McCain's Play for Clinton's Women
There is a lot of bitterness out there. And it’s not coming from rural voters in Appalachia. There are legions of Hillary Clinton supporters—from Emily List activists to NARAL members to middle-aged female fans—who do not like the impending outcome of the Democratic primary.
They are downright angry about some of the language employed by the media to describe Clinton, and at what they see as the media’s undue haste in shoving her out of the race. And they don’t like some of the phrases tossed around by Barack Obama (“Sweetie”; “You’re likable enough, Hillary”) either.
The major newspapers now regale us with stories about the many women, especially but not limited to the Geraldine Ferraro generation, who threaten to withhold their votes from Obama. Such angry and disillusioned female Democrats seem, for the moment, to be everywhere.
But even if we accept that this phenomenon is real (even if encouraged by Clinton herself), the question going forward is this: Will these voters will really turn tail on the Democratic nominee and vote for John McCain?
Recent history suggests that the idea of a mass female defection to the Republican side is more than a little unlikely: In 2000 Al Gore carried women voters 54-43 percent, and John Kerry carried them 51-48.
More significant, though, is the fact that John McCain doesn’t appear to have much innate ability to appeal to female voters in the way, for example, Bill Clinton did. McCain doesn’t have the patience to feel anyone’s pain, and he would, if left to his own devices, talk 24/7 about foreign policy rather than issues, like health care, that resonate strongly with women voters.
So is it at all reasonable to believe, even if lots of women are mad at Obama right now, that McCain is the guy to reel them in?
The answer is, it depends on what he does. Though it may not be apparent just yet, McCain will have a few tools at his disposal to at least boost his share of the female vote in a head-to-head race against Obama.
First, many of the Clinton supporters as well as independent and non-primary-voting women, particularly older women, liked and agreed with her argument about experience. For older women who spent lives in the workplace toiling to move up the ladder, the sight of a young, handsome opponent bypassing their standard-bearer was eerily reminiscent of a dozen slights and inequities they suffered.
Sure, “change” beat out “experience” in the electorate overall, but among older women, preparation, experience, qualifications and knowledge still count. McCain may be a more palatable alternative for those voters who, for example, bought the message of the “3 a.m” TV ad and concluded that Obama is simply too untested to protect their family’s safety.
Second, Clinton’s greatest successes came when she became the pugnacious populist—railing against a president who considered middle-class voters invisible, vilifying the insurance industry and lambasting the lobbyists.
McCain is never going to reinvent himself as the second coming of John Edwards, but he has begun to attack Wall Street (in the housing crisis), go after drug companies (by favoring drug re-importation) and skewer CEO’s for big severance packages. All of this causes fiscal conservatives to break out in a cold sweat. But it does amplify his image as the feisty, take-no-guff fighter that Clinton appealed to when she "never gave up and never gave in.”
And finally, some of the Clinton female voters are culturally conservative, the remnants of Reagan Democrats, who looked askance at Obama as an out-of-touch elitist. McCain, although reluctant to talk up issues on the social conservatives’ wish list, has a culturally conservative profile to go along with his record as a war hero. And in some key swing states, McCain will be pitching to the same women who noticed that their children had better bowling scores than Obama.
So McCain is not without tactical options to capitalize on what is, for now, a vulnerability for Obama.
In the end, most Democratic-leaning females aren’t about to jettison their policy views for a conservative curmudgeon, no matter how miffed they are at Obama. But the danger for Obama remains: In a close election, it would take only tens of thousands of disaffected—and motivated—women in swing states to make the difference.
- Poll
- Obama (D)
- McCain(R)
- Spread
- RCP Average
- 47.7
- 43.8
- Obama +3.9
- Candidate
- Favorable
- Unfavorable
- Spread
- Obama
- 54.3
- 34.4
- +19.9
- McCain
- 51.7
- 36.3
- +15.4
People are missing a large point in the article. Again, less than equal writing by a journalist. The major point missed is that in 2000 AL GORE WAS NOT A FEMALE. Get the point? Hillary Clinton is the MOST qualified to be President, and you're dang straight the Hillary Clinton supporters are angry. We have every right to be angry after the way the media and journalist have treated her. In this country is as though it's something horrible to be a racist but being a sexist is "ok". Well, it's not "ok" for either racism or sexism. We will run from the Democratic party faster than you can say we're gone. John McCain doesn't need to "play" all of us bitter women. We'll all be standing in line waiting to cast our votes for John McCain. The DNC will get the BIG picture when the swing states start glowing BIG RED. By the way, your article is again pathetic!!!!!!!
