Are voters going to be blindsided by Hillary's gender?

Question

First off I'm a 19 year old college student of average intelligence. I don't keep up with political issues using valid sources of information. So I consider myself politically ignorant along with many other U.S. citizens. I'm sort of frightened that a female with such popularity is running for president. Not because she is female, but because ignorant voters might "want" a female president. I'm trying to learn more about the 2008 campaign by watching the news, reading blogs, and so on. The candidate I hear mentioned the most, whether good or bad, is Hillary Clinton. It seems to me like she wants the attention, good or bad, to spread her name. To make it known that a female is running for president. Her name is everywhere, and it's scaring me that she might be elected due to her gender. While I refuse to blindly vote for our U.S. president as other Americans should. I just want to know what might be the probability of Hillary being elected under those conditions.

Answer 1

I don't understand why people think this is the greatest nation on earth, but don't think people have the critical thinking skills to look beyond race and gender.

I look at candidates for their issues and so do the majority of people.  Many like her because of her devotion to health care reform.

Answer 2

I suspect most people don't care about her gender enough to make it a deciding factor, and among those who do decide on gender there are some who will vote for her and some who will vote against her based on gender.  It might not be an even split, but the difference probably won't be significant.

Answer 3

First of all I don't think that she stands a chance of being elected.  She does seem to have the possibility of winning the  candidacy for the Democrats, but if that becomes the case then I see a Republican as shoe-in for the office.  She's simply hated by too many people, and she keeps shooting herself in the foot, making people hate her more with her proposals and constant replies to questions being "It depends on the situation."  Not giving an answer to anything isn't helping her any.

That said, there stands a good chance that a percentage of the population that votes for her will do so simply because she is a woman, whether that decision is a conscious one or they don't realize that's why they chose her.  It's a valid fear, but I don't think that there are enough who will to alter the results.  Hopefully in the future things like that won't even be a second thought in people's minds.

Answer 4

Hillary is OTR.

Answer 5

how about a woman .......its about time .....i think we have seen the plans of the other side a bit to much over the years............its the market v. s. the inviroment

Answer 6

Blindsided: taken by surprise.

No.  I don't think Americans will be blindsided by Hillary's gender.  I'm pretty sure they know she's female.

Answer 7

For claiming to be a politically ignorant person, I would say you "hit the nail on the head".  She is being pushed along because she is female, and some people are so eager to get the first female President they will shove her through.  I hope America is smart enough to wait for the right female candidate (republican or democrat)  I just don't see Hillary as that person.  She is too polar.  People either hate her or love her.  I think the first female Prez., needs to be someone that people from both parties could get behind and support.  That is my personal 2 cents worth.  Keep up with learning about the campaigns.  Visit both the Republican and Democratic websites to learn more about the candidates.  DO NOT rely on the news.  They are very biased and one sided.

Answer 8

It could be a asset to her and believe me she's done the calculation - as a group women vote more than men. That's just the plain facts of it.

The question then becomes, as you point out, would people, especially women, vote for Hillary just because she's a woman to the exclusion of all other factors. I would hope not but there are some really stupid people out there.