Discussing whether the “lure of the first female president” will be enough to overcome concerns voters have about Hillary Clinton, Rep. Michele Bachmann told Cal Thomas that the former secretary of state would essentially be “Obama’s third and fourth term in office,” which may “scare enough people to vote for the Republican nominee.”
She also added that many voters “aren’t ready” for a female president:
Bachmann says a lot of people "aren't ready" for a female president. "I think there was a cachet about having an African-American president because of guilt." (Presumably she means because of slavery and the lengthy denial of civil rights to blacks.) "People don't hold guilt for a woman," she says, adding that while people vote for women for virtually every other office "I don't think there is a pent-up desire" for a woman president.
She says while Obama was "new and different," Hillary Clinton has been around a long time and is less likely to stir the juices as Obama did.
Bachmann, of course, ran for president in 2012. "Based off her own personal experience, Rep. Bachmann found that voters weren’t simply interested in electing a president based on their gender, but were focused on finding a candidate based on their merits," Bachmann's Communications Director Dan Kotman said in an email to Townhall. "When it comes to the merits of a Hillary Clinton candidacy, the former Secretary of State has many glaring challenges to address." In other words, voters will not be "ready for Hillary" in 2016.
Editor's note: This post has been updated.