Tomorrow, Prof. Gates and Sgt.Crowley will have the president’s ear. But if they’d been women, would this sitdown even be happening?
FDR chatted at firesides. LBJ drove folks around his ranch. Bush 43 bonded through biking. Every president has his own style of relaxed communication, and apparently a backyard beer (this one now scheduled for Thursday at 6:00 PM) is going to be Obama's. But even though the so-called beer summit seems a friendly way to smooth over the Harvard brouhaha (now officially the brewhaha), it also gives off a frisson of boys' club. If Ruth Simmons, the African-American president of Brown University, had some kind of showdown with a white female police officer, would POTUS be so quick to proffer two cold ones? In a word (hyphenated): Nuh-uh. Yeah, yeah, lots of women drink beer. But it just wouldn't seem...seemly. On the other hand, our empathizer-in-chief might think of the perfect female forum. Maybe, as our first president with metrosexual potential (perfect grooming and Dijon mustard on his hamburger: yes!; mom jeans in the baseball stadium: no!), he'd suggest that all three of them sit down for a mani-pedi party (could the water be a little warmer, please?).
But whatever the venue, what matters is the access. So we invite you to a virtual sitdown with the president. As a woman, what would you tell or ask Obama over beers? (Besides, of course, "Isn't there any Amstel Light?")
