There has been a lot of speculation about who the Democratic candidate for president will be in the 2008 election. Many believe that New York Sen. Hillary Clinton may run for president. Clinton has yet to confirm or deny that she will, in fact, run for president. But I can’t help but wonder: Is the United States ready for a female head-of-state?

According to a 2006 Roper Public Affairs poll, nearly 80 percent of Americans are ready for a female president. The poll also revealed that Americans are more accepting of females in roles of power as demonstrated by both Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright serving as secretaries of state.

However, several other countries have already broken trends and have females in their highest offices. Recently, Chile elected its first female president and Liberia swore in its first female president. Back home, our first female president has come via Geena Davis on ABC’s Golden Globe award-winning show, “Commander in Chief.” Can the United States catch up with the rest of the world when it comes to gender and leadership?

I am an avid proponent for females in positions of power, and I think our country is ready for a female to take on the role of president. With our current administration doing a lackluster job in leading our nation, now, more than ever, our country can use the leadership and guidance of a woman president.

When I envision the United States’ first female president, I see someone who is a natural leader, someone the entire country can rally behind. I also can picture someone who does tremendous good for our country. She’ll better the economy, health care programs and education, and her foreign policy will be well justified.

Furthermore, many believe that women are more compassionate and sensitive than men. While it is important for any leader to be a beacon of strength, these qualities may make a woman more capable of dealing with sensitive issues such as poverty, especially that of children. If she approaches these issues with sensitivity and compassion, her constituents might also follow her lead and become more sensitive to these issues as well.

Of course all of these are important qualities in any president, regardless of gender. But is it wrong of me to also want a president who is fabulous in every sense of the word? I want to be able to look up to my female president in other ways as well. I want to admire her Manolo Blahnik pumps and envy her Prada briefcase. She will not only be an icon of leadership and fairness, but also an icon of style and grace. I want laws in every state requiring manicures on Mondays and pedicures on Thursdays.

I can even hope that our first female president will pass a law requiring all ex-boyfriends to live in their own reservation on an island somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Now that’s freedom, don’t you think?

Amanda Stanley is a junior magazine major and columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].