If Barack Obama's sole tactic to get women is to send his wife around - "He is a gifted man, but he is just a man" - then Clinton will widen her lead. Barack Obama should be courting women like Clinton is courting ethnic minorities. She got two major recent Hispanic endorsements.
Muscular Gender Agenda
The President of the United States is the most powerful person on earth. That is like saying Bill Gates is the richest human on earth. The world has not seen a more powerful office. This is not like being Chancellor of Germany. This is not running for president of France. This is different.
Hillary's Beijing Speech
Hillary so far has been heavy on symbolism. There I see an opening. If Barack Obama were to take a lead on the Equal Pay issue, he could get some attention from women. He could also take up the global domestic violence issue, and that could help him. There is the trafficking of women. On gender issues that are largely global, he could score much on symbolism. Women voters will feel respected. He will be offering substance. Right now it is like, hi women, I am a uniter not a divider, vote for me. That is not enough. That makes you feel good, but it is still too vague.
During the first debate, Barack went after Kucinich. During the second debate he went after Edwards. But so far he has not gone after Hillary. Hillary on the other hand has gone after Barack. Right after the first debate she went to Chicago to say, "I am not voting any vote anywhere to anyone." Hillary is smart and hardworking. She does her homework. You have to give her credit for that.
Forget women, Obama is not even aggressively courting Hispanics and Blacks.
The Clintons have the advantage of having the most famous last name in American politics, and they have the most extensive personal network of anyone too. So one can see why she has an early lead.
Obama-Clinton: Ali-Frazier
In short, to court women in 2008, there is policy involved. And that is made tougher because there is this first woman president thing working for Hillary, the history thing. And hence bigger the reason for Obama to get behind some kind of a Muscular Gender Agenda.
I Told You So
Barack's Primary Opponents
Not Leading In The Polls Is Good News At This Point
Barack, The Comeback Kid
Hillary Is Pulling Ahead
I Watch Politics, World Cup Soccer, And The Olympics
If There Is Another 9/11 Style Attack
Barack, You Can Do Debates
In The News
Clinton owes lead in poll to support from women Arizona Republic Clinton led Obama by a 2 to 1 margin among female voters. Her 15-point lead in the poll is entirely attributable to that margin. Clinton drew support from 51 percent of the women surveyed, compared with 24 percent who said they supported Obama and 11 percent who said they backed former senator John Edwards ..... Clinton is drawing especially strong support from lower-income, lesser-educated women - voters her campaign strategists describe as "women with needs." Obama, by contrast, is faring better among highly educated women, who his campaign says are interested in elevating the political discourse. ...... "The excitement of Hillary's candidacy, the historic nature of it, is capturing the attention of women ..... women 18 to 44 years old are more likely to see Clinton as the most inspiring of the candidates. Clinton drew support from 61 percent of women who had at most a high school degree, compared with 18 percent for Obama. By contrast, female college graduates were more evenly split: 38 percent said they preferred Clinton, and 34 percent backed Obama ...... Clinton was considered most honest by 42 percent of women who had only a high school education, compared with 16 percent for Obama. But only 19 percent of college-educated women said Clinton is the most honest; 50 percent chose Obama...... "She ran the country for eight years, so I feel like she could do it again," said Juanita Anders, 71 ...... Clinton is pursuing multiple tracks in hopes of widening the gender gap. She recently banked endorsements from key women's political organizations, including Emily's List and the National Organization for Women. ...... Ellen Malcolm, the president of Emily's List, will serve as a national co-chairman of her campaign...... women have accounted for less than a third of individual "hard money" contributions to political candidates but make up a huge untapped source for future donations.
Clinton Courts Women of Color Vote
