Helen Thomas

A Woman President – Why Not?

WASHINGTON -- Is the United States ready for a woman president? Yes, of course.

The only superpower in the world is lagging behind many countries that have ended the male monopoly on political leadership.

Chile has recently elected Michelle Bachelet as its first woman president. She's a pediatrician and a one-time political prisoner of former strongman Augusto Pinochet.

In Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was inaugurated last month as that nation's first woman president. In Finland, Tarja Halonen won reelection in late January as president.

Germany's new Chancellor Angela Merkel has already touched base with the leaders in Washington and Europe.

Two prominent American women who ran for the presidency but did not get to first base were Maine's Republican Senator Margaret Chase Smith in 1964 and New York's Rep. Shirley Chisholm, a Democrat, in 1972.

Without a doubt, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., the former first lady, is angling to return to the White House, but this time as boss.

There are signs that the Republicans are worried about this possibility. It's not exactly the kind of "swift boat" attacks that were waged in 2004 against Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry --that will come later. But Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, launched the opening attack last Sunday when he said on ABC-TV that Clinton "seems to have a lot of anger" and a "very left-wing agenda."

In response, Clinton suggested the Republicans wanted to divert attention away from their "devastating budget cuts" and "the nightmare" of the confusing prescription drug program along with "many other failures."

For now, Clinton is running for reelection to her Senate seat in New York, where she is considered a shoo-in. She also has accumulated a multimillion-dollar campaign war chest that will give her a good start in 2008.

Once regarded as a liberal, Clinton has been moving to the center. A sign post in that direction is her co-sponsorship with Sen. Robert Bennett. R-Utah, of a bill banning flag burning.

Even Democrats who would gladly support her for the presidency tend to pin a "can't win" label on her. But they are wrong.

As a freshman in the U.S. Senate, Clinton has proved that she is politically astute. If she wins the Democratic presidential nomination, she would have the benefit of the savvy advice of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, one of the smartest politicians in America.

Running for political office for the first time, Sen. Clinton wowed them in New York, even in conservative upstate counties, because she did her homework and campaigned diligently.

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the former first lady has shown she is a strong supporter of the military intervention in Iraq, calling for 80,000 more American troops to be sent there.

As for the Republican ticket in 2008, both President Bush and first lady Laura have said she's not interested in the post. Mrs. Bush has been pushing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to run for president. "She is terrific," Mrs. Bush said about Rice. "I'd love to see her run."

But Rice says "she is definitely not running," according to the first lady.

Rice has a handicap because of her assiduous cheer-leading for the disastrous war in Iraq. Before the U.S. attack, she appeared often on the Sunday talk shows to promote an invasion and warning that Saddam Hussein had a "smoking gun" that would turn into a "mushroom cloud."

None of that was true, of course, but we have heard no apologies from her.

Rice also has shown little interest in domestic affairs. Nor has she been engaged in the feminist battle for equal rights, the same rights that have helped her enormously in her career.

One thing is clear: A woman president could do no worse than some of her male predecessors -- and might do much better.