough, it does not matter who the Republicans pick but who can beat Hillary Clinton.
From the attacks on journalists, Muslim immigrants and now the Pope; the only person Mr. Trump does not have fault with seems to be himself. It is a measure of presidential stature to accept criticism without being critical of the person making the criticism. Mr. Trump simple does not have this endearing quality.
The United States is not a company that merely needs jobs and to be cleaned up, it is a country with a multilayered history and various racial groups. It is not a white country; nor is it a black country. What Mr. Trump seems not to understand is that one cannot be president simply by winning the popular vote and the hearts of “Tea party” goers. It takes a different quality to rise to such a station; an understanding that all citizens have a shared right to country. The presidency is not a “my turn” resume builder; it is an office in which the incumbent must understand the very nature of the country and people he wishes to lead. The character and population of the United States has greatly changed in the past decade or so. While bravado and attack might work in business, especially in company takeovers, it seldom works in politics where you have to win the hearts of the voters.
On that note, if Mr. Trump wanted to make jobs he does not need the presidency of the Unites States to do so. This can be done as a business man, and is probably more doable as such.
What do Americans want after Obama?
They want a president who is not Obama ( the black man). This is circuitous but true. Some American voters, a good many, want to distance themselves as much away from Obama as possible, they felt this way at Bush in 2008. The American presidential election is as much a reaction as it is a selection.
American voters will have to embrace Hillary Clinton, despite her being a woman. Much of Hillary’s problems stem from this - being a woman. If Hillary was a man; a Trump-Clinton duel will be regarded as a joke. What is the evidence that some sexism is at play?
There is a couple of troubling pointers. For one, Mrs. Clinton is always never given credit for anything — always attacked; always never qualified. There is always something else to say about her, if its not her reaction to one scandal, its emails, her life in Arkansas, her life at Yale or that she said she wanted to be president in kindergarten ( and who doesn’t want their child dreaming in this way?). In the 2008 primary she lost to President Obama in the primaries largely because of the way Obama ran his campaign and also because the country was not ready for a woman president . A nation's progress is measured in several ways;  its treatment of minorities and the poor, its elevation of women based on merit and the justice system.
The United Kingdom’s first female Prime minister Margaret Thatcher came into power in 1979; Israel had Golda Meir, America is yet to follow in a similar path by putting aside the false pretenses that presidents or prime minsters are only men. And it is a pretense that damages, like envy, the very fabric of a society. Throughout history  presidents or prime ministers have been men or women.  Frankly, America desperately needs someone like Hillary more than she wants the presidency.
Ms. Clinton is the better candidate for president because she is more qualified and has presidential appeal; as much as other men have been better qualified, she should be treated equally in this regard. Mr. Trump is not qualified nor does he have the demeanor to be president of the United States.
Come presidential debating time, it will be such a contrast to see one candidate tested and measured by political experience, Hillary Clinton, take on the less experienced Donald J. Trump. And experience does count for something in p[olitics as it does in any field   (sports, entertainment, medicine etc).
It is the highest form of arrogance that a person can run for president without having held any political office in their life or some public service position ( military, city or state). Being successful in one area (business) of one's life does not automatically translate to being qualified to be president of the United States.
Ken Sibanda is an American Constitutional lawyer. Known affectionally as "Tecumseh," for his work in literature and film, including the novel - Hannibal the Great.


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