An Open Letter to the Women Who Will Run the World

Palmieri’s message is loud and clear. It’s time.

I watched Jennifer Palmieri on Rachel Maddow Show last night and decided I need to hear what she had to say. She was up close and personal and in a position to be perhaps a little more forward looking and perhaps less blame placing.

Her message is loud and clear. It’s time.

Women and children need to lead the way.

Naysayers will NEVER be able to understand how deeply the sexism impacted the campaign. Not an excuse. Just a fact. Tiny glimpses into Jenn's life broke my heart as she NEVER once let personal circumstances (like her sister's illness) take one second away from her job. From her commitment ...because that's what women DO. Couple that with Comey, Putin, Facebook...

As a letter to the first female president, I hope that candidate uses this as a guidebook. A cheat sheet. As armor because I'm pretty sure that candidate is out there now and will (unfortunately) face the same crap we do. Daily. The pink tax. The "she looks tired" media reports. The balance question. I'm afraid it'll take at least another generation to shed that garbage.

In the mean time: "Move forward, draw fire." Without forward momentum, we stagnate and that's not an option.

The book was well written. The content has been rehashed in so many books since the 2016 Presidential election. The author is just using the same excuses that Hillary did as to why the "more qualified" female did not win over the unqualified "racist, misogynistic" male candidate. It couldn't possibly be because she is a criminal and over half of the country knew it then. The book is all about having to find your voice in a male dominated world - not by following the same dictates but by forging your own path. That part of the book was almost inspiring - and then the author would go back to her experience on the campaign and whine about all the heat Hillary was taking from the press (the press that was clearly in her corner).

If you can stand one more book that spends half it's time whining about the unfairness of the loss in 2016 - then this is the book for you.

This is essentially a tell-all and therapy session from the 2016 election, presented as an open letter to some future female occupant of the Oval Office. Jennifer Palmieri obviously has a glittering resumé, having held key posts in both the Obama White House and then the Hillary Clinton campaign. Her writing and analysis are solid, but I suspect it will be mostly Democrat who will be willing to endure the angst of reliving November ’16 and the devastating loss.

For the millions of voters who admit they never did understand Mrs. Clinton, this book might actually help. The author knows her well and admires her extravagantly. Many of us on the losing side still struggle with our frustration over our candidates’ failure to win, and it’s helpful to read how someone right there in the inner circle came to appreciate the Secretary of State’s commitment to justice and serving her country. “There aren’t any juicy things to share about Hillary,” Palmieri writes, “because she’s a simple and serious person.”

This isn’t a long book, and there are certainly other election accounts with more detail and analysis. But the final ten pages or so are worth the entire purchase price; she finishes on a high note with an eloquent call to citizenship and renewed hope. America’s rebirth, she suggests, “will come from the ground up or it won’t come at all.”

This thoughtful little book finishes with this positive call to arms: “Madam President, it is important for you to know that I have never thought this reckoning necessarily spells doom for America. It could, if we don’t figure out a way to bridge our differences, but I am hopeful because I see a unifying thread linking these groups of frustrated Americans. They all thought America could be better than it was in that moment. That America was not living up to her values. . . . The two sides were certainly very far apart, but the bottom line is that everyone expected better of this country.”

This book includes an important look at the first woman presidential candidate from a major party, written by a woman who was intimately involved in the campaign, as well as two presidencies and earlier presidential campaigns. This 2016 candidacy, and also these reflections, are all historic. Just as we all have to keep learning about racism and how to rid ourselves of prejudice, so too must we — men and women alike — understand sexism and misogyny as it impacts all women, including women seeking the most important jobs in the world. The book is short, not a big time commitment, and therefore anyone who would like to see a woman president during our lifetimes should read it. Palmieri’s writing style is concise and compelling. The book is emotional, depressing at times, and also uplifting and hopeful.

Written in a clear, fluid style, this wonderful little book is moving, instructive and inspiring. It's short but powerful, personal and yet universal. This books isn't about politics per say, but about how women are perceived, particularly women in power, and how women (and men!) can make sense of Hillary's loss in 2016, and proactively move on. I'm giving this to cool, driven, imaginative young women graduating from high school and college this summer. May they go out and change the world.

I bought this book after watching two interviews with the author. It is a poignant personal recount of the reality of working in the political arena. I strongly recommend reading for women aspiring to rise to greater heights in any career path. Thought provoking!

I had the great good fortune to hear Jennifer Palmieri speak in person about this book and then sign a copy for my 15-year-old daughter, to whom I explained, "This book was written for young women your age and older by a woman who worked directly with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Reading it and having it will help you remember what happened in 2016 -- and help you and others, especially women, change the norms so incompetent, bullying, dangerously corrupt men don't succeed at the expense of qualified, responsible, smart women."

Jennifer is an exceptional writer...and an exceptional political mind. Dear Madam President continues the hard conversation (that we must have) about What Happened in the 2016 election and where we go moving forward. She tackles the tough issue of the divisive election, the imbalance of gender in politics/leadership, and the failure of all of us to recognize that women shouldn't be compared to men. Women will one day run the world - of that, I have no doubt - and Dear Madam President is the blueprint that will outline how that feat will be accomplished. We have 500+ years of society favoring men ("all men are created equal"), isn't it time we let women rise, reach their full potential, and show us how to lead the world forward? I for one am ready to step aside and deny the stereotypes that hold women back...and Jennifer Palmieri is just the right captain to navigate these uncharted waters. - Gregory T. Christensen

What an incredible book! I came away wanting to not just do more but to do more the best way that I can and not try to fit myself into someone else's mold. Jennifer Palmieri is a magnificent writer and I am so glad this was recommended to me. I have now recommended this book to several others.

I bought this book after watching two interviews with the author. It is a poignant personal recount of the reality of working in the political arena. I strongly recommend reading for women aspiring to rise to greater heights in any career path. Thought provoking!

I had the great good fortune to hear Jennifer Palmieri speak in person about this book and then sign a copy for my 15-year-old daughter, to whom I explained, "This book was written for young women your age and older by a woman who worked directly with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Reading it and having it will help you remember what happened in 2016 -- and help you and others, especially women, change the norms so incompetent, bullying, dangerously corrupt men don't succeed at the expense of qualified, responsible, smart women."

Jennifer is an exceptional writer...and an exceptional political mind. Dear Madam President continues the hard conversation (that we must have) about What Happened in the 2016 election and where we go moving forward. She tackles the tough issue of the divisive election, the imbalance of gender in politics/leadership, and the failure of all of us to recognize that women shouldn't be compared to men. Women will one day run the world - of that, I have no doubt - and Dear Madam President is the blueprint that will outline how that feat will be accomplished. We have 500+ years of society favoring men ("all men are created equal"), isn't it time we let women rise, reach their full potential, and show us how to lead the world forward? I for one am ready to step aside and deny the stereotypes that hold women back...and Jennifer Palmieri is just the right captain to navigate these uncharted waters. - Gregory T. Christensen

What an incredible book! I came away wanting to not just do more but to do more the best way that I can and not try to fit myself into someone else's mold. Jennifer Palmieri is a magnificent writer and I am so glad this was recommended to me. I have now recommended this book to several others.

Two stars are unfair. They do, however, reflect that I'm not interested in reading this book on the grounds of Palmieri's review of James Comey's book. Yes, she is an insider; yes, she can write - but what she misses entirely in that review, due in part to her resentment of the pre-election email issue, is greater wisdom. I read Comey's book to understand the email issue, being as outraged as any woman, and found answers to satisfy me. So have educated, female, Clinton supporting friends. What no one seems to want to address is why Clinton was so careless in the first place. No one in any position of power and influence in the tech age, can afford to be so ill informed about hacking! That alone destroys confidence in leadership, whatever qualities Palmieri might favour in Clinton. Comey is writing for the nation as a whole, to restore hope and confidence that America can survive the firestorm of this presidency. He also writes for the world. I am Canadian with the perspective of an outsider. Comey's book has not only given me hope but has restored confidence that values of integrity and courage are still alive in the American government. THAT is leadership - the concern for the whole and the wisdom to address the deeper, more dangerous, corrosive issues now plaguing the nation. I am a woman of Clinton's age, educated in a sister college and coming from a line of leaders, male and female; I don't distinguish. (Our Green Party leader in Canada is a woman and many think she would be by far the best Prime Minister.) I learned a great deal from Comey's book and in my view, it's a serious mistake to denigrate an effort to restore much needed hope to a struggling nation. So no, I do not trust the viewpoint of this author and will not be reading her book.

Jennifer at least sticks to her guns about what she believes happened. It wasn't what I saw and read but she believes it god bless her. I am dismayed that no one close to HRC can see what me in a fly over state saw. A untrustworthy canidate with no message to get behind. Too many scandals.

A book that was clearly written in lock step with the serene lliberal agenda much more in focus than any relevant facts. She blames racism and feminism for Clinton's loss, instead of placing the blame squarely on Hillary's corruption, deception, and alienation of voters where it belongs. Large on fascist like opinions and severely short on factual information.