There is a perception in the United States that all people are equal. Throughout history, this has been false. One example is our presidential elections. a presidential election always becomes a part of United States’ history. The candidates join the historic line of past candidates, and the results become part of the past as well. There had been only 43 men in the history of the United States (not counting Jefferson Davis with the Confederacy) to have been elected president of the United States as of 2008. All of them had been white men.
Yet, this election has been seen as a breaker of the glass ceiling. Democrats had their choice of picking two finalists for their nomination: Barack Obama, an African-American, and Hillary Clinton, a woman. Republicans had a white man as their presidential nominee in John McCain, but also had their first woman vice-presidential candidate in Sarah Palin. Geraldine Ferraro had been the first woman to be a nominated for a ticket by a major party in 1984 when she had the Democratic vice-presidential nomination (Martin 2011)
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"Glass Ceiling and 2008 Election".
This essay will look at the “glass ceiling” of politics, as it relates to the 2008 election. The “glass ceiling” is defined by Merriam-Webster as “an intangible barrier within a hierarchy that prevents women or minorities from obtaining upper-level positions” (Merriam-Webster and it’s first known use is in 1984, coincidentally, the year Ferraro ran for office.
The “glass ceiling” was only partially broken in 2008. Clinton said in her concession speech that the ceiling wasn’t broken, but “there were 18 million cracks in it.” While an African-American is now president, neither woman won their office. The trend of only men getting the parties’ nominations continued in 2012, with Obama and Joe Biden winning a second term against Republicans Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. Michelle Bachmann was the only woman in either party to enter the 2012 race.
How Clinton and Palin were treated in 2008 is also an indication that the “glass ceiling” still existed. Barbara Lee, a research analyst, points out that voters want women candidates in state campaigns to have more experience and separate competence from being likable”, while men are judged by their competence (Cocco 2008). Hairstyles even became a factor. Palin said in an interview that she was trying to be “as frumpy as I could by wearing my hair on top of my head and these schoolmarm glasses,” (Lidley and Strzemien 2008). Yet, near the end of the election, she let her hair down, with some speculating she did it after being mocked by Tina Fey on “Saturday Night Live” (Los Angeles Times 2008).
I don’t feel that treatment of women and minority candidates has been changed much since the election. While they aren’t facing the overt prejudice that they may have faced in previous generations, including a flat-out ban on running for office, they still have to overcome certain prejudices and issues with gender and national identities (Samovar and Porter 2009). President Obama, for instance, had his birthplace questioned by many who felt that he had not been born in America. Hillary Clinton, when her husband was running for president in 1992, was criticized for what was seen as a dig at stay-at-home mothers by saying that she could have remained home and baked cookies (Swinth 1992).
The sociological theory of the “glass ceiling” remains a barrier in today’s society. A woman from either party or a third party still has not been elected president or vice president, and for minorities, they still have not yet been able to get on the GOP’s ticket, although Herman Cain and Alan Keyes have tried to secure the nomination. Until the presidency and vice presidency are seen as being accessible to people of all genders and races, the “glass ceiling” perception will remain.
- Martin, Douglas, (26 March 2011). She Ended the Men’s Club of National Politics, New York Times, Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/
- Cocco Marie (2008 Nov. 20). The Glass Ceiling Holds Strong, Real Clear Politics, retrieved from http://www.realclearpolitics.com
- Lidley Willow and Zrzemien Anya (13 Oct. 2008).“Sarah’s Sexy Hair: A Desperate Bid for Votes?”, Huffington Post, Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
- Style backlash: Did Sarah Palin let her hair down to thwart Tina Fey?, Los Angeles Times, (13 Oct. 2008)
- Milbank Dana (8 June 2008). A Thank-you For 18 Million Cracks in the Glass Ceiling, The Washington Post, retrieved from http://articles.washingtonpost.com
- Swinth, Kristen, (2012 March 16). Hillary Clinton, cookies and the rise of working families, CNN, retrieved from http://www.cnn.com
