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Madame President
by Katrina vanden Heuvel Her husband is a former governor and president who presided over an economic boom. She is a popular center-left senator -- a tough, disciplined and savvy politician who has led voters to think that they will be getting two leaders for the price of one.
No, not Hillary Clinton. She is Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, newly elected president of Argentina.
Kirchner cruised to victory Sunday, becoming the Western
Hemisphere's second female president voted into office in the last two
years. (Michelle Bachelet, the president of Chile, was inaugurated on
March 11, 2006.)
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's cruise to victory Sunday in
Argentina's presidential election puts Hillary Clinton's quest for the
presidency in a whole new light.
To critics who say Kirchner is simply
riding the coattails of her husband, she likes to point out that she
has been a senator since 1995 and so was a national political figure
when her husband was a mere provincial governor.
Senator
Clinton, of course, is also confronted with the same charge -- one that
unfairly makes short shrift of her own achievements and talent. But
while her campaign is focused on her being "the most experienced and
qualified" candidate for the job, while also providing the opportunity
to "make history" with her election, it might be more accurate to say
that -- in the context of world history -- Hillary is more of a
transitional figure than a groundbreaking one.
As
historian Linda Colley recently wrote in the London Review of Books ,
"… If Hillary Rodham Clinton becomes president of the United States in
2008, this will -- in terms of women's place in American politics -- be
a significant political milestone. In global terms, and in historical
terms, however, her elevation would be less innovatory. Of the women
who have been elected heads of state since the Second World War, a
substantial proportion have been closely related to men who have
themselves previously held high political office…. Looked at in this
comparative context, a Hillary Clinton presidency would be an
expression of old-style dynastic politics, and its persistence in the
United States, not simply a victory for postwar female liberation. If
Hillary wins in 2008, and is granted a second term, people whose
surname is Bush or Clinton will have presided over the Oval Office for
28 consecutive years."
In fact, Colley points out that from
a global perspective, the state of affairs for women in politics in the
United States is in some ways lagging. Only 16 percent of our members
of Congress are women, compared to 45 percent in Sweden and 49 percent
in Rwanda. 58 women have served as an elected prime minister or
president, with only one coming from the Northern Hemisphere (Kim
Campbell, prime minister of Canada for less than six months.)
So
a win for Hillary in the United States -- like a win for Cristina in
machismo Argentina -- would represent a leap forward for women in both
countries. But for the world as a whole it is a more measured
achievement -- no matter what Hillary's campaign would have you believe.
Katrina vanden Heuvel is the editor and publisher of The Nation magazine.
Agence
Global is the exclusive syndication agency for The Nation, Le Monde
diplomatique, as well as expert commentary by Richard Bulliet, Mark
Hertsgaard, Rami G. Khouri, Peter Kwong,Tom Porteous, Patrick Seale and
Immanuel Wallerstein.
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Released: 29 October 2007
Word Count: 494
Rights & Permissions Contact: Agence Global, 1.336.686.9002, rights@agenceglobal.com
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Writings 
Her husband is a former governor and president who presided over an economic boom. She is a popular center-left senator -- a tough, disciplined and savvy politician who has led voters to think that they will be getting two leaders for the price of one. 
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