How sad is this?

Here we are, 85 long years after women got the vote in this country, and the idea of even one of us serving as president of the United States is still the stuff of prime-time fiction.

This floods my veins with a crankiness that has nothing to do with PMS or declining estrogen or even water retention – an apparently necessary disclaimer in light of the old joke trotted out in the very first episode of ABC’s new Tuesday night drama, “Commander in Chief.” Geena Davis plays President Mackenzie Allen. But you can call her Mack.

Minutes into the show, this testy little exchange unfolded between smarmy Speaker of the House Nathan Templeton, played by Donald Sutherland, and the soon-to-be Madame President.

Templeton, with a sneer: “How many Islamic states do you think would follow the edicts of a woman?”

Mackenzie, cooler than cold cream: “Well, not only that, Nathan, but we have that whole once a month, will she or won’t she press the button’ thing.”

Templeton, chuckling: “Well, in a couple of years, you’re not gonna have to worry about that anymore.”

Watching that scene convinced me yet again that I was never destined to be president, even though all through college I posted over my desk the Susan Polis Schutz poem, “I Don’t Want to be a Secretary, I Should be a President.” (I was young, it was the 70s, I’d already been asked way too many times how fast I could type.)

Nope, one crack like that hurled in my direction, and my staff would be wrestling the speaker’s carotid artery from my fist. It wouldn’t poll well, trust me.

I want to like this new show. For starters, I’m a big Geena Davis fan, as much for “Beetlejuice” as “Thelma and Louise.” I also accept – begrudgingly, with a lot of foot stomping and heavy sighs – that pop culture not only reflects our values but can, on occasion, shape them. The White House Project, founded by former Ms. Foundation president Marie Wilson to encourage women to run for elected office, is embracing just this possibility.

“Visibility is viability,” reads their Web site in response to the show. “A prime-time network that casts a woman as president advances the image of women as leaders. Commander in Chief’ has the potential to change the image of women in general and affirm that women are exceptional leaders who gracefully balance work and family, handle crises with aplomb and address national issues, like security, head-on and with authority.

“The series could help change the culture and sway the minds of Americans who have never been able to envision a woman in the White House or a female leader of that caliber.”

Well, here I am, falling in with the forces of evil: May Hollywood change America’s mind.

In the ever-powerful ratings war, “Commander in Chief” was the only new show to break into the top 10 and won its time slot with the first episode. Keep in mind, though, that while 16 million watched that show, a whopping 28 million tuned in for the season opener of “Desperate Housewives.” I’m not uncorking the champagne just yet.

And while I realize we’re talking Hollywood here, it sure would be a welcome leap out of middle school if reviewers stopped opining on the president’s pouty mouth and whether her lips are too red. That’s so last year – when the coverage of Elizabeth Edwards focused on the stretch of her waist instead of the far reach of her mind.

Media coverage of the show so far has trumpeted a recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll showing that 87 percent of respondents believe there will be a female president within 25 years.

Whoo-whee. A whole 25 years. I can’t work up much excitement for that timetable, probably because I’ll be on the verge of outliving the average life expectancy by the time we reach it.

Besides, I’ve been waiting for such a long time, and that does things to a woman surrounded by strong women. I’m like so many women, and plenty of men, too, whose lives have been altered in ways big and small by women who ended up as footnotes when they should have been the title page.

The time for a rewrite is long overdue.

Connie Schultz is a columnist for The Plain Dealer of Cleveland. She can be contacted at [email protected].