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To celebrate Presidents Day I selected several old Reader's Digests to browse for articles on Presidents.  With President Obama just completing his first year as Commander in Chief I found an article I thought appropriate. The following is not the complete article.

Reader's Digest, 1962.
pp 53-54

Condensed from
Time (January 5, '62)

The Testing of a President

Fourteen tough months in office have proved a sobering and maturing experience for the youngest elected chief executive in America's history

The taste of victory was fresh and sweet to John Fitzgerald Kennedy.  He sat in the drawing room of his Georgetown home and spoke breezily about the office he would assume.  "Sure, it's a big job," he said.  "But, I don't know anybody who can do it any better than I can.  It isn't going to be so bad.  You've got time to think - and besides, the pay is pretty good."

One year later, on a cool, gray day, the 35th President of the United States sat at his desk in the oval office of the White House and discussed the same subject.  "This job is interesting," he said in the combination of Irish slur and broad Bostonese that has become immediately identifiable on all the world's radios, "but the possibilities for trouble are unlimited.  It takes a lot of thought and effort.  It's been a tough first year, but then they're all going to be tough."

Kennedy has come to realize that national and international issues look much different from the President's chair than from a candidate's rostrum.  There are fewer certainties, and far more complexities.  "We must face problems which do not lend themselves to easy, quick or permanent solutions," he said recently. "And we must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent not omniscient, and that we cannot right every wrong or reverse each adversity, and that therefore there cannot be an American solution for every world problem."

That sober view of the limitations of power and authority is far removed from Kennedy's campaign oratory.  He promised a "New Frontier" to "get America moving again." He soon found that it was tough enough just to keep the old problems from getting out of hand.

In the 1960 campaign he effectively used the charge that U.S. prestige had plummeted during Dwight Eisenhower's administration.  In fact, the United States had under Ike, and retains under Kennedy, a high reservoir of good will in the free world - as Kennedy saw for himself in his triumphal trips to London, Paris and, more recently, Latin America. 

When Kennedy first came to the White House, he resented his inheritance, constantly referred to problems "not of his own making."  But now those old problems tend to become "our problems" and the fact that the world is in trouble seems to Kennedy less Dwight Eisenhower's fault than he once suspected.

Behind such changes of attitude lies the central story of a U.S. President's coming of age.  Personality is a key to the use of Presidential power, and John Kennedy in 1961 passed through three distinct phases of Presidential personality.  First there was the cocksure new man in office.  Then, after the disastrous, U.S. invasion of Cuba, which might have ruined some Presidents, came disillusionment.  Finally, in the year's last months, came a return of confidence, but of a wiser, more mature kind that had been tempered by the bitter lessons of experience.

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.

Some Iowa households received an automated phone call this week that featured the familiar voice of former Lt. Gov. Joy Corning:

In the call, which is paid for by One Iowa, Corning reminds Iowans of the state's history of being open-minded and fair, and requests that other residents join her in ensuring that the civil rights of all are protected, and that the state "continues to move forward as a leader in fairness and equality." 

Corning, an Iowa native, has a long political history in this state and has been a role model for many women. She served as a senator in the state legislature, the first woman ever elected to serve in that chamber, representing a district in Black Hawk County. She was the president of the Cedar Falls School Board. She was also the director of the Iowa Housing Finance Authority during the early 1980s.

She's probably best known, however, for her service as lieutenant governor alongside former Gov. Terry Branstad during the of the 1990s. At the end of Branstad's tenure, in 1998, she became the first Republican woman to ever make a bid for governor, but was not successful in garnering her party's nomination.

Despite being elected as a Republican woman and serving as a Republican woman, Corning's views on two key social conservative issues -- abortion and marriage equality -- often put her at odds with a state party that has been drifting (if not speeding) toward a more and more social conservative stance. Not only has she served on the board of directors for Planned Parenthood in Iowa, but has co-authored open letters with Sally Pederson, another former lieutenant governor of the Democratic variety, stating her support for same-sex marriage and rebuffing the claims of radio entertainer Rush Limbaugh that reproductive health care is abortion.

