Day Early and a Dollar Short

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In 1984, Geraldine Ferraro made a brave and pathbreaking bid for vice president — and bombed. Today, polls show that most voters are ready to send a woman to the White House. We asked Ferraro for her thoughts on this prospect.

What has changed since 1984?

We’ve come a long way. [Having] Madeleine Albright handling foreign policy raises the bar. People are used to seeing women in those positions now.

Did your run help that process?

It’s not so much me. It’s not my candidacy so much as the candidacy. Any number of women could have done precisely the same thing.

Do you regret coming on the scene too early?

The only regret I have is that my state [New York] did not have…laws [that] would have allowed me to run for my congressional seat and vice president at the same time. I would have remained in Congress, which is what I really wanted to do, but I had to give up my seat.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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