When will the first female U.S. President be elected?

[Badger]

I agree that nothing short of divine intervention will allow Palin to win the nomination let alone the general (though I'm sure Palin firmly believes the Almighty is firmly in her corner).

Yes I realize it's 7 years away, but.....

Assuming it's an open race in 2016 (Biden will surely retire) I believe Clinton's time will have passed and Palin will remain as unelectable as ever. The current female GOP senators are all pro-choice IIRC, and I don't see the GOP changing enough to permit such a nominee by 2016. I'm struggling to recall any other competitive female candidates for senator or governor in 2010, though I'm surely forgetting some.

Assuming no women come out of the woodwork in 2010 or 2012 and try running for president as a first term whatever, that leaves some of the younger Democratic women in the Senate (Klobuchar, Gillibrand, maybe Lincoln) who would likely still be around in 2016 and still young enough to run for president. Possibly Seliebus or Napolitano if they return to their home states for senate runs (or even a return to the statehouse--cabinet seats are historically a bad springboard for national office). Maybe even Herseth-Sandlin if she makes the jump to governor or (less likely) senator in the meantime.

Thoughts?

[Badger]

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Well Sebelius and Napolitano aren't running for office in their states any time soon.  Napolitano is probably too brash and too "not married" and Sebelius is probably too boring to become president anyway.  They both seem promising on paper but I can't seem them rallying an entire nation behind them. 

Agree. Just throwing their names out there as an admitted stretch.

A Governor Herseth-Sandlin is probably the best prospect of the people you mentioned, but it'd be hard coming from such a small state that most of the nation doesn't care about. 

Like Arkansas? ;-)