The first Madam President will be sworn in sooner than most people think. But the gender gap in politics is still shockingly broad, say two of America's most readable political commentators in this "timely look at the nation's sputtering efforts to envision a woman in America's top job."(The Boston Globe). Charting the transformation of women's power in American politics from the first female presidential candidate (Victoria Woodhull in 1872) to the shattered presidential hopes of Shirley Chisholm and Elizabeth Dole, Madam President presents tales of passion, determination, set-backs, and triumph from nearly all national women politicians and most leading state politicians "in the pipeline." With insight garnered from years on the Washington political scene and candid interviews with leading politicians like Christine Todd Whitman and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Clift and Brazaitis explain why the barriers to women are still formidable: There are only 3 female governors (one of the best routes to the White House) and at the current rate it will take 250 years before there are as many women Senators and Representatives as men. A forward-looking, savvy analysis of women in politics, Madam President gives the first inside look at how America's female politicians got there, stayed there, and what it will take for them to make it to the presidency.