Gloria Steinem thinks that if Barack Obama were a woman with the same resume, he’d have no chance at being president. I disagree. If Ms. Barack Obama had Mr. Obama’s ideals and experience, and was as good at communicating her ideals, she’d do well. To take the other side of Gloria Steinem’s example, if Hillary Clinton were a man she’d be running in the pack along with Bill Richardson, and nowhere near Barack Obama. Instead, she still has a chance at winning.

If you want to be a successful candidate for president, it helps to have charisma, experience, and guiding principles. Failing that, two out of three isn’t bad. Bill Clinton had charisma and experience. (“Wanting to be president” is not a guiding principle.) Barack Obama has charisma and guiding principles. I don’t necessarily agree with those principles, but he has them, and that is a good thing; it’s why I’d like to see an Obama/Thompson race.

Hillary Clinton has none of those three requirements. That’s her problem, not her gender. I can easily see a woman in the United States with even less elected experience than Clinton being taken seriously as a candidate. In four or eight years, for example, Condoleezza Rice, if she were convinced to run, would be a serious candidate. If democracy in Iraq continues to progress well, she’d also have a good chance of winning.