I agree Michelle shouldn’t run. I’d argue, though, that we’re ready for a woman leader, but we need one presented without a bunch of past baggage (Hillary) or a party agenda (Kamala and arguably Hillary, too) and with their own ideas and not what the think tank says will win.
this post was submitted on 16 Nov 2025
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Michelle Obama says US ‘not ready for a woman’ to be president: ‘Don’t even look at me about running’
(www.independent.co.uk)
I'd say it's pretty hard for a woman to both have enough experience to be taken seriously as a candidate and simultaneously have no past baggage or party agenda.
And I don't think most male candidates are held to that standard, either.
The misogyny is palpable. In the country as a whole.
country as a whole
Species as a whole.
More progressive cultures are getting over this tribalistic, divisive stuff -- they will tend to flourish over time.
More conservative cultures will double down on division -- they will tend to wither.
While they certainly implode... I think there's the old problem.
Like say you have 5 co-operative communities that focus on building up great resources, polite trade with eachother, no focus on millitary.
Then you throw in 2 Viking type communities, extremely warlike, that have no independent ability to gather resources... but specifically focus on pillaging.
Obviously the vikings take out the poorly defended villages to build up resources, before going after eachother, in the long run everyone dies out because the vikings wreck everything for everyone, and leave nothing for themselves.
I feel like that's kind of a form of what happens with capitalism vs socialism types. we've got elements that really just want peace... but the warlike ones will just continue to survive, as long as there are enough peaceful societies to wreck... and unfortunately the peaceful ones are the ones to go down first, in spite of being the only ones that would survive long term without the others existance.
I didn't say "undefended"
It's the point though, not even completely undefended, still not 10% of the same level of defense as the primary points of capitalism. IE just note how much force, propoganda etc... is pushed at any country that isn't capitalist enough. Right now fishing boats are being bombed. or even non military force, like the trade embargo's on cuba etc...
and heaven knows how many government sponsered coups etc... Point is a lot of resources go into doing everything possible to make things that aren't capitalist enough have a very steep uphill climb.
Yeah that's what I thought... In the 1970s.
I'm sorry to say it's not going as well as I'd hoped.
It's hilarious. Everyone in this thread literally ignoring the lived experience of women, trying to convince everyone their country isn't misogynistic.
People laugh but I 100% believe AOC would win.
I think they're laughing nervously because deep down they fear that you're right. I certainly think you are.
I’d like to see her win; just not sure it’ll happen.
What we also don’t need is yet another political dynasty.
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Hillary won the nationwide popular vote, though.
"Ready for" is a pretty ambiguous qualifier. Considering that 8 years of Obama drove the racists absolutely batshit insane for the foreseeable future makes me think we weren't even ready for the first Black President, and we certainly aren't ready for whatever the fuck Trump is. Personally I think things like that are what shes referring to and it's not so much about just winning the election.
American here. I remember shortly after the election I was visiting Indian co-workers in Bangalore. Over dinner they were asking why it took so long for us to elect a Black President.
They were clearly expecting a nuanced and historical perspective about the South, colonialism, economy, yadda
But my only and honest one-word answer: "Racism"
I grew up in a city that had gangs and trailer parks. Racism as deep as (and virtually a part of) religion. Those undereducated fucks hated (n-word)
EDIT: ofc Obama being both educated and black ... he was their perfect nemesis
Fair point.
You don't think it's progressive that the USA has its first black president closely followed by it's first orange president? I'd say that's a society that is closer to saying it doesn't see colour.
Seriously though, I think the fact America hasn't had a female leader is strange for a country that used to claim to be the greatest nation on earth.
The problem with H. Clinton and Harris were that they were annointed. If a woman candidate was brought forth by a proper primary, I think she'd blow the Republican out of the water.
Or a progressive woman who wasn’t part of the Democratic Party at all.
As a non-American looking in from the outside, from what I can gather in progressive online spaces, people are sick of career politicians in general that don't have any actual morals but are instead driven by marketing and advertising. This is a problem not just with the US Democrats but with the old guard in general worldwide.
That's part of why the door has been opened to right wing lunatics in the first place. Around 10 years ago, a lot of people thought Donald Trump was the "anti establishment" pick. As insane as that is to reasonably well educated people, simple people with shitty lives believed that this upstart really would "drain the swamp".
