Book Review: Jennifer Palmieri's "Dear Madam President"

The ghost of the 2016 election seems to be still with us, with various media covering its aftermath almost ad nauseam, a new book coming out it seems every week trying to explain this highly unlikely outcome. It's enough to make us want to scream at these various authors for rehashing 2016 yet again and also hide away and try to proceed with life as normally as possible. Nevertheless, it remains important to resist the impulse to hide away without compromising one's psychological well-being. This seems to be the overall message of former White House (under President Obama) and Clinton campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri's 2018 open-letter style memoir of the 2016 election Dear Madam President: An Open Letter to the Women Who Will Run the World.

Composed of nine chapters, Palmieri's memoir seems to be at first glance primarily a means of psychological venting and healing (although it definitely is in part) and to its detractors a thinly concealed partisan screed against Donald Trump's election victory. However, while not devoid of criticism of Donald Trump's politics, Dear Madam President is primarily composed of advice for future women leaders, especially those that aspire to political office. There are various obstacles that have been cited in the literature about women leaders, which can be boiled down primarily to misogyny and the overwhelming pressure to suppress feminine qualities while running for office or once in office in favor of emphasizing masculine-ascribed traits of strength and decisiveness. Palmieri states this bluntly in the introduction as she reflects that the campaign reduced Hillary Clinton to a "female facsimile of the qualities we expect to see in a male president" (Palmieri, 2018, p. 9). Clearly, this is an untenable position and a new model of leadership is needed. What is this new model of leadership?

The latter is the million dollar question. How does one overcome thousands upon thousands of years of patriarchal precedent? How does one define what male or female leadership even is in the first place? It is a circular and endless wade into the intellectual, psychological and cultural morass. So, not unlike others in the past Palmieri doesn't pretend to have all the answers and just gives nine bits of sage advice based on her many years in left-leaning politics:

1. (A bit cheesy): "Since we live in a world where the unimaginable is suddenly possible, we need to seize on that by imagining what else might be possible...that seemed unimaginable before" (Palmieri, 2018, p. 20). To me, this speaks on the need to always be flexible when things get tough and require a new approach, while holding onto the soothing of anchor of who we are personally. Palmieri relates this more specifically to staying true to one's self while reinventing the outdated rules of the game (politically and otherwise).
2. Be prepared for push-back: Generally, society smiles upon women who are selfless and subsume their own needs in favor of satisfying the interests of others. It is thought that women are better in indirect supporting roles to their male counterparts rather than direct leadership. Going contrary to these expectations still is a huge political drag for many women candidates, even in the post second-wave era where women have definitely gained ground. Palmieri throws out this notion by stating bluntly that women need to be prepared for a long fight for change, but that persistence and forward-motion (and thick skin) are key.
3. (Again, a bit cheesy): "Speak up" (Palmieri, 2018, p. 34). Personally, that can be very difficult for my introvert self. Nevertheless, Palmieri speaks to both introverts and extroverts in that we shouldn't be afraid to speak up with confidence in whatever you do, lest you regret your silence later.
4. Be emotional rather than stoic all the time. It helps to preserve your humanity and keep one's self sane.
5. A healthy balance between dry logical reasoning and emotional expression is definitely needed in a high-stress environment.
6. Trying to have a perfect appearance all the time is untenable and unrealistic, despite the push-back (see #2). For women, expected to be polished all the time, it is especially important, as merit is more important and age conveys experience. Mind over matter here. 
7. Increasing the telling of women's stories whenever possible is also important when the dominant discourse centers around male experience (hence the term "history"). 
8. Be graceful in your losses, but continue moving forward anyway. Definitely a mind over matter thing here. 
9. Last, but not least, women unite! This also tends to be a cheesy kind of trope in women's literature and public speaking, but it remains true. Trying to bridge divisions between all women and between people generally in the country rather than resort to divisive politics and rhetoric will be the key to success and true change. Who knows what women can accomplish if they can overcome these barriers? Maybe the Women's March was just a prelude.

Will we achieve that revolutionary change? Will America eventually elect a female president? When will the dreaded female-first trope become a relic of history? Is it possible? Who knows. Palmieri's conclusion is definitely frustrating and the given advice somewhat generalizable. That doesn't mean Dear Madam President's advice isn't valuable. We could all use a reminder that laying down and giving up isn't an option right now.


Works Cited:

Beard, Mary. (2017). Women & Power: A Manifesto. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

Palmieri, Jennifer. (2018). Dear Madam President: An Open Letter to the Women Who Will Run the World. New York: Grand Central Publishing.