Polls & Research
Archive Search
Americans Ready for Female President
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - People in the United States are more at ease with the idea of having a woman as their head of state, according to a poll by the Siena Research Institute. 66 per cent of respondents claim the country is ready for a female president, up four points in a year.
In addition, 57 per cent of respondents think a woman would handle health care, education and other domestic issues better than a man, but only 15 per cent feel the same way about her as the country's commander-in-chief.
The next United States presidential election is scheduled for November 2008. Incumbent George W. Bush is ineligible for a third term in office.
Democratic New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, wife of former president Bill Clinton, is currently the only female presidential hopeful. Rodham Clinton has served in the U.S. Senate since 2001. In November 2006, she earned a new six-year term in the upper house, defeating former Yonkers mayor John Spencer with 67 per cent of all cast ballots.
On Jan. 20, Rodham Clinton officially launched her presidential candidacy in a videotaped message, declaring, "I'm in, and I'm in to win. (...) I'm not just starting a campaign, though, I'm beginning a conversation with you, with America."
On Feb. 20, speaking to an audience of mostly African American women in South Carolina, Rodham Clinton declared: "I believe this presidential election is about breaking barriers (.) This is the campaign and I am the candidate with the experience to break those barriers."
Polling Data
Do you think the United States is ready for a woman president in 2008?
2007 | 2006 | 2005 | |
Yes | 66% | 62% | 64% |
No | 27% | 28% | 28% |
Not sure | 6% | 10% | 8% |
Would a woman president be better than a man president on...
("Better" answers only)
2007 | 2006 | |
Domestic issues, like education and health care policy | 57% | 63% |
Responding to a natural calamity, such as a hurricane | 34% | 38% |
Dealing with a crisis in Social Security and pension plans | 29% | 32% |
Developing energy policy | 21% | 22% |
Foreign Policy | 16% | 22% |
Commander-in-chief | 15% | 19% |
Source: Siena Research Institute / Hearst Newspapers
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,120 registered American voters, conducted from Feb. 5 to Feb. 9, 2007. Margin of error is 2.9 per cent.
