by Taylor Marsh
I appreciate the theater of this moment. It's been a very long time coming.
Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi, the first female Speaker of the House in American history. This is a huge event for all women, regardless of politics.
It's very unfortunate that Mr. Bush could not even bring himself to honor the woman sitting next to him who just made U.S. history. Having two daughters, you'd think the man would have a clue. At no time this week did he even utter the words Speaker-elect Pelosi, let alone note the moment in history. It was ungracious, not to mention an insult, though perhaps he doesn't even understand the significance.
Women have a difficult time getting invited on the Sunday news shows, as I've written about so often. Finally having a woman in a seat of power in American politics is historic for us all.
But for any woman involved in the revolution to be taken seriously on the world stage, in politics and in the world of opinion, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has the opportunity to open the door even wider for the rest of us. The more women are seen in these positions of power, especially talking about serious issues of our time, from family to foreign policy, the better chance we all have of breaking through the male dominance in the arena of ideas.
This means so much to us all. Katie Couric is one thing; big ratings, legs and smiles, talking news while pushing commerce. But a woman as the Speaker of the House is several leagues beyond. With Claire McCaskill's rise to the United States Senate, we now have 16 women making decisions that rock our world, then there are the women of the House. We've come a long way, baby, but what a long time it has taken.
We all should demand more. The world is changing and the violent issues being debated require input from women. We can't just choose to be silent because that's simpler. There is a call we must each find a way to answer in our own way.
We're also losing in some areas. Gail Collins, the first female head of The New York Times editorial board is retiring. Women are disappearing from our newspapers, but then again, our newspapers are vanishing too. Blogs and other forms of media are the future.
As for radio, well, it's still a man's world, though Randi Rhodes, Stephanie Miller, then Laura Ingraham, as well as Rachel Maddow, have busted out of the Dr. Laura mode of all relationships and whining all the time. But there are still far too few femmes being heard over the airwaves. Progressive women in particular are getting shut out, but we're finding a way to bust out.
What I'm already looking forward to is the State of the Union speech by Bush where the camera closes in on a picture never before seen in American history. A woman Speaker sitting behind the president keeping watch for the rest of us. A woman is third in line to the presidency. It's a moment I've been waiting for all my life. It has the potential of changing America for good.