Potential female presidents in today's politics

[Four49]

I think you're all missing an obvious one.  Michelle Obama.  If her husband's successful, she's the next Hillary.  I don't know what her ambitions are regarding public office, but who does?

[Four49]

I think Hillary's success was more of a precedent than an abberation.  Time will tell on that one. 

And like I said, Michelle's chances are tied to her husband's success/failure.  Laura's husband didn't leave her with much to brag about.  And I don't think Laura has any interest in running for anything anyway.

[Four49]

I think the trend leads to conservative women because a liberal is often considered to be a 'radical', to at least some small degree.  And society has barely evolved enough to accept female leaders, let alone a radical one. 

And I agree, if Hillary's success is a precedent, it's a dangerous one.  On many levels, but primarily, to me anyway, that a woman's success has to be initiated by that of her husband.  Same way Napolitano being single hurts her chances and is the main reason people think she's a lesbian.  Many still believe, even if they lie to themselves about it, that women 'have their place' and only begin to trust them if there's a 'good guy' in the background.

[Four49]

Also not mentioned - Maria Cantwell, Democratic Senator from Washington.  I lived in Seattle when she first got elected.  She's very smart and articulate without coming off as condescending.  She made a buttload of dough as a VP for RealNetworks, so she has business experience.  And she was raised in Indiana.  Good background bullet points for a national campaign. 

Though she did lose her seat in Congress in 1994.  But so did a lot of Dems that year.  And it was in a conservative district.  She was the first Dem to win that seat in forty years.  She also got a lot of votes from conservatives in eastern Washington when she was up for re-election in 06. 

Watch for her name mentioned as a potential VP if Obama has a good four years and decides to dump Biden.

[Four49]

I think you're all missing an obvious one.  Michelle Obama.  If her husband's successful, she's the next Hillary.  I don't know what her ambitions are regarding public office, but who does?

I think her negatives make Hillary look like Betsy Ross.

Examples? 

[Four49]

I actually agree on those two points being negatives.  But I wouldn't consider them insurmountable.  People have short term memories.  If Barack's as successful as his fan base hopes, and future Dem Presidents don't screw up too bad, she has a built in base of 50-60 million voters, maybe more. 

Then again, like her husband, it will depend largely on the climate.  There would probably have to be an outgoing Rep POTUS with Bush like unpopularity. 

And her window would be small.  Like Hillary, she'd probably have to wait a while after her husband is out of office, in order to establish her own credibility.