Women in Politics: They said WHAT?

It’s been over a hundred years since women endeavored to establish themselves as more than simply wives and homemakers and we are just now starting to feel the rush that comes with achieving political and social power. At a point when it is critical that we be taken seriously, certain women politicians in the media spotlight say something that makes everyone stop and stare.
            Women have gained ground in the battle against sexism, but when it comes to recent politics, one could understandably say our gender has dropped the ball. With Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin in the media limelight, the examples of women in power are not exactly the most reassuring. Those two are the recipients of more jokes than respect. Their often outrageous statements and hilarious yet terrible political gaffes just beg the question: what on earth happened to competent women and why aren’t they in the political arena?
            Palin, who announced recently that she will not be running for the 2012 presidency (to the relief of many a concerned citizen), has borne extensive media mockery since the 2008 presidential elections.  From being the focus of Saturday Night Live skits to committing countless misstatements, Palin has not shown herself to be politically savvy in the eyes of the public.
             One of the more entertainingly embarrassing examples occurred when Palin was commenting on the current hostilities between North and South Korea on the Glen Beck radio show in November 2010.
            “Obviously, we’ve got to stand with our North Korean allies,” said Palin, when asked how she would handle the tensions between the two countries.
            Of course Palin is speaking of those ‘allies’ who dictate with militaristic precision and have some of the lowest human rights rankings. The same ‘allies’ that have had extremely tense relations with the U.S. dating back to the Cold War. Right.
            Rep. Michele Bachmann is no better.  With a well-established track record of blatantly false statements, she is a less than stellar example of a capable woman in the political arena. From claiming that a popular vaccine for young women could cause mental retardation to claiming that Obama’s policies caused the current upheaval in the Arab world, Bachmann is well on her way to establishing a reputation as the most gaffe-prone candidate in the running for the Republican presidential candidacy.
            Now, all this isn’t to say that we don’t have competent examples of women in powerful political positions.  Hillary Clinton, who is the current Secretary of State, is the fourth in line to succeed the president. She is one of a very few women to have run for the U.S. Presidency on a major ticket. Though she undisputedly has made her fair share of blunders, she doesn’t come across as an idiot. Another notable is Nancy Pelosi, the 60th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the first woman in history to have held that position. Love them or hate them, there is no denying that those women know how to handle power and politics.  Bachmann and Palin should take note of how they do it. Maybe they’d learn something.