Geraldine Ferraro, age 75, died this week. She was the sixth Roman Catholic and the first woman to run for national office as a major party candidate. She was extremely smart, tough as nails, and gutsy. She was a fierce proponent of women's rights and social justice. A graduate of Manhattan College, she was a lifelong Catholic, and a proud one -- although she had a few run-ins with the hierarchy. Her constant battling for the underdog reminded me of a female Fiorello La Guardia or maybe LaGuardia reminded me of a male Gerry Ferraro.
Ferraro became a good friend of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who, with several other women, recently injected a unique element into public policy debates. Hillary did what Gerry so often did. A tough and astute politician and diplomat, she argued and won against strong male opposition for military intervention in Libya on humanitarian grounds.
Secretary Clinton stood on solid ground in her battle with men such as Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs' Chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, had said many times that his greatest mistake as president was not intervening to stop the genocide in Rwanda. No doubt this memory played a role in Secretary Clinton's decision to push for a humanitarian intervention that would save countless lives.
The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations who did such a brilliant job in getting UN support is Susan Rice. She had served as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the genocide in Rwanda when America and the world did nothing to end the horror. Gayle Smith was National Security Director for Africa in the Clinton administration and she and holds that same post now. And a final member of the all- woman team that fought for a moral response to the crisis in Libya, and more broadly in our foreign affairs, was security aide Samantha Power, the author of the seminal book on genocide, A Problem from Hell.
Was this all-woman diplomatic team arguing for a moral purpose to the use of military force an anomaly in public policy? A quick look at recent history says it is not. Women have taken the lead in a number of instances, insisting on decisions that reflect what is right--not only what is most expedient.
The financial crisis offers another clear example. There is no doubt that numerous members of the financial community cut corners, deceived their own boards, and misled the public. Yet the Treasury and Justice Departments seem to have moved on to other issues and all is back to normal on Wall Street.
One woman, however, Elizabeth Warren, is holding feet to the fire and using her power in support of American consumer. Warren is the chief architect of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. "The big banks loathe Mrs. Warren," writes the New York Times business columnist Joe Nocera, because "she has made a career out if pointing out all the ways they gouge financial customers."
Someone else who has aroused considerable anger from powerful segments in America is Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi who, as House Speaker, was the most consistent political force fighting for working class families, bar none. In forcefully, and successfully, promoting legislation to benefit working Americans, Pelosi earned many enemies among the rich and powerful, but her moral compass never wavered.
Is there something in the genes of women that make them take moral issues into account in public policy decision making? I am not a geneticist. Women, however, are often on the front lines when people are being hurt by policy issues. They are rarely as removed from the day to day struggles of American families as men can sometimes be. The most poignant example of course came only last year when American women religiously followed their consciences in support of the health care act. It was a courageous and inspirational act. It was indeed a decision of morality. At the time, E. J. Dionne penned an article entitled, "Listen to the Nuns." In the current debates about Libya and the regulation of Wall Street, and so many other issues, we might enlarge Dionne's advice to instruct: "Listen to the Women!" And, in Heaven, Geraldine Ferraro will smile when we do.
