It’s only been half a year since the last presidential election, and there is already talk about who will be running in the next one.

Hillary Clinton is one of the most talked about potential candidates that could be running, but she seems to be out of the public eye more than any of the others.

Since Clinton left the Secretary of State position, she has been quiet on major issues that have come up. She has not even commented on the Benghazi incident, which will sure be a target topic if she does decide to run.

Two things could be the reason for Clinton’s reclusiveness. One, she is really done with politics, or two she is strategizing for the upcoming election.

But, before we find out whether she is running or not, we need to ask a crucial question. Can she win the democratic primary and become the next president?

Gender issue is a question that has been arisen when talking about Clinton’s possible run at president. Has America progressed enough to where a woman could have a chance to win office?

There is no question that gender will be an underlying topic of Clinton’s potential run. Whether it’s positive or negative, the topic will be there. I believe there will be problems that Clinton faces that other candidates will not, simply because she is a women.

Some people treat, view and undermine  women in society. Although, I do believe it has become more acceptable in the political arena to be a woman. Clinton will still lose votes from some of the less enlightened people in the country that view women separately.

Before Sarah Palin, it was looked at as a disadvantage to be a woman running as president or vice president. Now, it has become a strategy. The McCain campaign put Palin on the ticket strictly for the hope that she would bring in more voters. Palin did bring more voters but ended up being a bust due to her lack of political skills and public speaking abilities.

However, Palin relied a lot on gender tokenism, whereas Clinton will be standing alone.

Clinton knows what it takes to win an election. She witnessed her husband do it, and Bill’s campaign manager James Carville has come out saying he will be joining Hillary’s campaign if she decides to run.

The gender issue will be a topic throughout the campaign if she decides to run, but I believe the main area of concern should be Clinton’s lack of experience.

Even though she was Secretary of State, I believe she only got that position because of her husband. She has no strong experience or set of skills other than her public speaking and knowledge of how an election is run. However, if the Republicans cannot find anyone better than the candidates in the last election she should still have a great shot at the office.

So far, Chris Christie and Rand Paul are likely candidates, though neither should pose much of a threat to Clinton. The only person that has been mentioned that I see posing a threat to Clinton is Ben Carson.Carson is a neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital and has gained some spotlight from the Republican party in the past couple of months.

If Clinton decides to run, she will face some major obstacles. Obstacles that no other woman has conquered. The next election could be the best chance a women has ever had to become president. History could be made in 2016.