In Gender and the American Presidency: Nine Presidential Women and the Barriers They Faced, Theodore F. Sheckels, Nichola D. Gutgold, and Diana Bartelli Carlin invite the audience to consider women qualified enough to be president and explores reasons why they have been dismissed as presidential contenders. This analysis profiles key presidential contenders including Barbara Mikulski, Nancy Pelosi, Nancy Kassebaum, Kathleen Sebelius, Christine Gregoire, Linda Lingle, Elizabeth Dole, Dianne Feinstein, and Olympia Snowe. Gender barriers, media coverage, communication style, geography, and other factors are examined to determine why these seemingly qualified, powerful politicos failed to win the White House.

Watch the authors discuss gender and American politics on CSPAN's BookTV.

Maryland Politics and Political Communication, 1950-2005 is not a survey of all that occurred between 1950 and 2005. Rather, this book focuses on a set of interesting political events in which communication is a very important variable. These events, be they elections or episodes of governance, are also-arguably-the most dramatic ones during the period. It begins with an examination of George Wallace's 1964 and 1972 campaigns in the state's Democratic presidential primary, considers William Donald Schaefer's flamboyant communication strategies as Baltimore mayor and the vicious 1986 U.S. Senate campaign between Democrat Barbara Mikulski and Linda Chavez, and runs through the 2002 gubernatorial race between Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Robert L. Ehrlich. Sheckels highlights the similarities and differences between political communication at state and national levels and looks forward to questions and scenarios that may emerge in future elections.

Seen and Heard

by Nichola D Gutgold

Published 27 March 2008
As a messenger of television news, an anchorperson must hook the audience and make them pay attention. In America, there has been a strong tradition of male news anchors—Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Peter Jennings. These men, perched at their 'electronic hearths', recounted the details of America's most significant history to its citizens. Today, women are visible in every area of television news, even in the hallowed anchor chair, but their presence has been hard-fought and continues to present unique challenges. When Oprah Winfrey edorsed the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama, it reinforced the tremendous power a broadcaster can wield. Seen and Heard examines the lives, careers, and communication styles of twelve of the most compelling and recognizable women of television news, including Christiane Amanpour, Elizabeth Vargas, Diane Sawyer, Paula Zahn, Judy Woodruff, and Candy Crowley. From Barbara Walters's vast career that spans more than half a century to Katie Couric's historic appointment as the sole anchor of the CBS Evening News, this book explores the obstacles and opportunities for women in broadcasting.

When the first woman president moves into the White House, she will not only be indebted to the tireless campaign workers, staff, press, family, friends, and, of course, the voters who got her there, but Madam President will also have her sisters to thank for paving the way. Among these women are Margaret Chase Smith, the stalwart Republican senator from Maine who made a bid for the presidency in 1964; Shirley Chisholm, the fiery New York congresswoman who described herself as 'unbought and unbossed' in 1972; Patricia Schroeder, the silvery-tongued and brilliant former Colorado congresswoman who briefly ran in 1988; Elizabeth Dole, a North Carolina senator who made an impressive showing as a presidential candidate in 2000; and the articulate one-term Illinois senator, Carol Moseley Braun, who ran in 2004. This book chronicles the lives, communication styles, and presidential bids of these five remarkable women while also addressing the obstacles and opportunities for women as presidential contenders.