I beg to differ, NoBama. Up through the 1960s, hard news reporting was definitely considered a man’s occupation. And big-city newsrooms were a macho preserve. It wasn’t unusual for manly reporters and editors to keep a flask of liquor stashed in their desk drawers.

I think it’s more helpful to look at how the culture as a whole is evolving… and not get hung up on the presidency.

After all, Speaker of the House is one of the most powerful political positions in the United States… but Nancy Pelosi gets trashed here like nobody’s business.

Is it your contention there aren’t a sufficient number of women in this country whose qualifications merit appointment to his cabinet in the face of the five countries Susan mentioned above which have/had heads of their government? Wouldn’t this imply American women are inferior to women in other countries or the other countries elect inferior heads of state? If you assume we are equal in intelligence and ability, what is the reason for the inequality in employment? And, why are successful women so often referred to in a derogatory way? For example, the statement in the media claiming Hillary Clinton attained her position out of pity related to her husband’s infidelity. Another example is the treatment of Anita Hill during the confirmation of Justice Clarence Thomas. Statistically, if all things are equal, fifty percent of the population should be represented by close to that number. The same logic can be applied to any segment of the population which is why Affirmative Action was a necessary component of laws forbidding discrimination. The real problem, UBM, is a lack of desire by the “old boys club” to recognize the discrimination since the status quo is in their own interest. Sexual harassment and sexism is endemic in our society and refusing to recognize it doesn’t make it go away.It is especially prevalent in the Black community and some fundamentalist evangelical groups. Obama is a grown man (at least in age), but the music he likes and his sexist attacks on Hillary are proof of of his lack of respect for women.

however you make the good point the “women’s work” should be valued equally with “man’s work.” the reason that it is not valued equally is because women themselves are not valued equally with men. it will probably be a long time before that changes significantly in this country.

i worked in the mining industry for a while, which has very few women (outside of secretary type positions), and i can tell you that yes, not very many women go into mining in the first place, but there is a horrendous amount of negative attitudes toward women (women who are outside of “their place,” anyway) in this industry. this would tend to limit the advance of women in the field, and convince many of them to leave it all together.

btw, the journalism field in no way shape or form compares to the “macho-man” type of occupations where sexism is much more blatant. i think the macho attitude certainly applies when it comes to a woman aspiring to hold the ultimate “man’s job,” i.e. the presidency.

quotas aside, the treatment of hillary and sarah palin during the past election was disgraceful, while obama got the red capet rolled out for him from before the primaries even began. this is undeniable.

on the one hand, it’s scary; i mean, would she justify these kind of restrictions on women if they were to occur in the US? at the same time, it’s almost a kind of reverse racism; we know full well that if some white, american christian group were to treat women the same way, people like ms. wolfe would go absolutely ballistic; but those poor brown people, well, they don’t know any better.