"Women's reproductive health is primary health care," the women wrote, and went on to explain that such health care includes gynecological exams, Pap tests, mammograms, prenatal care, birth control and screening and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.

"Providing safe and legal medical services for terminating a pregnancy is only one small part of a comprehensive health care system. Defining the discussion of women's reproductive health as this issue alone is a great injustice to all women and to the professionals that serve them."

The letters, of course, have drawn the ire of those within the Republican Party of Iowa who disagree. Those disagreements have, however, paled in comparison to the reactions to the One Iowa automated call. 

The action arm of the Iowa Family Policy Center used the call as a warning to Republicans as they prepare to select a 2010 gubernatorial candidate:

...The current recorded phone messages are consistent with Corning's long-standing anti-family ideology and leftist political social agenda.

According to IFPC Action President Chuck Hurley, "She would never have become Lt. Governor without the electoral support of tens of thousands of Christians and conservatives, and we have no one to blame for this but ourselves." He went on to say, "Joy Corning has given us another clear example of just exactly why as Christians and conservatives we should no longer sacrifice our convictions for perceived political victories. When we elect people like Joy Corning, we elevate and advance the destruction of the family."

With the 2010 campaign now in full swing, many Iowans are beginning to pay more attention to where candidates stand on key issues. Hurley said, "We need reminders from time to time as to why personal convictions and party platforms are so important, and Joy Corning has given us a gift that punctuates the need for a new paradigm in Iowa politics."

Bob Vander Plaats, a self-proclaimed social conservative Republican who is seeking the office of governor for the third time, derided Corning for being "out of touch" with mainstream Iowans and, of course, used the connection between Corning and Branstad to attack his primary competition:

"Terry Branstad enters the governor's race on Saturday night without stating where he truly stands on the issue and on Tuesday night his lieutenant governor does an automated call urging Iowans to support same-sex marriages. All of that takes place not too long after his former chief of staff wrote an opinion piece saying the Republican Party needs to nominate a candidate with 'centrist' views on social issues," Vander Plaats said. "Urging Iowans to support same-sex marriage is not only out of touch with Republican values but it is overwhelmingly out of touch with Main Street Iowa."

He added, "If you listened closely to his speech on Saturday night, Terry Branstad did not say he supports one-man, one-woman marriage. He said he would break the legislative logjam that is preventing a referendum by Iowans. That's not the same thing. If he wants to break the road block, he should join me by committing to sign an executive order banning additional same-sex marriages on day one in office until Iowans have a right to vote on the issue."

Both political parties are making a lot of noise these days about their "big tents," meaning their ability to overlook the platforms that have been created by their membership and accept people into their fold who hold opposing viewpoints on some issues. What has become clear over the past two decades, however, is that there are certain members of each party that would like to hold leaders and members to specific purity tests.

Due to current events within the state, this divide is primarily apparent in Iowa within the Republican Party as predominantly fiscal conservatives (like Corning) butt heads with predominantly social conservatives (like Vander Plaats). 

So, why do Iowa women owe Joy Corning a big round of applause? Because it takes a lot of backbone to stand firmly where you feel you need to be politically -- in her case, within the Republican Party -- and still voice your own deeply-held beliefs about what is right and what is wrong.

I have watched as friends have left one party or the other to join ranks with third parties, which simply do not have much political clout in America. Instead of standing up within their political party and demanding that an opposing viewpoint be heard and acknowledged, these individuals have found it easier and less stressful to bow out and leave the parties to find their own way -- even when "their own way" was not in the best interests of this county, state or nation.

I began this post by telling you that Corning has been a role model for many women. I want to end by telling you why she will continue to be a role model for young Iowa women: She speaks her mind, regardless of the political cost. She not only stands up for what she believes, but crawls up on a table to be heard above the din around her.  While her former titles alone garner her an audience, she understand the value of partnering with others to amplify her voice and her beliefs.

