Will life change if the 44th president is a woman? MORE asked some opinionated women who've seen plenty of firsts to imagine the early days of a Hillary future.
By Deborah Siegel
January 2008
Linda Hirshman, author of Back to Work: A Manifesto
Inaugural Report
January 20, 2009
"President-elect Hillary Rodham Clinton walked down Pennsylvania Avenue this morning, in an impeccable black wool pantsuit, her buttery suede Manolo Blahniks tapping out a staccato rhythm as background music to history.
"Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, especially chosen to administer the oath of office, in place of the traditional Chief Justice, did not produce a Testament, Old or New. Instead, she pulled out a tattered copy of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique and held it to the new Commander in Chief to swear her oath upon. "I swear," Hillary intoned, echoing the words of forty-three preceding American Presidents and became the first woman President of the United States.
"When the newly inaugurated Chief Executive approached the podium to begin her Inaugural Address, her daughter Chelsea, standing to one side, reached in her pocket and handed her mother a soft, knitted Mary-Tyler-Moore-style beret. President Clinton put it on, looked at the audience with a wide grin, pulled off the cap and threw it into the air, where a gust of wind picked it up and blew it up and up until it disappeared into the sky."
Jane Swift, acting governor of Massachusetts, 2001-2003
"As a Republican, I worked hard for my party's nominee, Senator John McCain. Despite being disappointed with the outcome, when Inauguration Day came, I'd have to smile to at the picture of a woman raising her right hand over the Bible instead of holding one in place for her husband. It hit me that my three daughters will never remember a time when a woman wasn't President of the United States. My eldest may vaguely recall my own stint as a state's chief executive -- maybe, if we remind her with photos -- but this enormous milestone is indelibly imprinted on her and her sisters' minds. The frustrations and fears of generations of women dissolve with one oath.
"Yet, when such a large amount of glass shatters, someone is bound to get hurt. The same old (sexist) questions hang in the air, along with the first strains of "Hail to the Chief." Is she up to the job? Is she tough enough? Is she smart enough? Is this just Bill redux with a female face? (It's two for one, have you heard?) As women, it's time to hold our fire. It's time to watch our sister's back -- at least until we can weigh the true merits of her presidency. No blank checks, but no gratuitous swipes either. Our daughters' inheritance is at stake."
Dee Dee Myers, first female press secretary (1993-1994), author of Why Women Should Rule the World: A Memoir
The 44th President's First Cabinet Meeting
"I'm glued to my television. Three, four, five. I count, as the camera pans the oversized oak table in the Cabinet Room of the White House. Nine, ten. Eleven women at the table! I can hardly believe my eyes. A reporter explains that this will be President Clinton's first cabinet meeting, just one day after her historic inauguration. But I am less interested in the words than the pictures. Eleven women! More than half the cabinet! And the sight of them sitting in the big, brown leather chairs, each with her name and title engraved on a brass plate fastened to the back, gives me a thrill.
"Not just half the cabinet, but half the Big Four -- the powerhouse positions claimed by the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Treasury and the Attorney General. They will flank the President and Vice President at the center of the table -- and at the very center of power.
"I went to cabinet meetings during the other Clinton presidency, and there were nowhere near as many women in the room -- not at the table, not among the senior staff seated along the walls, not even among the reporters recording the event for history. All the sudden the click, click, click of digital cameras interrupts my reverie, and a split second later she strides into the room. Madame President.
"If nothing else happens at the meeting, so much will already have been accomplished, and I'm surprised by how satisfied, how inspired, I feel as I reach for the remote and turn down the sound. This moment is about pictures -- and I love what I'm seeing."
