Maria Cantwell & Christine Gregoire // (c) Ted Warrem/AP
The phrase "glass ceiling" is being thrown around an awful lot lately, particularly in relation to Hillary Clinton and everything she did to try and shatter it.
Hillary was my senator - I voted for her as a New Yorker, and I reaped the benefits of her work for the city and state. I think of NY as the training ground that helped her shape her bid for the presidency, inspiring and energizing women across the country.
With all the talk from GOP VP nominee Sarah Palin about her continuing the trend of shattering glass ceilings, you'd think she was our only hope for seeing a woman in a position of power in this country now that Hillary's out of the presidential race.
But when I moved to Seattle, I was surprised to learn that the Governor (Christine Gregoire) and both senators (Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray) are women. The fact that it's NOT big news across the country shows that actually, Washington State is responsible for some of those major cracks we keep hearing about in the media.
Progress isn't the providence of a single politician. It usually comes from standing on the shoulders of giants, as they say - that's true for both Palin and Clinton. Don't get me wrong - I still think we have miles to go, and I want to see a female president in my lifetime under the right conditions. But for now, I hope as this election goes foward, there's some recognition of the women leaders (like the ones in Washington State) who have helped put the concept of a female president squarely within America's reach.
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