Electable Why America hasn't put a woman in the White House... yet

In her debut book, journalist and NBC political correspondent Vitali details her journey to uncover why America has not selected a woman for its highest office. She analyzes the 2020 Democratic party primary races (notable for six women candidates among a large, diverse field), with particular focus on Senators Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Amy Klobuchar, whose campaigns she covered. Digging deeper, Vitali revisits names like Geraldine Ferraro and Sarah Palin and looks back to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential run. Vitale's search yields no definitively clear solution, and she determines subtle, often unconscious, gender bias as the fundamental culprit: female candidates must strive to be "Goldilocks," striking a balance between assertive and aggressive, aware that minor missteps will be magnified in the public's eyes. The author concludes with steps needed to effect change, something she's confident we will see in our lifetime. Vitali's own frenetic experiences reporting in the trenches are supplemented by a plethora of comments from candidates of both parties and thoroughly documented. This is timely reading as fall's midterm elections approach.

NBC News correspondent Vitali debuts with a nuts-and-bolts rehash of the 2020 presidential campaign focused on the barriers faced by female candidates. She recounts the highs-and-lows of campaigns run by Kirsten Gillibrand, Amy Klobuchar, and Elizabeth Warren, details accusations of opportunism that Kamala Harris overcame to become Joe Biden's running mate, and analyzes how Hillary Clinton's 2016 loss to Donald Trump affected the 2020 race. Throughout, Vitali identifies biases against women candidates, including allegations that they aren't qualified and won't be as "tough" as necessary when it comes to foreign policy and economic matters, concerns about their "likability," and assumptions that male candidates are more "electable" than women. The latter issue caused friction between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Vitali notes, when Warren accused Sanders of claiming that a woman couldn't beat Donald Trump and Sanders denied it. Vitali stuffs the account with insider details and definitions of political jargon like "negative on the doors" (when volunteers criticize a rival candidate while campaigning door-to-door). Though the anecdotal details sometimes distract from Vitali's larger point, this is an insightful and well-informed look at the progress women in politics have made, and where they still need to go. Agent: Pilar Queen, United Talent Agency (Aug.)

A Capitol Hill correspondent for NBC News examines why the U.S. still has not elected a woman president. As Vitali, who followed the 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns across the country, points out, 2020 produced the most female presidential candidates--all Democrats--in American history. The six women who ran were "qualified, competent lawmakers with heavy policy portfolios," and they all "attracted top staff and notched key endorsements." Yet no woman was selected to face incumbent Donald Trump. The author argues that women--even those like then-Sen. Kamala Harris--did not have the name recognition of male candidates like former Vice President Joe Biden. They also had to work far harder than male candidates to build a "national campaign infrastructure and a national donor base to pay for it." Vitali suggests that because the experiences of women are not discussed enough, or dismissed as irrelevant, voters who fail to do the proper research (a discouragingly large section of eligible voters) may feel like women are agenda-driven unknowns unable to take on important issues. In turn, this makes them appear unable to offer the same "reassurance" that a (White) man could. This was especially significant at a time when fear levels--largely stoked by Trump and his enablers and followers, abetted by Fox News--caused voters to avoid anything remotely uncertain. On the positive side, Vitali shows that because Joe Biden has made it a priority to elevate women like Kamala Harris to high-level government posts, he has helped bring much-needed visibility to women leaders in a way that even Hilary Clinton could not. This will help women continue to build voter credibility, making them not just viable, but electable candidates. In this hopeful and well-documented study, Vitali clearly shows the importance of a truly level playing field. "It's the job of the candidates to run," she writes, "but it's on us to ensure the track is uniformly flat for all of them." Intelligent and engaging political analysis. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.