Letter from Kathleen Dalton to a journalism student who wanted to know “what do you think would change if a woman was president?
[Ms. Dalton is the author of Theodore Roosevelt: A Strenuous Life (Vintage).] I’m glad you asked me about what I think would be different if a woman, in this case Hillary Clinton, were elected president. I do have an opinion–surprise, surprise!!! When Eleanor Roosevelt was First Lady some people thought she should run for president after her husband left office. She was conversant with the issues, smart, articulate, a good public speaker, widely respected, and she had the skills to work with Congress to get bills passed. She was also considerably healthier than her husband. The major problem with that idea was the undercurrent of prejudice against women that existed at the time. Journalists like Westbrook Pegler attacked everything she did, accused her of having communist sympathies, and called her “La Boca Grande.” Many people were uncomfortable with a First Lady like Eleanor Roosevelt speaking out on political issues, but by the time she died she had done immense good (she changed w
