Commander in... Chieftess?

Tonight marks the premiere of ABC's new primetime drama, "Commander in Chief."

Geena Davis is Mackenzie Allen, vice-president of the United States, until President Bridges unexpectedly dies. Pressured to resign in order to make way for the speaker of the house to assume the presidency, Allen makes a last-second decision to take the oath of office and become the first female president of the United States.

While the first episode has received mixed reviews from critics, many expect the show to be popular with the American public. Earlier this year, a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll found that over 70 percent of Americans would be likely to vote for a female presidential candidate in 2008. According to a Fox News Poll in January, 56 percent of Americans believe that America is ready to elect a female president, up from 51 percent in 1998.

With oft-mentioned presidential prospect, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, likely to make a run for the White House in 2008, and with speculation swirling around Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice as well, ABC's new show may well serve to further soften the political ground for a real life female president.

In an echo of a common theme on The Rebelution, Marie Wilson, president and founder of The White House Project, is quoted as saying, "Culture is a powerful tool for moving us to where I think we have to go." Likewise, Martha Burk, chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations, hailed the primetime drama as an important political step "because things in the popular culture often do become legitimized in real life." In other words, as Chicago Sun-Times columnist, Lynn Sweet, writes, "[T]he abnormal becomes the normal."

The primary agent for this change? As always: Mainstream Media.

It is only a matter of time before a woman presidential candidate becomes a reality. I will be voting in 2008, and so will many of you. Regardless of the outcome, it will undoubtedly be marked as a historic landmark in America's political history. Unfortunately, a show like "Commander and Chief" only serves to foster a media-saturated culture that will cast their ballot, not for a candidate, but for what they perceive to be the most interesting real "reality TV show."