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CNN Live At Daybreak

America Votes 2002: Year of the Women

Aired November 01, 2002 - 08:33   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Ever since the women's movement surfaced 30 years ago, we've heard about the woman in politics, but this time, it may be significantly different.
CNN senior analyst Jeff Greenfield is here to explain why.

Good morning, Jeff.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Hi.

ZAHN: So what's different.

GREENFIELD: We have heard so many times of the year of the woman, it begins to sound like those reoccurring Chinese New Years, you know, every few years. The last one came in 1992, in the wake of that stormy fight over Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court nomination. That fight, you'll remember, was triggered by charges of sexual harassment. Six women won or re-elected to Senate seats, and some of them, like California's Barbara Boxer and Washington's Patty Murray, specifically citing their gender as a reason why they'd be more responsive, more sensitive.

This year, women are expected to make gains in the statehouses, where only five women now serve as governor. There are nine states this year where women have won major party nominations for governor. In one state, Hawaii, both major parties have nominated women.

But I think what makes this intriguing is how these women are running, less as caring and sensitive, and more as tough, strong leaders. In Michigan, attorney general Jennifer Grantham is leading the race for governor. She's a former federal prosecutor, and she's stressing her willing to night. In Arizona, attorney general Janet Napolitano (ph) is in a tight race for governor. Her ads refer to her as a tough prosecutor. And in Kansas, insurance commissioner Kathleen Sebelius (ph), I don't think any relation to the composer, is running as a law and order candidate, promising tougher mandatory sentencing. Very different kind of rhetoric than we heard 10 years ago.

ZAHN: So if they carry through with that kind of approach, if elected, what would be the impact of that?

GREENFIELD: I think the lingering stereotype that affects women, and more importantly, what polling has found, is that women somehow aren't tough enough. And senators talk and they vote, but governors act, they preside over death penalty decisions, they even call out the National Guard. So I think the more we see women exercising executive leadership as governors, the more the idea of a woman as president becomes natural.

ZAHN: So you're saying if a 43-year-old Jennifer Grantham (ph) ends up being elected, she becomes down the road a very likely nominee?

GREENFIELD: Actually, the one thing we know is Jennifer Grantham (ph) will never run for president, and the reason we know this is not some great insight. She was born in Canada, and the Constitution says she can't run.

But she does, I think, by the way, break another stereotype. When women first ran for office, they had to be as unthreatening as possible, and I think that meant unglamorous. Grantham (ph), who had acting exhibitions in her youth, shatters that mold pretty convincingly. I think finally women are allowed to be both attractive and politically attractive as well. This is a good thing.

ZAHN: I think it's all right for another woman to look at her and say she is absolutely stunning, right, and all that other stuff.

GREENFIELD: That's for a woman to say, not for middle-aged men.

ZAHN: Have we seen any fallout from women running in other races, like in House races, where the running is tough, aggressive, where there's been...

GREENFIELD: It's less that way because the job is different. I mean, that is why I think women made gains in state legislature and House and Senate races first. Also, you have a woman national security adviser, you had a woman secretary of state, you have two women on the supreme court of the United States -- these stereotypes -- you know, I think this fight is being won, if it indeed was a fight, in slow, steady incremental ways. I think the difference between when Walter Mondale put Geraldine Ferraro on the ticket, which was really seen as an affirmative action choice, you know, she was picked because she was a woman, and the group of women who are now credentialed to run for president is just enormously different.

There was a poll out just today, only 21 percent of Americans think they're likely to see a woman president in their lifetime.

ZAHN: Really?

GREENFIELD: I would be in that minority. I think it is coming sooner than we think and, as I say, if Grantham (ph) wins in Michigan and hadn't been born in Canada.

ZAHN: She would be a likely shot?

GREENFIELD: You bet.

ZAHN: Thanks, Jeff. Appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 1, 2002 - 08:33   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Ever since the women's movement surfaced 30 years ago, we've heard about the woman in politics, but this time, it may be significantly different.
CNN senior analyst Jeff Greenfield is here to explain why.

Good morning, Jeff.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Hi.

ZAHN: So what's different.

GREENFIELD: We have heard so many times of the year of the woman, it begins to sound like those reoccurring Chinese New Years, you know, every few years. The last one came in 1992, in the wake of that stormy fight over Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court nomination. That fight, you'll remember, was triggered by charges of sexual harassment. Six women won or re-elected to Senate seats, and some of them, like California's Barbara Boxer and Washington's Patty Murray, specifically citing their gender as a reason why they'd be more responsive, more sensitive.

This year, women are expected to make gains in the statehouses, where only five women now serve as governor. There are nine states this year where women have won major party nominations for governor. In one state, Hawaii, both major parties have nominated women.

But I think what makes this intriguing is how these women are running, less as caring and sensitive, and more as tough, strong leaders. In Michigan, attorney general Jennifer Grantham is leading the race for governor. She's a former federal prosecutor, and she's stressing her willing to night. In Arizona, attorney general Janet Napolitano (ph) is in a tight race for governor. Her ads refer to her as a tough prosecutor. And in Kansas, insurance commissioner Kathleen Sebelius (ph), I don't think any relation to the composer, is running as a law and order candidate, promising tougher mandatory sentencing. Very different kind of rhetoric than we heard 10 years ago.

ZAHN: So if they carry through with that kind of approach, if elected, what would be the impact of that?

GREENFIELD: I think the lingering stereotype that affects women, and more importantly, what polling has found, is that women somehow aren't tough enough. And senators talk and they vote, but governors act, they preside over death penalty decisions, they even call out the National Guard. So I think the more we see women exercising executive leadership as governors, the more the idea of a woman as president becomes natural.

ZAHN: So you're saying if a 43-year-old Jennifer Grantham (ph) ends up being elected, she becomes down the road a very likely nominee?

GREENFIELD: Actually, the one thing we know is Jennifer Grantham (ph) will never run for president, and the reason we know this is not some great insight. She was born in Canada, and the Constitution says she can't run.

But she does, I think, by the way, break another stereotype. When women first ran for office, they had to be as unthreatening as possible, and I think that meant unglamorous. Grantham (ph), who had acting exhibitions in her youth, shatters that mold pretty convincingly. I think finally women are allowed to be both attractive and politically attractive as well. This is a good thing.

ZAHN: I think it's all right for another woman to look at her and say she is absolutely stunning, right, and all that other stuff.

GREENFIELD: That's for a woman to say, not for middle-aged men.

ZAHN: Have we seen any fallout from women running in other races, like in House races, where the running is tough, aggressive, where there's been...

GREENFIELD: It's less that way because the job is different. I mean, that is why I think women made gains in state legislature and House and Senate races first. Also, you have a woman national security adviser, you had a woman secretary of state, you have two women on the supreme court of the United States -- these stereotypes -- you know, I think this fight is being won, if it indeed was a fight, in slow, steady incremental ways. I think the difference between when Walter Mondale put Geraldine Ferraro on the ticket, which was really seen as an affirmative action choice, you know, she was picked because she was a woman, and the group of women who are now credentialed to run for president is just enormously different.

There was a poll out just today, only 21 percent of Americans think they're likely to see a woman president in their lifetime.

ZAHN: Really?

GREENFIELD: I would be in that minority. I think it is coming sooner than we think and, as I say, if Grantham (ph) wins in Michigan and hadn't been born in Canada.

ZAHN: She would be a likely shot?

GREENFIELD: You bet.

ZAHN: Thanks, Jeff. Appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com