What makes a candidate a President? - 11.6.2007.1

**This can also be seen at Presidential Race Blog**

I want to be President of the United States. You hear that from Republicans and Democrats. The debates are filled with candidates that want to lead this nation. And all but one of them is a woman, or Black. So what.

Yesterday, the front-running Democratic candidate, Senator Clinton, came out in response to the Tuesday Democratic debate and lamented

“We need to shatter that highest glass ceiling.”

It was a plea for women to vote for her based solely on the fact she was a woman. It was an attempt to

“…compete in the all boys club of presidential politics.”

This commentary and the resulting backlash from Senator Obama come from the Democratic debate Tuesday. In that debate Sen. Clinton failed to answer direct questions posed to her. These questions were not asked because she was a woman, but because as the leading candidate for the Democratic ticket the public deserves to know the positions she holds. To date, Clinton has yet to answer the questions posed to her with a direct answer, and like any male counterpart she has been lambasted for it.

But unlike any other male counterpart Sen. Clinton has diverted the attention to her gender, whining for support from women based on the fact that she is being attacked because of her gender. That is the worst kind of pandering I’ve seen in decades.

"...the first time that people start challenging her point of view, that suddenly she backs off and says: 'Don't pick on me'. That is not, obviously, how we would expect her to operate if she were president." - Senator Obama

Looking at it from a different angle, if Senator Barack Obama were to go out and state, ‘all African Americans should vote for me because I am the only Democratic Presidential candidate among the all White club of presidential politics’, the outcry would be immediate and intense.

Does anyone doubt that Sen. Obama would instantly be charged with playing the race card? That he was pandering to Blacks, and that it was blatantly racist. He would be attacked by both parties and every political pundit in the nation. He would find no shore of safety, and his chances of being elected would be out the window.

But Senator Clinton does not face the same level of scrutiny or punditry. Because she is a woman she has gotten a pass. Few mention she is pandering. Few are reminding the public that she has evaded the issues she still has not answered. She has calculatedly and effectively changed the argument from her indecision and attempt to hide her views in the hope of gaining votes and support from all sides. And it’s embarrassing.

As a Black Puerto Rican man, I’m insulted by her actions. I am a citizen and as such I deserve to know where any candidate for the Presidency stands on critical issues that affect multiple aspects of the nation. I expect that any candidate for President should be able to handle difficult questions, giving answers that they believe are best for the nation, and standing up to the pressure that the answer provokes. Those that would seek to destroy America are hardly going to succumb to crocodile tears, or the fact of gender. In fact that may motivate them to take stronger actions.

I cannot accept the blatant pandering for cheap votes for no reason of substance. Is there a glass ceiling? Yes, for women and African Americans, and every minority in the nation. It also exists in terms of the Presidency for various religions as well. But the fact a glass ceiling exists is the least reason that ANYONE deserves to be elected. If that were the only reason to elect a candidate, they should not run. It cheapens and weakens the nation.

If Senator Clinton wants to prove her strength, answer the questions you were asked. Answer them without segues to other issues, or reliance on her gender. If it’s a yes or no question, don’t pick both and assume the American public is too addled to notice the difference. And make the answer public, not via subordinates and bloggers. They will not run the nation if she is elected, their answer does not matter.

If Senator Clinton cannot give a real answer, cannot avoid relying on her gender to support her campaign, cannot stand up to the pressure of having a commentator ask her questions in an American debate, then she does not deserve the Presidency.