Two of the best known (as well as most well preserved) examples of Southern American quilting were created by Harriet Powers, an African American woman who was born in October 1837 and lived a portion of her life as a Georgia slave.

One, an 1886 Bible quilt, is kept by the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. The second pictorial quilt, although not currently on display, is a part of the collection at the Museum of Fine Art, Boston.

Because of Powers' life in slavery as well as her detailed depictions on her quilts, most historians believed she was illiterate. Prior to this year, the only known descriptions relating to her two well-known quilts were written by another person, apparently writing as Powers described with her voice the stories told on the quilt squares.

Because of the diligent historical forensics of author Kyra Hicks, who is an accomplished quilter of her own right, we now know for certain that Powers was able to both read and write. In addition, it is also known that at least two other quilts were produced by the artist -- one of which depicted The Last Supper.

The newly discovered information about Powers was courtesy of a letter she wrote in 1896 to Lorene Curtis Diver, a resident of Keokuk, Iowa. In the letter Powers wrote about how she learned to read as a child, and about her quilts. Because of Hicks' research, it is now believed that Powers produced at least five quilts.

Hicks' book -- This I Accomplish: Harriet Powers' Bible Quilt and Other Pieces -- published in July and is available at Prairie Lights Books in Iowa City as well as other independent booksellers.

The Iowa Women's Foundation has selected three finalists in three categories for this year's 50% Solution Awards. Voting is open through Sept. 15, and winners will be announced at the 13th annual awards luncheon on Friday, Oct. 16, in Coralville.

The awards, according to the organization's Web site, "recognize exceptional contributions made to advance women and girls throughout the state of Iowa."

Women finalists in the individual category are:

• Elizabeth Daley, Bankers Trust Corporation, Cedar Rapids
• Dianne Dillon-Ridgley, Plains Justice, Iowa City
• Col. Joan M. Gouge, Iowa Army National Guard, Johnston

Finalists in the business category are:

• Nolte Academy of Dance, Coralville
• Pearson Educational Measurement Group, Iowa City
• Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids

Nonprofit category finalists are:

• Iowa American Legion Auxiliary, statewide
• Iowa Women's Archives, statewide
• University of Iowa Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Program, Iowa City

Reservations are currently being accepted for the awards luncheon.

Iowa women make up over 50 percent of the state population, 47.5 percent of the workforce, 22.7 percent of the Iowa Legislature and 0 percent of Iowa's federal delegation. Despite higher educational attainment, women's wages lag behind men's wages at every level and in every Iowa industry.

The Iowa Women's Foundation was created on the belief that strategic grant investments will promote positive social change.

Since 1994, grants have been awarded annually to programs operating in nearly two-thirds of Iowa's 99 counties in the following areas:

• Advocacy
• Girls' Enrichment
• Girls' Intervention
• Health
• Homelessness
• Immigration
• Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence
• Women & Agriculture
• Women & Community Building
• Women & Girls in the Criminal Justice System
• Women & Girls in the Arts
• Women's History
• Women's Skill Building

During my travels over the weekend I missed a very important front page offering in Sunday's Sioux City Journal by Bret Hayworth, "Wanted: Women Lawmakers." No, there isn't much information in the article that regular EE readers won't already know, but it is always good to see reporters and news outlets outlining and reinforcing the issue. (Note, that statement isn't intended at all to be a slam toward Bret, who has reported on women in politics specifically previously and hit-and-miss in several peripheral news pieces.)

In November, voters will fill three positions on the Sioux City Council, and 11 are seeking the positions.

None of the 11 is a woman.

Women comprise 50.8 percent of the 307 million national population and 50.6 percent of Iowans are female. But 89 years after getting the right to vote -- Women's Equality Day was commemorated Thursday -- it's a man's world in tri-state elective bodies.

