Glass Ceilings, Speakers, Hillary and Barack Obama

Flippantly, I've said many times that "I don't like it, but there's a glass ceiling. There just is." When I first heard of Sen. Clinton's possible presidential aspirations, I said to my self (and to others), "God help us if the DNC is stupid enough to nominate her. In a time that we need real change and real candidates to help make that a reality, please don't let us nominate someone who's unelectable. There's a glass ceiling. I don't like it. Look, if you ask me to sign something that says there shouldn't be one, I'll sign it. Put it to a vote, I'll vote for it. But what I won't do is play ball. It's there and it's not going anywhere."

Could it be that times are really changing? Is it possible that, in a year when the two most talked about presidential hopefuls are a black man and a woman, one or both of them might actually prove to be electable? I'm still not sure.

While I agree that Rep. Pelosi's historic ascension to the third highest leadership position in the United States (or at least third in the order of succession if you count the President as first) is remarkable, I still think that there is serious cause for concern. The main reason for that is simple. Pelosi wasn't elected by the people. Sure, she was elected by their representatives, but I think we all know (or at least hope) that between those representatives and the people they actually represent lies a buffer of education, cosmopolitan awareness and political savvy that may not be the same thing as enlightenment, but that can, in some lights, fool the eye.

It is my guess that very few Members in the House of Representatives would either consciously or unconsciously base (even in part) their votes for speaker on reservations about whether or not a woman could do the job. Most likely, I hope, that decision is made in that chamber based upon who has the political clout to get the job and the muscle to get the job done.

While I hope that that is also true for the vast majority of the voting American public, I can't help but wonder if there might not be enough of a minority that would let sex or race affect their decisions to tip the scales the wrong direction in what is likely to be a very devisive, contentious and extremely close race in 2008.

I will say, though, that I've stopped making the glass ceiling comment. True, I stopped making it because I started wondering if my joking about it wasn't just as bad as telling a truly misogynistic or racist joke (in that it perpetuates the stereotype or the wrong-headedness even if it's meant to critique it), but even if I hadn't, I'd stop now. As Pelosi said, it's looking more and more like the sky is finally the limit.