ABSTRACT
For women who aspire to a life in politics, there are lessons to be learned positive and negative from the experiences of others. A governor from New Hampshire would not normally be on anybody's vice presidential list because it's a small state with only four electoral votes. But Jeanne Shaheen offers an interesting mix of issues. Actually, the pictures would be too revolutionary a step for Shaheen, a cautious centrist who became New Hampshire's governor by playing it safe and smart. A Democrat with roots in the progressive wing of the party, she nevertheless took "The Pledge", a conservative mantra against new taxes in tax-phobic New Hampshire. She stuck to it in the midst of a school financing crisis that pitted her against the State Supreme Court, elite editorial opinion, and many fellow Democrats. The issue has almost religious overtones in the state, and Shaheen knew better than to challenge people's religious beliefs.
