I Want a Woman President but am Voting for Obama

In her article, Lisa Schirch stated that she’d prefer to vote for Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton and outlined the points that have compelled her to make this decision. I found her reasons to be very narrow scoped. There is no doubt that Obama is great at winning over a crowd and addressing the public to gain support for his campaign; yet does that make him a good candidate for president? Point number two was that Obama brings about real change. Granted, it would diversify the White House in the way that we’ve never had an Islamic president before now. However, many a presidential candidate has made a claim for a brighter tomorrow full of promises and somehow fails to execute those dreams. It would be irresponsible to vote for a candidate simply as a means of defiance against a reign of presidents whose policies many people may not have supported. A particular claim that was disconcerting is the motivation to break the presidential family dynasty, which basically means no more Bush’s or Clinton’s. What’s in a name? To quote a wise proverb, “Many a genius is never honored until the future proves his inspiration.” It would be unfair to base the quality of a person by the name they bear or the fact that they are a woman. In doing so, the public could be overlooking some very compelling candidates.

When stating her reasons for electing Obama against Hillary Clinton, Lisa Schirch writes, “Electing Obama would send a profound message to the rest of the world that we want to get along and work as part of a team – rather than act like the King of the Hill.” Getting along with the rest of the world is somewhat of a naïve thought, when we have countries that are against us due to decisions our president and the country has made over the past couple of years. Simply because Obama has family in Kenya and grew up in Indonesia, does not mean people from around the world would see him as a “Peace Maker” when our country has gained a reputation, that too many, is irreversible. People are so enthused with Obama because he appears to be different than any candidate, but is our decision going to be based simply on the admiration one has for Obama?

Lisa Schirch attempted to write a convincing article that may or may not have persuaded some readers in believing that voting for Obama would be a better decision. She feels she has to explain to her “women friends” that she can not just vote for Hillary because she is a women. Lisa gave some good points as to why Obama was the better candidate, but some of her argument was not strong enough. The first downfall was the title and opening paragraphs. To start off saying that she wants a women president just for the fact that it would be good for her daughter or other women to see a women for president could drive away any educated person who votes properly away from reading the rest of this article. She then argues that we need to steer away from the Bush-Clinton-Bush history because we need a president who can change the course and bring safety to the country. Being the strong person Hillary is and the promises that she makes shows there can be almost a dramatic change from our previous president. Another reason she pointed out was she believed with such a mixed background Obama has, a “message” could be sent to the world that the US wants to work together and be part of a team. If Obama becomes president this does not mean that we as a country are willing to work with the world. We have to understand that we have to vote for a strong leader and a person who can work for his country, not vote for a man we can use as a symbol to show we want to get along with the world. As for political background she mistakenly said Obama had more experience. Obama was just a US Senate, while Hillary worked with her husband when he was running for the Governor of Arkansas, first lady, Senator of New York, and is now running for president. A reader who know the true backgrounds of these candidates may not be convinced with this article. One of the arguments a person can best agree with is Obama does have a good history in working with different political parties. If republicans do not favor McCain they could easily vote for Obama.

In this article, Lisa Schirch has strengths and weaknesses that effectively persuade a reader on why she prefers Obama over Clinton. Specifically, the strength in this article is that Lisa Schirch gives 7 detailed reasons why she prefers Obama over Clinton. Her weakness is that she says that Clinton has no international and political experience, and this is false because Clinton has more experience than Obama because she was the first lady (helping her husband Bill Clinton in both political and international affairs) and senator of New York; moreover, she does not mention what experience Obama has. The opportunities in this article are that she persuades the reader that we need change through her 7 reasons and by stating the monotonous Bush-Clinton-Bush administration. Lisa poses a threat that can affect Obama's ethos since she mentions Obama's Islamic background which can lower his credentials since Americans are at war with an Islamic country; this can also increase hatred between Islamic countries and the United States since the Islamic people can have repercussions against Obama going against them.

In “I Want a Woman President but am Voting for Obama,” Lisa Schirch states the reason behind electing Obama. She states not being against seeing a woman as president, however, she prefers to elect a president that will “radically” change the manner in which the last two presidents handled situations. She goes on to suggest seven factors that pertain to her reasoning: victory in national election, will bring real change, a global citizen, long history of working with politicians, experience, family dynasty, and humility and hope. As strong as these factors may appear, there is inaccuracy in them. Yes, Obama won the National Elections, however, this victory does not suggest he is the better candidate. Also, there is no real proof of the suggestion that Obama will bring real change. Many politicians love to say that changes will be made, but very few go through with it. This gives reason to say that a woman president will be able to make just as much change. Although experience and partnership does help, it does not indicate how good of a president they will be. Therefore, I believe that any woman or man could make significant changes in the U.S; gender should not be a considered factor.