The 2008 presidential election is always on my mind. It just might be the light at the end of the Bush tunnel of terror-that is, if we can make it to 2008.

In my desperation, the only thing that worsens my feelings of frustration is hearing starry-eyed liberals talk of Hillary Clinton's potential run for president. Don't get me wrong; I love Hillary. I would love to see a woman president, and I would love it to be Hillary. But unlike most of my fellow Democrats, I learned my lesson from the last two presidential elections, and I've come to know what this country can and cannot do. One thing they will not do is elect Hillary Clinton as president. With over 200 years of homogeneity entrenched in our society, it seems naïve to think that we can break down the walls of intolerance and elect a woman.

The triumphs of the women's rights movement notwithstanding, sexism remains deeply engrained in American culture. We must recognize that, for now, Geena Davis is the only female commander-in-chief.

New Yorkers may love Hillary-she's an intelligent, outspoken, liberal woman, the embodiment of many New York ideals; but not everyone shares those views. New Yorkers tend to live in their own little bubble, thinking of the city as the center of the world. We're far removed from the cultures and lifestyles of rural America, the South, and the Midwest, where many people hate her. A recent anecdote related by my mother illustrates this clearly. Lost in Seattle, she asked two police officers for directions. "We'll help you," they said, "just tell us one thing. You're from New York. Did you vote for Hillary?"

There is one glaring reason why Hillary will not win the 2008 election: she represents white liberal elitism at its finest: Ivy League-educated, an ex-hippie, a powerful woman, and a senator (her daughter is named after a Joni Mitchell song, for Pete's sake), but they don't call it the liberal elite for nothing. It's a kind of thinking that is resented, in many cases justifiably so, by people across the country. Most of America doesn't want to elect a president that fits this mold. Liberals love to talk about how stupid Bush is, but by now, anyone who can walk and talk knows this: not only do most people not care, in fact, they like it-subconsciously or otherwise. Bush was elected by the very lower and middle classes he walks all over. Why? Because comes across as an average Joe; he's relatable. People don't want a president on a high horse who knows nothing about their way of life (this is not to say that Bush actually empathizes with the "common" American, but he at least gives the illusion that he does).

With a flagging economy, a failed war, botched hurricane relief, a record national deficit, and the lowest approval rating of any president in American history, the Democrats have the 2008 election primed for a win. Unfortunately, this is a party with a history of shooting itself in the foot. If the Democrats insist on going with Hillary in two years, the foot is the least of the injuries that lie ahead.

The author is a Barnard College sophomore.