It's also part of why the career politicians aren't doing much to stop it either. They see the numbers on their marketing graphs, so they're evolving into another stage of parasite that can feed on the new generation.
There's no doubt in my mind that it would be a tougher battle for a woman than for a man in the USA. But also, they would stand a much better chance with someone like AOC than someone like Clinton or Obama or Harris. Because people are fucking sick of corporate undead ghouls whose sole purpose is to keep the Overton window in place.
I know that someone here is going to call AOC a sellout or something but come on, your anarchist socialist utopia is even further away now that the christo-fascists have undone so much progress. AOC is a thousand times better than almost anything else you've got right now.
You need more women with AOC and Jasmine Crockett energy, and less with Joe Biden energy. Someone to knock these christo-fascist clowns the fuck out on the mic and on social media, and to inspire people. Not someone that's going to go "oh well I tried nothing and now I give up" and fucking bore everyone to death.
We just don’t want neoliberals running. We’re done with that. Everyone is. I hope AOC runs.
Why is anyone asking Michelle Obama to run for president? I mean, I know the bar for presidential prerequisites is buried 6 feet down after Trump, but why do the democrats keep propping up women candidates based solely on the basis of “she is a woman that you know”?
Because the neoliberals are tied to identity politics over substance out of necessity.
This gets really ugly when Democrats start rejecting candidates for their minority status. Kamala explicitly rejected Pete Buttigieg as a running mate because he was gay. Kamala rejected him using the logic of a thousand other bigots, "I have no problem with it, but others won't understand and will judge me for it." This is the exact same logic that employers across the country use to deny hiring queer people, trans people, etc. Employers will claim to not be bigoted themselves, but that their customers wouldn't get it, so they simply can't hire the queer candidate.
"As we saw in the past election"
Yeah.... Not so sure it was because Hilary and Kamala were women
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I'd love for AOC to run. Tired of these geriatric out of touch assholes.
Was it just young men? I'd like you to have a look at male minority votes in general. Maybe run a woman candidate who can offer something positive to everyone, even if it's bullshit like Obama's Hope.
Maybe the US will be mature enough to join the civilized world in a century or two.
Is there a civilized world left anywhere? Ireland maybe?
Hogwash. Women have come within spitting distance of winning the presidency. Twice. Kamala and Hillary were both very unlikable candidates running no the same neoliberal platform that voters have rejected in the last three elections.
It’s more about the electoral college and who is the elector for the state unfortunately. Which is why a trump is trying to make sure his people are in those positions.
Honestly, the US entire election system needs to be ripped out, getting rid of first past the post should be seen as a national emergency.
That would in an instant get rid of Jerry Mandering, and open the way for new parties that actually has a chance to get a say.
Now, obviously neither the Dems nor the GOP is in any way interested in that, so it might take a full collapse of the current system for this to happen.
Sadly both current parties in the US are way to the right of a proper political compass, so both will fight proportional representation and getting rid of the EC...
I think you mean "Gerrymandering"
"Jerry Mandering" just sounds like a gay porn actors stage name.
Jeri Mandering is Greg Abbott’s drag persona.
They said that about a black president. So. No. I don't agree. AOC is very popular.
Don't you know the rule is that only geriatric white men can win?
Thanks, Obama.
I mean that both sarcastically and literally. He has been made into such a bogeyman to the right.
In Germany we realized that chancellor is a job for a woman. Angela Merkel wasn't perfect and made many mistakes, but the following two guys were even worse.
Surely no man who could be elected German Chancellor could turn out to be evil! /s
You should update your constitution to only allow women to run, then. It's good that you already know what a male candidate would be like so you don't have to bother.
It's wild how plenty of more conservative countries have had female presidents in the past.
Very few non-dictatorial countries have ever had the equivalent to a US President. Most other countries also have a Prime Minister (and many also have a Governor General). Germany adds in a chancellor. Some even have actual royalty or religious leaders whose only political job is supposed to be to disband parliament when things get out of hand.
Don't worry, we weren't.
Well, I'm ready, but it is fair to say we as a whole are not. Sexism is deep here - even with people who don't meant or want to be sexist.
Sadly, I agree with her.
How sad
A lot of conservatives need to die off I guess
Americans would elect epstein's dead body over a women, that makes no doubt in my mind.
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