What Real Accountability Looks Like

Margaret Thatcher gets grilled by an ornery citizen on a live television program:

I'm a fan of Thatcher; I revere her; she saved my native country; she didn't just break a glass ceiling, she pulverized it into a million little pieces. And she did this, whatever you think of her policies, by always being accountable, always available, always engaged, always eager for an argument on the toughest of grounds, armed with facts and figures and passion. Democracies allow citizens as well as the press to question their potential leaders - rudely, aggressively, relentlessly. The exchange above was one of her lowest points, and she had many high ones. The reason I'm posting this is to remind American voters what a real democracy sounds like.

The horrifying sequestering of Sarah Palin from a press conference and anything like this kind of public interrogation is a scandal. Thatcher was already prime minister, about to be re-elected in a landslide when this debate happened. And she was happy to be subjected to this from an average citizen. This is what feminism looks like in action - from citizen to leader. It's important to remember how deep a decline in female political equality Sarah Palin represents.