(January 27, 2006) — America: land of the free, where a person can go from $2 to $2 million in their lifetime. A place where a person is judged not by their gender, race or sexual orientation, but by the fact that they are a person. What’s the next step in America’s journey to equality? Governers in the past and present have already been people once thought of as taboo. Women, African Americans and other minorities have stepped up and claimed their seats Congress. The next logical step is the White House. More specifically, getting America ready for a female President. Hillary Clinton is most likely to be the 2008 candidate of the Democratic Party. Many hats were taken off and eyebrows raised. Could her background as the First Lady give her a head start in what she would have to face? For years, other countries have had women as their leaders. Britain, for instance, has had its fair share of queens as well as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Not only has Britain acknowledged women’s equality as government leaders, but Bangladesh and the Philippines have also had prime ministers and presidents that are female. Khaleda Zia became the first prime minister of Bangladesh through some very important political battles, which finally ended in a fair and democratic election that left her victorious. Corazón Cojuangco Aquino was the President of the Philippines for six years. Angela Merkel became Germany’s first woman leader in 2005. Michelle Bachelet became president of Chile earlier this month. All over, women are beginning to step up to the political plate. Throughout the world people have come to America to find a new life in freedom and equality. So after countless years of oppression, is America ready to hand over the reins to a woman or will it be blinded by stereotypes given to women as weak, over-emotional and unfit to make important decisions? America is ready now more than ever for the guiding hand of a woman in office. Americans have always expressed their dissatisfaction with presidents, and now with opinion gradually turning against our current president, a woman may find her path to the White House paved with the pleads of a desperate country. Can years of categorizing be erased when even other women are doubting their political counterparts? In the end, it comes down to the vote of Americans. The elections for the next president will include the votes of most high school seniors. For some this will be the first time for them to vote. One can only hope they choose the right woman for the job. You can be assured that if I were to be voting in the upcoming presidential elections, and Hillary’s name was on the ballot, you could find my check next to her name.