The 2020 Presidential Race: Three Men and a Baby

I knew this time would come, when I could no longer keep my mouth shut and when I no longer wanted to let other voices in. But I had no idea that so many in my peer group would be just fine with the choices who remain in the Presidential race.

I am a huge Amy Klobuchar fan, but that does not seem to matter when it comes to most Americans' perception of who a president should be. Biden, Bernie and Bloomberg. And then there is little baby Buttigieg. Friends on Facebook are saying things like, "It will either be Bernie or Bernie vs. Bloomberg" in the way I say that the sun will come out tomorrow. Others moan, "I hate to say it but people will re-elect the criminal-in-chief" as if it's a fait accompli.

I can find something to like in all of these men:

Biden - Loved his early position on gay marriage and how he influenced Obama to change the law. Exceptional.

Bernie - As someone who's enjoyed the National Health Service in England (while studying there) I can attest that Medicare for All is a crackin' idea. No one should go without healthcare in a civilized nation.

Bloomberg - I moved to New York while people were still smoking in bars. Prohibiting this drastically cut smoking rates and hence cancer rates in the Big Apple.

Buttigieg - As a Rhodes Scholar who speaks eight languages as well as a vet, the man can relate to disparate groups in a way that no other candidate can - the highly educated, immigrants and military families. (Also, I would love to hear him speak a bit more Norwegian on the stump.)

Yet, despite all of the preceding exceptional qualities of these four men, each of them lacks a critical component for me: not one of them is female. I am beginning to think that my female friends and cousins aren't as fired up about this as I am, but perhaps I need to take a formal poll. I don't think any woman in America is as fired up as I am. But each of us really is living in our own bubble, the bubble of our mind that informs our perceptions.

My perception is informed by having spent Autumn 2017 through January 2019 living in London. My mother once told me she was very impressed by Prime Minister Theresa May. I was honored to live in the UK while she was in power. I knew her position was threatened, but I was there to enjoy her calm, measured approach to rule. When Trump came to town and she greeted him in that red dress, she proved she could be tough but ladylike, serious and skeptical but (notoriously British) polite. Then of course Boris Johnson came to power. I live in America now and feel I am no longer in a position to judge, but from where I sit he is no Theresa May.

If men have trouble understanding my discomfort then imagine walking into a room and everyone in there is female. Perhaps you are looking for a position as a host or a teacher or an engineer. You know that the company has only hired females but now they are opening the door for you. However, in that room you adjust your tie, cough, sit uncomfortably. The females titter away and share their war stories about children and mortgage payments and husbands who've lost their jobs. Your story has to do with trying to fix a squeaky door on the cupboard because your wife is all thumbs.

I am tired of people acting as if choosing a female president is such a "bold" or strange choice. When I take an unofficial read of the nation, a nation divided, I still feel very much a resistance to a woman in power. I think it goes deeper than one realizes. I think it might have to do with America itself, a country born of revolution and men fighting to resist a King they perceived as overly controlling. Later, in the early 1800's, Lewis and Clark scoured the west at the behest of Thomas Jefferson. Men envied them. Stories of the American explorer were ripe not only here but back in England and the European continent. America was the American cowboy. Even today when I tell people my mother was from Texas they smile and want to hear stories of the "Wild West".

Amy Klobuchar or Elizabeth Warren have fought in a way that I am not sure I could. Their grace under pressure has been exemplary. To remain polite, "ladylike" and amiable as misogynistic incoming fire attacks is a true gift. Fight on, ladies.

Photos: Top: By Frederick Girsch at the American Bank Note Company, for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing - Restoration by Godot13, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33552401; 2. By The White House from Washington, DC - Foreign Leader Visits, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59118912; 3. Midwest Regional Director, Tom Melius, Senator Amy Klobuchar and Deputy Refuge Manager, Jeanne Holler, enjoy a moment at the grand re-opening of Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge's Bloomington Visitor Center." Photo by Tina Shaw/USFWS.