The upcoming presidential election features a special event. For the very first time, a female candidate is in the running to become president of the United States. The first person to accomplish anything that is deemed a great feat or achievement is guaranteed a featured role when history is recorded and passed on to future generations.

In short the first female to become president will become immortalized and will have her name and accomplishments indelibly etched in our nation’s history.

The question for voters to ponder is whether or not Hillary Clinton possesses the character traits and integrity, or has accomplished anything that is noteworthy enough, to take her place in history books alongside Washington and Lincoln. If Hillary Clinton is the first female to become president, she will forever be a significant part of our American history. Again we must ask ourselves if she is the person on whom we should bestow the honor of becoming the first woman president of United States.

Perhaps in search of an answer to this perplexing question, we should look at examples of women who have become the first female leaders of their respective countries. Women such as Golda Meir, Margaret Thatcher and Indira Gandhi were selected as the first women to lead their respective countries. What unique qualities did they possess and what had they accomplished in order to be selected as the leader of their country?

Golda Meir was born in Europe and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At a young age she began to actively work for the establishment of a Jewish homeland, and she also worked tirelessly to save many Jews who were fleeing Nazi Germany. She was a signer of the Jewish declaration of independence. During her political career, she stood between the conservatives who wished to settle Arab lands and those moderates who wished to trade land for peace. She became the fourth prime minister of Israel and led it during the trying time of the Yom Kippur War. Her legacy is embodied in the democratic, strong and stable state of Israel that exists today.

Then there’s Margaret Thatcher, who was named the “Iron Lady” by the Soviets because of her strong and outspoken opposition and condemnation of communism. Through hard work, effort and ability she worked up through the ranks of her party. She forced economic changes in Great Britain. Margaret Thatcher became prime minister at a time when the British economy was on the verge of total collapse. During her tenure Great Britain rose up and became one of the leading economies in all of Europe. Argentina made a bad mistake by occupying the Falkland Islands, which were British by settlement and history. Thatcher responded by ordering the destruction of Argentina’s largest naval ship and the expulsion of Argentine forces from the Falkland Islands. She was Ronald Reagan’s partner in bringing down the Soviet Union and their Iron Curtain.

Indira Gandhi led the fight to improve the life of the Indian poor by proposing changes in agriculture, which later became known as the “Green Revolution.” She guided India to a victory over Pakistan and helped establish the free nation of Bangladesh. She gained stature as an international statesman and was widely regarded as a catalyst that has changed India into one of the leading economic powers in Asia.

It is obvious that Meir, Thatcher and Ghandi were women of greatness and can easily serve as examples for the entire world to admire and emulate. Could Hillary Clinton now or in the foreseeable future ever expect to rise to the level of these great women? I’ll let the reader be the judge of that. Hillary’s deeds and misdeeds are well known and are highly publicized, so it is not necessary to repeat them.

The key question is this: After examining her record and qualifications, is she qualified to become the first female president of the United States?

For those who argue that Hillary is as good or perhaps even better than Donald Trump, I would say this. We know Hillary’s record, as we have seen her in action for 20-plus years. Donald Trump has no record in politics — we are unsure what he will do, but we can hope that he will live up to his rhetoric. In Hillary’s case we can only expect more of the same.

Donald Trump by all standards of measurement is an extremely successful businessman and has a proven ability to tackle large and complex problems and see them through to successful completion. His leadership and management skills are exceptional. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, is a lifelong political operative whose livelihood was based on income derived from political connections and the taxpayers. Her only leadership experience was as secretary of state, and her performance in that position was lackluster at best and marked by numerous failures, some of which caused loss of life, failed to provide security for personnel and classified material, and degraded national security by negligence and mismanagement.

Yes, there is a chance that Donald Trump could be a mediocre or even a bad president — he certainly would join a large number of past presidents who would share that label and who have been conveniently forgotten by history. But how could history ignore the first female president even if she is mediocre, bad and completely untrustworthy? Is America ready to bestow the honor of being the first female president on Hillary Clinton?

Is she really the right one?

Heller is a resident of Lakeside.