by Elizabeth M Young

Created on: December 16, 2010

The answer to America's readiness for a woman president is not so much about gender as it is about a viable and supportable candidate who happens to be a woman. There are plenty of women who have had the intellect, the education and the experience to run for the highest office in the land, but the volatility and polarization of today's political scene makes any traditional analysis somewhat useless.

This is a time of the charismatic, not the qualified leader. Those who can fool most of the people at the right time are getting elected to lower positions with ease, without regard to gender. The stable and long held leadership positions are populated by the people who have made no big mistakes and who have loyal supporters on a local level. But even the established politicians are confronted with issues, false claims, cutthroat campaign tactics and other roadblocks to running a normal campaign that is based on the merits of the candidates.

Gender is becoming less of an issue than popularity, perceived character and charisma. It would seem that any person who can give an eye wink, change the subject when the question is too difficult, and dodge the press can easily gain the presidency without even being qualified. But when it comes to the presidency of the United States, the American voter tends to be more sober and serious.

A woman could win the White house if there was an unassailable past, no skeletons hanging in the current closet, and a viable and convincing set of promises about the future. It is likely that a qualified woman president would make less of a splash than an extremist president with a controversial past.

Another major factor is the timing of the campaign. Hillary Clinton might have won the presidency if she, instead of John Kerry, had been the candidate in 2004. But the mood in 2008 was adamantly against any Washington insiders, especially one who voted for the Iraq war, than it was in favor of  a woman president.

The mood of the nation at the time of the primary campaigns is the area that bears close watching, and there are few guarantees that any candidate can have certain expectations or behave in certain ways now that are sure to help them in two years. A candidate can take positions or make decisions that look profitable now, but that can be devastating to any chances at being president in two years.

As a result, it is difficult to tell what the situation, mood or ability of American voters will be in 2012, but there is no doubt that a woman candidate with the right history, presentation and qualifications could win.

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