Want to become President of the USA? Well, if you’re a woman or your surname isn’t Clinton or Bush, the American dream may be an entirely impossible dream.
In the wake of both Jeb Bush (son of 41st president and brother of 43rd president) and Hillary Clinton (wife of 42nd president) announcing their run for The White House in 2016, it seems that America is preparing for another Bush versus Clinton campaign series, just six presidential cycles on from the last encounter.
To onlookers of the politics of America, those analysing the past 32 years of presidencies would see more of a ruling family living in the Whitehouse rather than an elected democracy. Not since Richard Nixon in 1968 have the Republicans won an election without a Bush on the ticket. If another Bush/Clinton clash surfaces in 2016, it would mean the two families would have occupied the The White House for 24 out of the past 32 years. Should either of them then be re-elected, it would mean 28 out of 36 years. Look even further ahead and Chelsea Clinton, an already prominent public speaker, could be looking at a The White House run as soon as 2030 and George P Bush (yes, another George Bush) has recently been elected Texas Land Commissioner, a highly rated role in the politically powerful state of Texas.
Away from the double family domination of modern American presidents, let’s go even further back in history, as far back as the creation of the constitution in 1787, to see that America’s concept of ‘land of the free’ just isn’t as applicable to women. There has been no female president, no victorious presidential ticket with a woman, and just two women have featured on presidential tickets since 1964. Although the emergence of Hillary Clinton as the Democrat frontrunner for 2016 may see America’s first female President, powerful female politicians in America are the exception to the norm. Even with the likes of Nancy Pelosi as the current House Minority Leader, a mere 108/535 (20%) members of Congress are women representing an American population that consists of over 50% women. Whilst America has presented this as being the ‘most diverse Congress yet’, there is a long, long way to go until full representation is achieved.
So, the famous (and often tedious) patriotic American chant of ‘land of the free and home of the brave’ clearly does not apply to every citizen looking for a spot at the top of politics. It took 233 years for a person of ethnic minority descent to reach The White House and now – at 239 years old – America is still waiting for it’s first female leader. Whilst socially the country seems to be advancing, with the recent nationwide legalisation of gay marriage, politically we see a country that denies women the access to the top and acts as more of a monarchy than a democracy.
Words by Daniel Parker