Letters to the President #1452: 'Breaking up the boys club'

Reporter's Note: The president is under fire over a shortage of women in top spots in his second term.

Dear Mr. President,

The wonderful musician Todd Rundgren took heat from the politically correct crowd years ago over his song, “We Gotta Get You a Woman,” but I wonder if you might want to make that a theme around the White House for a while. Seriously.

I’m sure your team is not too happy about critics pointing out the dearth of women headed for top slots of your second administration. I’m equally sure you’ll take steps in the next few weeks to draw as much attention as possible to every woman you appoint. But the fact remains, it is unlikely that you’ll fill even half of your cabinet with females at any point. You could. You just won’t.

For all of that prattling during the election about a Republican “war on women,” it does not appear that you and your party are much more welcoming to women. A little more, yes, but hardly enough to brag about.

Think about it. How can you or anyone else justify the fact that women are always a minority in the top positions, whether Republicans or Democrats are in charge? There are 311,000,000 people in this country, and more than half of them are female. Certainly you could have found enough to take charge of half of the power positions in D.C. And yet, no president ever has, including you.

I can formulate no reasonable explanation other than this: You’re not trying. Like most presidents, you’ve cozied up to your cronies…people who you like, trust, or have known a long time…and they are predominantly men.

It’s your choice, of course. Who am I or anyone else to dictate whom you should rely on? But don’t expect women, or those who defend their rights, to appreciate what you’ve done. Whether you intended it or not, it feels like a bait and switch; like once you had racked up enough votes from women to secure your re-election, you…like Washington always does…went right back to ignoring them.

Maybe that’s too harsh…but just saying…

Hope all is well.

Regards,
Tom