Vision, not gender, should sway who takes top leadership job

Historic.

You can't deny that -- Hillary Clinton becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee for president of the United States.

Some people have wondered when the country will elect a woman as its top leader. Clinton is likely to face Donald Trump, the presumptive nominee on the Republican side, in November's election.

Debbie Georgatos, a Dallas-area political strategist, author and radio talk-show host, doesn't think the gender factor will sway which way many people vote.

“I think it will largely be older women who may be tempted to vote for Hillary," Georgatos said Thursday, the same day President Barack Obama formally endorsed Clinton as his successor.

"I think that younger women and women who are professionals, in college or just out of college, they have lived in an America where women have pretty much had all the access to power and success," Georgatos said in a telephone interview.

So, yes, Clinton reached a milestone this week after more state primary elections. But will or should people vote for Clinton just because she's a woman?

“I don’t think that will play for younger voters," said Georgatos, a former California attorney whose book, "Ladies, Can We Talk? America Needs Our Vote" was released in October 2012.

Georgatos said she generally votes Republican, but considers herself conservative. She's a self-described advocate for limited government rather than programs "that try to fix everything." That approach often makes it harder, she said, for women to thrive and succeed.

Sure, when it comes to leadership, women may tend to have different skills and styles than men. But the decision about for whom to vote should be based on issues, such as the candidate's vision for the economy and country, Georgatos said.

"What should matter for a president is what they believe in," she said.

Good thing most people probably realize that. And hopefully the next four months of the presidential campaign will offer plenty of dialogue along those lines and fewer political barbs.

lisagreen@jg.net