Kelly Ayotte US Senate

I am a resident of California and the results here were as predicted. The women that won are both up against very established politicians of the Democratic Party in a very Blue state. It will be an interesting how they do in November.

However, one of the very depressing things about this election is that less than 30% of the registered voter's participated. I don't know how we as a nation can look ourselves in the eye and call ourselves a Democracy. We can compalin all we want about our country but with voting percentages like this we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Hey Tim! See the URL link to one of our local news stations. Your newsletter from this morning (6/10) stated "Nikki Haley got 49 percent of the vote just barely avoided a runoff election for the SC Governor's race." She did not avoid the runoff, because Gresham Barrett wouldn't conceded. The runoff is June 22nd! So we vote again...and we shall see!

http://www.live5news.com/Global/story.asp?S=12623540

(This comment is directed to your article about women ruling following this week's primaries, NOT about Ms. Ayotte.)
Sorry, I have to strongly disagree with your basic premise here. Men are better managers and leaders than women. While women appear to accomplish more--and through a certain amount of luck, they do, the problem is that women do not think below the surface. For example, when a woman paints, she gets it done in a hurry and it looks great--for awhile. Women are NOT consequence-oriented. Observe next chance the approach taken by a man vs. a woman in a simple task such as driving to the grocery store. It will take some close observation because even before a man (not to be confused with the growing subclass of "girlie-men") gets into his car, there are things that he does so automatically that the casual observer will miss them. For example, he may not even realize he's doing it, but a man will usually know before he gets into his car if he has a low tire. He may not be conscious of noticing his guages upon starting the car or if, when he presses the brake pedal to shift out of park, the brake pedal is a little spongy, that information is logged into a man's inborn "flow chart," and the next few times he uses the brake, he will become aware whether the brakes are operating properly. OK. I could go on and on, but here's what happens when a woman drives to the grocery store. First, she has an almost new car for which she paid a great deal of money. She shouldn't have to worry about whether the tires are low or the brakes may be beginning to need attention. She starts the car and if it doesn't get her where she wants to go safely, it's the dealer's, manufacturer's, mechanic's fault, not hers. Her first hint that there's something wrong with the brakes comes when the pedal goes sickeningly to the floor when she presses it--for the first time--at the point where she intends to stop, usually a foot or less from the car's bumper in front of her. Ever wonder why Satan didn't offer the Forbidden Fruit to Adam first? He knew that Adam would have taken just a second to consider the consequences of directly disobeying God. Men are consequence oriented! Unfortunately, far too many of the so-called men in Washington have never had a real job or served in the military. Absent either of those things and that inborn trait never ripens into a viable character strength.

Having said all that, I am immensely proud of Whitman, Fiorina, Nikki Haley, and the others who have showed the ability to get things done Most women get more done than most men, but in the absence of consideration of consequences, when a disaster happens, it's a lollapaloosa! A panic turn below 1500' in a 727 to attempt a return to the airport: ignored consequences: that plane drops 180 ft/sec in a normal turn and the controls are almost non-responsive below 1500'; she should have bellied it into the swamp (cf. the Hudson Bay incident) where the remains were recovered. Or what about the Lady General in charge of the Abu Ghraib prison? The Lady Captain from NASA? The Lady CO of a heavy cruiser (I'll be okay; I just needed to wash my face with a cold, wet rag) who failed to notice that her ship was getting too close to the other navy ship with which she was having a "drag race"? Hey, maybe it's okay that she has to repaint the house every other year! Some consequences weigh more heavily than others!

Hey Chuck, what was the sex of the captain of the Titanic? The Exxon Valdez? What do you think of Margaret Thatcher? Neville Chamberlain?

My hubby worries about who's gonna win the Stanley Cup, the World Cup, the I.U.-Purdue game, or the Final Four. I worry about feeding him and the dog, including purchasing and preparing the meals. I'm detail oriented; he wants the job done, any way that's quick. We don't fit your profile.

You are a male chauvinist! Not that that's a bad thing but you must acknowledge that fact, if only to yourself.

Meanwhile, I'll check out Kelly Ayotte. She can't possibly be as incompetent and corrupt as 90% of the men in Congress. Hopefully she's not as big a fool as Nancy Pelosi!! She might even READ THE BILL--rather than explaining that we'll have to pass it to find out what's in it!

I am feeling heartened about the election results for the primaries now. You were right, Tim, I am seeing a lot of conservative women passing the odds and winning the primaries, against many incombents. What I see is that Republican and Democrats alike are facing accountability and Americans want a change. Good stuff!!

Chuck, does that mean Obama is a female in drag?