Pepper Schwartz, author of Prime: Adventures and Advice on Love, Sex, and the Sensual Years
"After Hillary is elected, she will realize that male presidents have been too freaked out about their own sexuality to help others. She however, having had to think long and hard about how sexuality has affected her personal and political life, will be ready for some national action on the topic. Given her personal experience with a sexually undersocialized husband, she will correct two administrations of neglect and opposition to sex education and make it a serious priority. She will instruct the national Institutes to make funding for various kinds of sex research a priority and she will hold a summit on national sex education to see what is the best way to help our country, and the world, help people understand their bodies, psyches, and sexual health. While she might be tempted to make her spouse chair of this meeting (as penance for past errors in judgment and knowledge), she will resist that impulse."
Janet Holmgren, President, Mills College
"During her first 100 days, building upon the platform endorsed at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, President Hillary Clinton emphasized basic human rights in this country and worldwide to food, water, health, education, a clean environment, and freedom from violence (peace not war). She was cautious -- not splashy -- and fiscally middle-of-the-road. Her appointments included Claudia Kennedy as Secretary of Defense, Laura Tyson as Secretary of Treasury, and Michael Bloomberg as Secretary of State. Working alongside Secretary of Education Ruth Simmons, President Clinton passed legislation guaranteeing an increase in federal funding for access to higher education and interest-free student loans for all Americans who give at least five years service to education or healthcare in high-need settings after college. We expunged the notion of "First Lady" from our consciousness, and men and women wore pants forevermore."
Gloria Feldt, Former President, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
"I was sure the first woman president would be to the right of Dick Cheney, that she'd appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade, and that we'd later find out she herself had had an abortion for tangled reasons that would rival Larry Craig for hypocrisy. The anti-woman woman -- like Nixon going to China. So imagine my delight that we've got Hillary as our first! You can call her 'establishment' all you want, but believe me, the establishment never had cleavage.
"You know, it really does make a difference when it's a woman you're talking to. It changes everything in big and in subtle ways. Like the time I met with Attorney General Janet Reno about protecting reproductive health clinics from violence. I had one of those embarrassing moments when I needed to get to the restroom and find a tampon -- right away. I excused myself, ran out of the room, and then smiled to think how okay it was to say, 'I'm having personal issues and have to excuse myself.' Imagine if had it been a few years later and I was meeting with John Ashcroft.
"Here's what I'm suggesting to the president at my meeting with her next week: Free tampons in every White House restroom -- no, wait, in all public restrooms and covered by our new universal health insurance. And let the famous cackle rip, so everyone gets used to smiling and, yes, laughing more. Women (as other traditionally oppressed people) exhibit more facial expressions than men. That's because women are more empathetic as a survival mechanism. And empathy is the survival mechanism the world needs most right now."
Lynn Harris, author of Death by Chick Lit
"Pumping rooms! She will soon require all employers, from investment banks to convenience stores, to have nice, comfortable pumping rooms for nursing mothers. All employers except Hooters. Because once people see a woman in the White House, Hooters will go out of business."
Pat Schroeder, President and CEO, Association of American Publishers, former Congresswoman from Colorado, considered a run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988
"Everyone remembers the Miss America pageants where all the contestants say they wish for 'world peace.' How fabulous that Hillary is able to deliver 'world peace' even though she didn't have to campaign in a bathing suit! Americans have been shocked by how the rest of the world reacted to us under the previous Administration. President Bush managed to re-channel all the world's good will after 9/11 into raging ill will. What a relief that Hillary and Bill are already known leaders throughout the world. They have everyone's home phone number in their Rolodex. It's so nice to see the return of America's good will."
Marie Wilson, President, The White House Project
"When we wake up on January 21st, 2009, women are going to feel different. Immediately, we will feel more respected in our public and private lives. Just as tennis hero Billie Jean King had a huge effect on women on and off the courts after she won her 'Battle of the Sexes' match, having a woman in our highest office will make us walk a little taller. That sense of respect will help us excel in our work, and encourage us to have the confidence to lead in our own lives. Seeing is believing: Women will be more likely to step into leadership in our communities and government after we've watched a woman win the presidency.
"Other countries will approach us differently. When a foreign leader visits our (woman) president, he/she will always sure to bring along women as part of the team. As a result, we will see more women in the Oval Office than we ever imagined!
