Hear Me Roar

I am woman watch me grow
See me standing toe to toe
But I'm still an embryo
With a long long way to go
--I am Woman, Helen Reddy

Wishin' and hopin and thinkin and prayin'
Plannin and dreamin each night of his charms
That won't get you into his arm
--Wishin' & Hopin', Burt Bacharach/Hal David
_________

Ranger is considering the feminine impulse as he sees it in the nexus of society, government and the military. Today: The concept of a woman in the White House.

Bill Clinton was often hailed, symbolically, as our first black president. He currently maintains an office in Harlem, so warm is the bond between Bill and his people, which is to say the common folk everywhere, extensions of his humble Arkansas upbringing.

Wife Hillary is being heralded as a possible first female presidential candidate. But she has already been preceded in that position. I am not talking about Mary Wollstonecraft; I am talking GWB himself.

Temperamentally, GWB is our first female president. That is, as presidents and females go. Just as Mr. Clinton was not really black, so Bush is not genitally a woman. But the epithet seems apropos. Much more K.T. Oslin than John Wayne in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence." The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

Looking at Bush's Jungian anima/animus balance it is clear that the scales tip to the feminine, belying his masculine cowboy swagger. One need only look at his presidential policies.

Bush's policies are based on wishes and hopes, emotion and overreaction -- all of which are opposed to the masculine stereotype of disinterested, calculated logic based upon verifiable facts. I will not add "petulance" as I will draw ire from my female reader, and his petulance is more indicative of his immaturity than his femininity.

GWB's behavior would put the Iron Lady to shame. For that matter, most First Ladies, as well.

Hillary is too late. America already has a feminine leader. We not only need "smarter" next time, we need "stronger," integrity-wise, too.