Electable: Why America Hasn’t Put a Woman in the White House... Yet

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.)