"Women will benefit of course, but real change is also going to come for men and boys. Just as Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work allowed men to be public fathers, and the television series Commander in Chief gave boys permission to see their mothers as leaders, having a woman president will ultimately change the way men and boys walk through the world, in a very positive way."
Nell Merlino , a creator of Take Our Daughters to Work Day, founder of Count-Me-In For Women's Independence
"On Hillary's watch, women will go from bootstrapping to building empires. No longer waiting in lines for the ladies' room or the boardroom, they'll unleash an unprecedented wave of economic growth. On Hillary's watch, one million women entrepreneurs will reach $1 million plus in revenue -- creating a minimum of 4 million new jobs, spectacular product/service innovations, and adding an additional $700 billion to the economy. Everyone will have health insurance. All Americans, not just the wealthy, will benefit from the Hillary Boom."
Margaret Cho , comedian
"What will Hillary do? We know what she'll do; Hillary's already served eight years as president. Back then, Bill was obviously multitasking.''
Daphne Merkin, literary critic and essayist
"I see whole new vistas of discussion in our popular culture. But this could backfire. Men, poor dears, are easily threatened. And I'm not sure women are prepared to identify with someone of their own sex who is so overtly ambitious. I predict cascades of chat and comment, with some of the least receptive responses coming from women."
Kellyanne Conway, GOP pollster
"The 'woman's touch' would be as tough to see in her White House as it is with her. No shades of pink or cookie-baking fun. If Chelsea's life choices permit, the Grandmother-in-Chief could convert the Lincoln bedroom into a nursery. But all eyes will be on Bill, the permanent houseguest, as he shuffles between kitchen cabinets and cabinet meetings.''
Mary Catherine Bateson, author of Composing a Life
"Dear Hillary:
"Well, there you are, not just back in the White House but newly in the Oval Office. And here I am cheering for you.
"Some of my friends think you will be the 'women's president.' But not me. You proved as Senator from New York State that you were prepared to represent all the people of the state, and I'm expecting you to be a president for all Americans (although some may take a while to realize it). Although I know you will work to keep the armed services strong, I also know you will not forget the human costs of war for civilians, especially for children. And similarly, I trust you to restore and preserve a safety net for the poor even while you protect and strengthen the economy.
"Chelsea is grown up -- and the fierce protectiveness you felt for her as a White House child can now be turned to all the children of America, whose future is under threat. Indeed, to all the children of the world. And Bill, who did a great job as president, isn't going to be wasting his time redecorating the White House. I hope you put him to work refurbishing the national image -- restoring some of the respect America has lost during the last eight years.
"I have been mulling over the question of how a challenge like this one fits into a life story. When you celebrated your 60th birthday during the primary campaign, I thought of how you will be able to inspire the millions of Americans who are determined to make a meaningful contribution into their 60s and beyond. You're in that stage of life I call the Atrium: an open space, full of light and the opportunity for creative choices. You have the combination of youthful energy and long experience that was rare in the past, and you can say to all Americans over 60 what John Kennedy said to us when we were young: 'Ask not...'
"This is a transition that many of us are making as our children grow up and move on: We shift attention from our own households and families and jobs to the broadest possible stage. We must broaden our attention and care for the entire planet. Never before has it been so true that the future of the entire human species is woven together: We not only face the hazards of climate change and the humanitarian crises it will trigger, we face the question of whether nations will succeed in cooperating to mitigate the dangers and to share limited and dwindling resources equitably -- and by doing so increase them. The world needs the U.S. president to be a genuine leader, not a policeman.
"Once, I felt that you overestimated the importance of actual legislation in solving problems and underestimated the importance of communication. But now, it seems to me that you know how the two fit together and will manage both, using the words you speak to the nation to solve problems, reduce enmities, and inspire the imagination. Waiting to hear your voice -- a woman's voice -- from the Oval Office, I expect it to be both firm and lucid, both resolute and caring.
