A Woman Can't Be President, Santorum Aide Says

Oh, Michele Bachmann, you just never had a chance, did you?

With Bachmann as the first candidate to drop out post primary, it’s no wonder that numerous news outlets have been replaying the “what went wrong” analysis. After all, she went from winner of the Ames Straw Poll to last in the Iowa caucuses in just a matter of months. She had intense focus, knowledgeable staff, a long term ground game, and even some “hometown girl” connections, yet she completely fizzled in the end.

Why? Because most of her potential voters believe that a woman can’t be president.

Take bit from the Des Moines Register that Think Progress posted: “Rival presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s Iowa coalitions director, Jamie Johnson, sent out an email saying that children’s lives would be harmed if the nation had a female president. [...] ‘The question then comes, “Is it God’s highest desire, that is, his biblically expressed will, … to have a woman rule the institutions of the family, the church, and the state?”’ Johnson’s email said.”

The idea that women, who are not allowed to lead the household, or the church, could somehow lead the nation would be abhorrent, or at least un-Biblical, to many of the same evangelical leaders and voters that Bachmann needed to woo in order to secure a victory in Iowa. In fact, in the early days of the campaign the idea of whether Bachmann was still a proper “submissive” wife was even a debate question.

Knowing Bachmann’s political past as well as her faith and her current ambitions, how did she even become a front runner in Iowa in the first place? Because, just as the evangelicals recently showed signs that they were willing to support a serial adulterer as long as he would push their agenda, they were more than willing to put aside their misogyny and support Bachmann, if there was no viable male alternative available.

Bachmann lost Iowa, and because of that, the rest of the race, simply because Texas Governor Rick Perry entered the nomination battle, providing a social conservative male candidate they could back behind. When Perry showed his own weaknesses and proved too flawed as a candidate to win, they began to backtrack through every other male candidate they potentially support, each time trying to balance the cons against the cons of backing a woman. Herman Cain surged until his own martial issues came into play. Newt Gingrich then became the least objectionable because at least his indiscretions were in the past, until the idea of him not being anti-abortion enough took him down. In the end, Santorum was the only choice they had left, without returning to Bachmann.

And, as we see above, it was Santorum’s campaign pushing against evangelicals supporting Bachmann. After all, God wouldn’t want a woman in charge.

Photo credit: fibonacciblue

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Shan D.

5:19AM PST on Jan 30, 2012

@Debbie C.: I remember that TV show - "Commander-in-Chief", starring Geena Davis. It was a very good show, and naturally it was canceled... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander_in_Chief_(TV_series)

send a green star

Debbie C.

3:23AM PST on Jan 30, 2012

There was a TV show where the president was a woman and she solved all sorts of problems. Maybe that is what the men are afraid of - that a woman would come in and show them how it is done. I would vote for her. I voted for Hillary when she was in the primary before.

Judy M.

11:34AM PST on Jan 24, 2012

Well isn't he the 19th Century Misogynist !

roxane c.

2:48AM PST on Jan 24, 2012

Bet they still pick a female V.P. candidate trying to reverse their alienation of women voters.

Kimberly S.

4:30PM PST on Jan 22, 2012

I believe a woman can be president if she really wants to. It has been proven that a woman can handle more stress than a man. If she knows as much as any male candidate I would vote for her........

Annmari L.

4:13PM PST on Jan 22, 2012

Thanks for all the great comments I've read! Humor and sarcasm at its best!

Ray C.

11:55PM PST on Jan 21, 2012

Women have the same right as men, I do believe also a Woman President may wake the male President's up, it may do good for America.

Mark S.

2:23PM PST on Jan 20, 2012

Women have too much common sense to be president in the U.S. Most voters are idiots.

Alan G.

1:38PM PST on Jan 20, 2012

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Chile, Philippines, Liberia, Nicaragua, United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Germany, Israel, Norway, New Zealand, Iceland, Australia...

Just a few countries off the top of my head who have had or currently have female heads of government. But the good old USA isn't "ready" for it.

Diane F.

8:53PM PST on Jan 19, 2012

The 10,000 cracks in the glass ceiling that Hillary Clinton caused was "repaired" when the possibility of Sarah Palin becoming president became a consideration. Looks like the democrats were the only party,that could pick out of a sea of brilliant women, one of the better ones.

Look at who the republicans pick to represent them!!! Hah!