Image via WikipediaYou hear lots of stories about the first woman who did this or that, as if we're supposed to be surprised that they could accomplish something that they've never before been given the chance to do. Geraldine Ferraro, who died Saturday at 75, was one of those women. She was the first vice presidential nominee from a major political party, because someone thought enough of her to give her the opportunity.
In the 1984 presidential campaign the Democratic Party, four years removed from President Jimmy Carter's failure to secure a second term, were becoming marginalized in the face of the conservative revolution spearheaded by Ronald Reagan. Now Carter's vice president, Walter Mondale, was making his own run at the White House and needed a game-changer. So he turned to a little-known congresswoman from New York, and Ferraro became the trailblazer.
After initial curiosity over the novelty of a woman running for such a high office, Ferraro was done in by questions about her husband's tax returns and the patronizing attitudes of her political opponents. But what neither Mondale nor Ferraro could overcome was that voters just seemed to like that gosh-darn Reagan so much, with his promise of "morning in America", that they overwhelmingly gave him a second term. Mondale won only his home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia.
After that, Ferraro ran and lost twice for a U.S. Senate seat from her home state. She also served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations' Commission on Human Rights under President Bill Clinton. She also gave TV a try, as political commentator for CNN and Fox News.
The last time Ferraro made any kind of headlines was while working for Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. Apparently upset that her daughter planned to vote for Barack Obama, she disparaged his candidacy to a California newspaper, claiming he wouldn't have gotten all this attention if he were white. Ferraro soon left the Clinton campaign.
Geraldine Ferraro was an example to women that maybe they could break the political glass ceiling, and not just because a man gave them the opportunity. It hasn't happened yet, because no woman has been elected president or vice president. Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, who was John McCain's choice to be his GOP running mate, had the chance in 2008. Maybe 2012 will bring a different answer.
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