On your side,
Mary Catherine Bateson"
Suzanne Braun Levine , author of Bella Abzug and MORE contributing editor
To Be Opened on Your First Day on the Job
"Dear Hillary:
"Wow. You are here. I hope you are alone, so that you can enjoy a giggle of disbelief -- and glee. You really did it. Your election confirms that women have emerged far from those demeaning 'You've Come a Long Way, Baby' cigarette commercials of the '70s.
"There were times during the campaign when I was impatient with your deliberate, calculating, and very careful strategy, but I understood that you had to prove that you were the man for the job. You didn't miss a beat. I admired the way you parried questions about how a woman candidate is different from a man. On The View, for example, you quipped, 'It takes me longer to get dressed,' knowing perfectly well that everyone listening would flash on John Edwards' hair issues. It was almost as if you had said there is no difference.
"Well, you won. They can't unelect you if they discover that there is a difference between you and a man. So it's time to liberate your Inner Bella Abzug. I am confident that your Inner Bella has been there all along, starting with your fiery Wellesley graduation speech and your work with the Children's Defense Fund, but now that you have won power, it is time to begin speaking truth to power. That is what Bella did every day of her life -- which took her through every social justice movement of the 20th century -- labor, civil rights, anti-war, feminism, the environment and economic empowerment, international cooperation. All of those causes await you here in the 21st century.
"You and she have a lot in common. Both of you are smart, fierce, relentless, and beloved by your friends. You are devoted mothers and forceful lawyers. You both have hearty laughs. Your record in the Senate and Bella's in the House reflect a great ability to analyze issues, make deals, persuade opponents, and build coalitions. Though, Bella never held back. She did it with more passion, more yelling, more uncompromising fortitude, more tireless drive. She went out on a limb again and again. Sometimes she stood alone. But people took her seriously. Even when they made fun of her.
"Of course, the conventional wisdom is that her style kept her from getting further than she did -- she lost her race for the Senate seat you now hold -- and certainly her day was a much more politically tumultuous one; you will have to deal with a more cynical political climate. So I'm not suggesting that you adopt her style, just her courage and forthrightness. You have your own style of leadership.
"So Hillary, I congratulate you on skill at running with the boys, but now you are on your own. It's time to liberate your Inner Bella and to live up to the role model you eulogized when she died in 1998: 'As I travel around the world I am always meeting women who introduce themselves by saying "I'm the Bella Abzug of Kazakhstan," or "I'm the Bella Abzug of Uganda." Now what these women are really saying...is that they too are pioneers, that they are willing to take on the establishment and the institutions of their society on behalf of the rights of women, but not just that, on behalf of what families need, on behalf of peace, on behalf of civil society...I know what they really mean is that they'll never give up.' Go Hillary!
Suzanne Braun Levine"
Seema Gahlaut , South Asia director, Center for International Trade and Security, University of Georgia
"Three months into the Hillary presidency, I'm heartened by the focus of the new administration on public hearings regarding the portable, tax-credit based healthcare program. It is good to see the supporters of this program -- private and public foundations and citizens groups -- go all out in debunking public fears that this overhaul will lead to socialized healthcare with all its attendant inefficiencies. I'm also pleased that the president has established a 'smart growth' task force which will work with the governors of all states to establish guidelines that regulate urban sprawl, and that she has attempted to link allocation of federal transportation dollars to state efforts that incentivize green manufacturing projects.
"But despite all the pre-election discussions and speeches about nuclear proliferation, I do not see the president as truly committed to either multilateralism or nonproliferation. I am troubled to see that the president has only addressed those issues in this debate that do not go outside the traditional comfort zone of the U.S. military and security establishment. On this, she has let us down."
Blanche Wiesen Cook , historian, The Graduate Center, City University, New York, author of 3-volume Eleanor Roosevelt biography
The First 100 Days
"With our constitution in tatters and our Enlightenment heritage in a state of siege, HRC, the U.S.'s first woman president, issued a series of Executive Orders during her first 100 days that restored habeas corpus, the rule of law, and our right to know. She appointed Michael Ratner as Attorney General and set up a special office enabling the staff of the Center for Constitutional Rights to restore the best of America's legal traditions. The 20th-century advances in liberty and justice shredded during the dastardly days of her predecessor were restored.