Roughly one in five lawmakers in the tri-state legislatures are women, which has been the norm the last decade. In the South Dakota Legislature, 21 of 105 members are women. In the Nebraska Unicameral, 10 of 49 senators are women, although none represent northeast Nebraska. In the Iowa Legislature there are 34 women among the 150 legislators...

Don't miss these tidbits at the bottom of the article:

• None of the five Sioux City Council members is a woman.
• None of the five Dakota County Commission members is a woman.
• None of the five Union County Commission members is a woman.
• One of five Woodbury County supervisors is a woman.
• One of six Sergeant Bluff City Council members is a woman.
• One of the nine South Sioux City Council members is a woman, Mayor Sandra Ehrich.
• Two of the seven Sioux City School Board members are women.
• 10 of 49 Nebraska Unicameral members are women.
• 21 of 105 South Dakota Legislature members are women.
• 34 of 150 Iowa Legislature members are women, 25 in the House and nine in the Senate.
• 24.3 percent of state legislators nationally are women, an all-time high, as 1,791 women serve among the 7,382 seats.

The following proclamation was signed by Pres. Barack Obama today in honor of Women's Equality Day:

Today, our country renews its commitment to freedom and justice for all our citizens. As we prepare to celebrate this women's day of equality, we reflect on the sacrifices once made to allow women and girls the basic rights and choices we freely exercise today. The future we leave to our daughters and granddaughters will be determined by our willingness to build on the achievements of our past and move forward as one people and one Nation. The fight for women's equality is not a woman's agenda, but an American agenda.

We honor the resilience, accomplishments, and history of all women in the United States. We celebrate the courageous women who fought to uphold a fundamental principle within our Constitution the right to vote and in so doing, protected the cornerstone of our vibrant democracy. These visionaries of the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 sought to ensure that our country lived up to its founding ideals. Although only one, Charlotte Woodward, at the age of 81, had the opportunity to exercise her newfound right, the struggle reminds us that no righteous cause is a lost one. We also commemorate women like Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, a poet and lecturer who formed the National Association of Colored Women; Antonia Pantoja, a tireless advocate of education equality within the Latino community; Sarah Winnemucca, a voice for peace within the Native American community; and Patsy Mink, author of Title IX and the first woman of color and Asian American woman elected to the United States Congress. These women's talents, and the contributions of countless others, built upon the framework of 1848 and forged paths for future generations.

Our Nation has come a long way since that ground-breaking convention in New York. Women have occupied some of the most significant positions in government. They have delivered justice from the bench of our highest court, fought for our country in foreign lands, discovered cures to diseases, and joined the ranks of the greatest business leaders of our time. Female college graduates now outnumber their male counterparts. Women have sought equality through government, demonstrated by the signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, and the establishment of the White House Council on Women and Girls. They have sought equality through advocacy, exemplified by the efforts of thousands of women's organizations. America has made significant progress toward becoming the fair and just society the suffragists once envisioned.

Yet, today, our work remains unfinished. Far too many adult women remain mired in poverty. Women are still subject to pervasive discrimination at school and harassing conduct in the workplace. Women make, on average, only 78 cents for every dollar paid to men. Underrepresented in many facets of our economic and public life, from government to boardrooms to the sciences, women have yet to eradicate all barriers to professional development.

We stand at a moment of unparalleled change and a time for reflection and hope. We cannot allow the vibrant energy and passionate commitment of our trailblazing women to fade, and we can never forget the responsibility we bear to the ideals of liberty and equality for all. Each generation of successful women serves as a catalyst to empower, enlighten, and educate the next generation of girls and boys, and we must devote ourselves to promoting this catalyst for change now and in the future.

On this Women's Equality Day, we resolve to continue the important work of our Nation's foremothers and their successors, and turn their vision of a more equal America into our reality.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim August 26, 2009, as Women's Equality Day. I call upon the people of the United States to celebrate the achievements of women and recommit themselves to the goal of true gender equality in this country.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA