No one ever accused Hillary Rodham Clinton of being too perky.

Even so, the presidential candidate could learn a lot from Katie Couric, Rebecca Dana writes on Slate.com. Since the former morning-show host made her debut as the anchor of the CBS Evening News September 5, her tenure has been bumpy.

But is it more than that? Is it, in fact, a test of public willingness to accept a woman as a figure of national and international prominence - a test that could be applied to the 2008 presidential election?

News anchor and President of the United States aren’t such different jobs, after all. Until now, they’ve been the exclusive province of old white men who tell us what’s happening in the world, what that means, and what we’re going to do about it.

They must be calm, personable, and handsome under the spotlight. Diplomacy, intelligence, and genuine leadership abilities a plus.

But it’s not simply that both jobs are traditionally male. It’s that both demand a certain stage presence — an intangible sense of authority, divorced from direct, measurable accomplishment.

We know Bill Clinton mastered this. But can Hillary Clinton?

Ideally, a news anchor serves as an executive of his or her broadcast, prioritizing stories and leading a corps of reporters and producers behind the scenes. He (or she) is also the public face of a network, acting as an ambassador to advertisers, viewers, and affiliates.

Couric’s rocky start may illuminate two questions for Clinton, the candidate of inevitability: how America would handle a woman wielding such authority - and how a woman who wants such authority should handle herself.

Continue reading on Slate.com …