In 1988 in the Democratic party and in 2000 on the Republican side, highly accomplished and nationally prominent political women, each with a law degree from Harvard University, emerged as possible presidential contenders. After sixteen years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder of Colorado spent the summer of 1988 exploring whether she could become a viable candidate in her party’s primaries. The exploration ended in an emotional press conference at which she announced that she could not raise the money required for a serious race. Remaining in Congress for another eight years, Schroeder continued to play a vocal role as a national spokesperson for women’s rights and for a progressive policy agenda. In her 1988 exploration, Schroeder contributed to the record set by previous women who knew that they could not win the presidency but that someone must sound the call and call attention to the importance of beginning the long march to the White House.
   More than a decade later, Elizabeth Hanford Dole spent the better part of 1999 exploring a race for the presidency in 2000. She had not yet held elective office; but she had a long history of high-level government service, having worked for four presidents in major roles, including cabinet positions as secretary of transportation (1983–1987) and secretary of labor (1989–1991). Moreover, she was married to Republican Senate leader Bob Dole, himself a previous presidential contender. She could also claim executive leadership credentials based on eight years as president of the American Red Cross. By virtue of her own professional and political experience, as well as a vast network of connections, Elizabeth Dole might have been expected to become a serious candidate for the presidency. Yet after nine months, she dropped out without ever developing as a contender on the campaign trail. She cited the difficulty of raising money as a major barrier to building a viable presidential candidacy and gave her support to George W. Bush, who had a campaign chest with tens of millions of dollars.
   The same obstacle was cited as insurmountable four years later when Carol Moseley Braun, another political woman with a law degree, ran for the Democratic presidential nomination. She came to the race after serving for one term as the first African American woman in the U.S. Senate and for a brief time as President Clinton’s Ambassador to New Zealand. While Braun was one of two African American  6 Democrats to announce for president in 2004, she remained the sole female among her party’s ten candidates during primary season. She maintained her profile as a candidate by taking advantage of the free media attention offered by debates. From May 2003 to January 2004, Braun appeared on stage with her fellow candidates in six debates that were televised locally in various primary states and aired nationally on C-Span. Notwithstanding the platform provided by this visibility, Braun was never able to attract the funding and voter support required for creating a serious campaign organization. Reading the tea leaves, she withdrew four days before the first 2004 primary votes were cast in the Iowa caucuses and threw her support to former Vermont governor Howard Dean, who was viewed as a leading candidate at that time.
Explanation:
