A Biden win could shut WASP men out of the heights of government

 

A Biden win could shut white Protestant men out of the heights of government

Biden would be only the second Catholic president. But a blue wave in the Senate could also mean a line of succession filled for the first time with women, African Americans, Catholics, and Jews.

George Condon of National Journal makes an interesting observation.  He notes that for Joe Biden, it is a natural, almost reflexive, thing to make the sign of the cross.  But this seemingly simple act, however, represents a much bigger deal, as Biden could become in just seven weeks only the second Catholic elected president.  However, if Biden wins—and has coattails long enough to flip the Senate to Democratic control—there will not be a single Protestant male atop any branch of the government. The president will be Catholic; the vice president, an African American Protestant woman; the Speaker, a Catholic woman; the Senate majority leader, a Jewish man. The line of succession to the presidency below Biden will be Vice President Kamala Harris, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Senate President pro tem, who would be Catholic Patrick Leahy. Next would be the secretary of State, possibly Susan Rice, a Black woman.

This really suggests how much our nation has changed.  John F. Kennedy had to defend himself against the most vile types of bigotry because of his Catholicism.  Women and racial minorities have struggled to win acceptance.  Only two Catholics (Kennedy as President and Biden himself as Vice President) and two racial minorities (Obama as President and Charles Curtis elected as Vice President in 1928) have served in the top two offices since the founding of our nation.