"Armed by her reading during the campaign trail of Laura Flanders' Blue Grit: True Democrats Take Back Politics, HRC was determined to follow in the footsteps of great American leaders who understood, as FDR said in 1940 warning, 'We will have a liberal democracy, or we will return to the dark ages.' She understood that the world's people, connected as never before through global communication networks, required an end to violence, tyranny, and occupation. On Day 21 she passed a transfer amendment that helped to end the global rule of an arms industry engorged by greed and violence; HRC redefined 'terrorism' as a crime, the concern of legal systems of justice everywhere, to be pursued by law, not war. Nuclear proliferation, the era of toxic poisons and corporate contamination, and the rule of the oil oligarchies would soon after come to an end. A new era of sustainable development and a re-fortified United Nations dedicated to world community and the real needs of all earth's citizens was ushered in.
"During those first months in office, HRC made several key appointments that changed the course of history. As a result of appointing Angela Davis to head up a committee to introduce education, training, mental health, and all-purpose reentry programs for former prisoners, a great variety of serious education and rehabilitation programs replaced brutal incarceration. With Michael Moore, Secretary of Health, in charge of upgrading healthcare and ending the tyranny of pharmaceutical corporate control, Happy American Health Access (HAHA) replaced the Medical Education and Supply Industry (MESI). After that, no family farm, home, or business was ever lost again because of medical bills.
"Finally, HRC appointed her husband 'The Eleanor Roosevelt Ambassador for Human Rights.' Dedicated to the vision of Eleanor Roosevelt, he worked with the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI) to ratify and redeploy the Social and Economic Covenant of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with as much commitment and power as an army.
"With these changes, HRC jump-started a new generation of peace with justice, globalism with harmony, and happiness through care, concern, and respect for all the world's citizens."
Letty Cottin Pogrebin, founder of the National Women's Political Caucus
What Will the First 100 Days Look Like If Hillary Clinton Wins? -- A Frankly Feminist Prediction
"Big change can happen fast! Remember how Hillary got us out of Iraq, rescued the right of habeas corpus, banned illegal wiretapping, and lifted the ban on stem cell research -- all during the first few months? Within 100 days, America felt like a new country or, rather, like America again.
"That woman knew how to move. She filled cabinet and agency slots without delay because she knew where the talent was -- especially female talent: Susan Hockfield, President of MIT and a preeminent neurobiologist, as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Judith Kaye, chief judge of New York as U.S. Attorney General. Wendy Kopp, who started TEACH for America, as Secretary of Education. Susan Berresford, retiring President of the Ford Foundation, as Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts.
"And this, I thought, was brilliant: Her first week, recognizing the power of symbolic acts, President H.R. Clinton hosted a festive White House gathering to honor 'female firsts,' women who paved the way for the first woman president. In attendance were Geraldine Ferraro, first women to run for VP on a major party line; Carol Moseley Braun, first African-American woman Senator; Nancy Pelosi, first woman Speaker of the House; Muriel Siebert, first woman to own a seat on the N.Y. Stock Exchange; Sally Ride, first woman astronaut; Katharine Jefferts Schori, first woman Presiding Bishop in the 400-year history of the Episcopal Church; Wilma Mankiller, first woman chief of the Cherokee Nation; Sally Priesand, first woman rabbi in the U.S.; Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, first Hispanic Women elected to Congress; Janet Reno, first woman attorney general; Eileen Collins, first woman to command a U.S. Space Shuttle; Connie Chung, first Asian-American news anchor of a major network; Joy Fenner, first woman president of the Baptist General Convention; and Drew Gilpin Faust, first woman president of Harvard University.
"From here on, when we tell our daughters, 'you can be anything,' they'll believe us."
