Time is right for a woman in the Oval Office

By Brian Greenspun (contact)

Sunday, April 19, 2015 | 2:01 a.m.

From the mouths of babes — and into the hearts and minds of their mothers. Their grandmothers. Their aunts, sisters and cousins. The 2016 presidential election could shape up to mirror the instincts of a 6-year-old child.

It should be no secret that this writer is a friend of, a fan of, a supporter of and an American who believes strongly in the idea of Hillary Clinton as the next president of the United States.

But with all the ups and downs and good days and bad days to come over the next 18 months, this next election has less to do with what I think, feel and want than it does a far simpler truth. Fifty percent or more of the American voting public is female and, at the end of the day, I believe the women in our lives will do what women have done for centuries. They will let the men in their lives believe we are in charge and then they will do whatever is necessary to advance the interests of their families and their country.

A female president of the United States would be a first and, in my opinion, a long time coming. But it wouldn’t be the first time a woman has taken the helm of a country and led it to greatness.

When Great Britain was on the precipice of economic implosion, along came Margaret Thatcher. Sure, she had garnered new detractors while prime minister through the 1980s, but no one can dispute that she righted the British ship through her tenacity, brainpower and, when she needed it, charm.

Indira Ghandi. Need I say more?

And, my personal favorite, Golda Meir. As Israel’s fourth prime minister, she was dubbed the “Iron Lady” of Israel long before the words were used to describe Thatcher. She was tough, resolute, funny and incisive while leading tiny Israel through the existential realities of the Yom Kippur War and the heartbreak of the massacre in Munich.

She has been called by no less than Prime Minister David Ben Gurion “the best man in the government” as well as being portrayed as the “strong-willed, straight-talking, gray-bunned grandmother of the Jewish people.”

This is not to compare Hillary to any of these remarkable women, although I believe that case can be ably made, but to suggest that it is way past time to allow a woman to have the reins of American government and world leadership. God knows the men have had their chance and, well, look where we are!

But you don’t have to ask me. I started this column with a reference to children, and I shall finish it by explaining what I mean.

My daughter, Amy, is working in the Clinton campaign as a fundraiser (fair warning, Las Vegas) so she needed to explain to her children what might be considerable absences from home. She explained she had an important job helping Hillary Clinton become the next president.

My granddaughter, 6-year-old Julia, is brilliant. She has known the names of all the presidents for at least two years, by name and number. Anyone care to try that? My point is she knows what a president is and what he does.

All Julia knew last Sunday on the day Hillary announced that she was running for the nation’s top job was that her mom was going to work for Clinton’s election campaign.

As she was driving down Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, Amy passed a billboard advertising the HBO show “Veep.” The ad showed Julia Louis-Dreyfus wedged onto Mount Rushmore among four of the best presidents our nation has ever produced.

Out of nowhere, Julia said from the back seat, “I sure hope that happens.”

Those words came from a girl who does not watch television, certainly not late-night HBO, and has not had any in-depth discussions with her parents about the import of a female president. No, that statement came from a little girl who realizes there are differences between men and women and wished for herself that a woman could be president.

And that is what I believe will play a controlling interest in the 2016 election. Women across the country will have their opportunity to give voice and votes to that instinct demonstrated by a 6-year-old on a Sunday drive with her mom.

Yes, I know there is plenty more to a candidacy for president than just gender. But what I am suggesting is that all or most other things being equal, the opportunity for a woman to vote for a qualified person to be president, who is also a woman and, therefore, knows for the very first time the world in which women live, will be compelling.

I could be wrong about this, but I don’t think so. But, just in case, I am going to ask my wife what she thinks. And then I will ask Julia, who will be the real beneficiary of a woman’s touch in the White House.

Brian Greenspun is owner, publisher and editor of the Las Vegas Sun.