Monday, July 24, 2006

Opinion: Should someone's gender be considered when voters decide who to vote for in the next presidential election?


In a recent CNN story about the Draft Condi movement, Condoleeza Rice was described as the "most popular current public official in the country." Yet she hasn't taken stances on many important issues which makes some conservatives wonder if she would be a good Republican candidate. Hillary Rodham Clinton is seen as a front runner in the Democratic primaries. Yet she has been careful not to come out too strongly against the Iraq war (a position at odds with many Democrats). Are these possible candidates for president bolstered by their gender? Should someone's gender be considered an attribute (positive or negative)? Would you vote for a candidate mainly because she's a woman, or does she have to match your political philsophy as well?

(incidentally, Dick Morris and Eileen McGann have written a book about this potential matchup. I haven't read it yet, but I hear that "Condi vs. Hillary: The Next Great Presidential Race" is a pretty good book.)

10 comments:

Dain said...

That this question is asked implies that on some level, gender is considered important. After all, if it is important enough to debate, it must matter to someone. I agree with brandon and bleive gender should not be a factor in an election, though it will (conciously or not). I will vote for the canidate that I think will do the best for the country regardless of gender. I hope that the rest of the nation would not weigh gender when making their votes.

Dain said...

I'd like to add that I do belive that these canidates are bolstered by their gender. People are more reluctant to make cutting criticisms against women becuase they don't want to be seen as/accused of sexism. Just by listening to what goes on in school, we should all know that a simple accusation is enough to tar a person's image.

tonileep said...

I believe that gender should not be considered when voters decide who to vote for in the next presidential election. Whether they are female or male should not matter. However, what should matter is how capable and experienced they are. There is a possible woman candiate for the next presidental election, Hillary Clinton. When I have the opportunity to vote, I will vote for who I believe will be the best for our country and who is qualified. Whether it may be male or female. I believe the rest of the country will do the same as well. Gender should not be considered.

Megan B said...

I believe that someone's gender should be conisdered when voters decide who to vote for in the next presidential election. I feel we should look at some significant aspects of their personal lives including wheater they are married, or have children, so why not include gender? I do feel other factors should play a greater role in the voters' decision, which I believe should include their position on major issues and their qualifications. But many voters like to know about the whole person, not just their political accomplishments, before they will vote for a candidate. Is gender not part of the whole person? Although it may not be scientifically proven, a factor such as gender affects how someone was raised and some of their experiences, and as I have noticed gender affects how people resolve and deal with major issues. This would be a significant factor for elected officials, who make many major decisions. In today's politically correct socitey we try to think that gender, race, religion, etc. do not play a role in decisions and the evaluation of a person's charcter. But most people do use these factors in a person life to help them evaluate that person's charceter. If people completely disregaurd factors such as race, gender,and religion, are they just paying homage to political correctness? Isn't that what this issue boils down to, wheather or not voters should be politically correct when they vote? I think that voters should use their own sense of morals when they vote, if that means they considering gender, race, and religion they should feel free to do so.

BrandonSh said...

There is no reason to consider gender in the next election. The only reason there is a trend of men as president to begin with is because women had no say in politics until just recently. The best candidate for a job should always be chosen and if that happens a woman, then she deserves the spot.

KerryW said...

Gender SHOULD NOT be considered when deciding who to vote for in the next presidential election. When people go to the poles to vote, they should be considering who would be a better political leader. They should be considering who they trust more to make important decisions for their country. They should not be thinking 'She's a woman so the only thing she should be doing is cleaning, having children, and cooking' or 'He's a man so he'll be so bias and won't take anything seriously'. But even though gender shouldn't be considered, we all know that there will be a group of sexist idiots that will judge someone just because of their gender. If anything, I believe that people should keep in their minds that it would be nice for a change to have a woman serving as president of the United States as many other countries have discovered for their own homeland (Mary MCAleese: Ireland, Angela Merkel: Germany etc.). This is the 21st century. We should be moving past how our ancestors viewed women. I believe that the United States should not be living in the past and should be looking ahead to the future of our country and what's best for it.

CassieH said...

Gender was considered.

I like looking at old posts.

It was considered, but I think we're over it.

Matt Lowe said...

Hey Mr. Bretzmann,
hows it going? Long time no talk. I got a load to update you on. Email me at mlowe1191@yahoo.com if you can.

thanks

~Matt

Unknown said...

Although the next presidential election isn't until 2016, I do believe gender should be considered when voters decide who to vote for. Policy, ideas, beliefs, and qualifications should be the most important factor when voters decide who they vote for, however gender indirectly affects this. For example, the issue of abortion may be looked at differently by a woman who has a dissimilar relation to the issue compared to a man. Psychologically speaking, as Teresa stated, the process by which men and women think is proven to be different—where men are typically stronger spatial thinkers, women typically have stronger language skills. However, this is not an absolute—voters should look at every candidate with a critical eye regardless of gender and focus mainly on the policy, ideas, beliefs, and qualifications of candidates.

Anonymous said...

When it comes to elections, gender is always considered in peoples decisions. The views of men and women have always differed and many people base their decisions simply on those opposing views. I believe that sometimes considering someones gender in an election is not always the best thing to do, it does get people thinking about the candidates which is good compared to people who simply vote because they consider themselves Democratic or Republican and vote solely on that fact.