I'm confused - what do you hope to accomplish by voting Republican? Showing the DNC the error of their ways, so that in 2012, they'll nominate Clinton? Wouldn't you rather have a Democratic president that a Republican one? The policy differences between Clinton and Obama are minute compared to that between she and McCain...
McCain could capture that vote by picking Liddy Dole for VP. Of course, the combined age of that ticket would be 144 (they were born the same year), but as you say, they ladies dig experience.
This is mere speculation at this point - as the media circus is doing a great job at scaring us into predicting and reacting to an unwritten future - yet if boomer women democrats switch to republican I will never vote again. You can keep my 'right' to vote alongside an uninformed hoard. The media plays to demographics, incites divisiveness, and we react to it like Lemmings. It's disgusting to hear my fellow citizens repeat these created concerns in water cooler conversations. Call it high mindedness but if this happens, I will plan on becoming another 'world citizen,' as I could no longer stand being associated with this ignorant hoard.
Are you people new to politics? Even if I grant you that Hillary Clinton is the most "qualified" of the two (which is HIGHLY debatable)...since when does that matter?
Joe Biden and Bill Richardson, both men, were immensely more qualified than Hillary Clinton. And yet they lost to both Clinton and Obama.
You don't see Hispanics complaining about Richardson's showing (or Clinton's guy calling him Judas and suggesting he owed it to this less qualified candidate to fall in line behind her) or verbose white males complaining about Biden's non-showing.
Women need to not take this personally. Hillary Clinton needs to take this personally. People don't dislike women, they dislike Hillary Clinton. Plenty of states with women Senators or Governors voted for Obama.
Are we to believe they trust women to run their states and declare war, but not serve as president? Or that they just don't like THIS woman?
"Less than equal writing by a journalist"..."By the way, your article is again pathetic!!!!!!!"
Maybe "Tyra" would like the article more if she took the time to see that Jennifer Rubin is a woman.
I for one, will not stand for Tyra's misogynistic claims that women columnists are somehow less than equal to male columnists.
I will boycott Tyra's comments from here on out...that'll show him/her!
"Less than equal writing by a journalist"..."By the way, your article is again pathetic!!!!!!!"
Maybe "Tyra" would like the article more if she took the time to see that Jennifer Rubin is a woman.
I for one, will not stand for Tyra's misogynistic claims that women columnists are somehow less than equal to male columnists.
I will boycott Tyra's comments from here on out...that'll show him/her!
What I don't get is why these angry bitter woment aren't mad at Hill's husband - after all - it's HE who humiliated her most often and most publicly. Lest we forget....
Sheesh.
_____________________________________________________
Re: [PLAY FOR CLINTONS] 05.30.2008
BREAKING NEWS...........
HILLARY CLINTON (PEGGED) AS JOHN McCAIN'S V.P.
She is ECSTATIC.....
(For more in depth coverage; press@katrinaalliance.org)
Tyra... I don't follow... how does voting for John McCain somehow vindicate your woman-ness? So the Democratic primary process resulted in Hillary Clinton losing in a squeeker. Because of that you're going to now vote for the party that does nothing for women's rights? If you're so big on Women politicians, why don't you vote for the woman the Republican's put up for the Presidency... oh yeah. That's right. There wasn't one.
So go ahead. Vote for the crusty white guy who will vote against everything women care about... from the party that is about 100 years (at best) from electing anything but a white MAN to lead their party. Do this to punish the party that has come a hair from putting a woman in the general election for president.. the party that has a woman speaker of the house... the party that has numerous woman governors.. etc. etc. etc.
Seems rational to me. Good job there, Tyra.
Oh my god. I'm convinced some of these people are insane!! I can not believe the venomous spewing that is being posted from supposed Democrats. Lifelong Democrats… so shallow in your beliefs that you’d vote for McCain out of pure spite??? How unbelievably irrational.
I hope you all enjoy the 30 to 40 years of a Supreme Court stacked with ultra-conservatives in the Alito/Scalia mold. Good-bye abortion rights!
I hope you enjoy another 4 to 8 years of Bush foreign and economic policy. Have fun with that.
These are the things you can look forward to when you irrationally vote John McCain into office. Hey… maybe we’ll even get into another ill conceived war!!
Snap out of it and wake up people.
There is no question that Hillary has been unfairly bashed and trashed by a significant segment of the MSM. For a small sampling of attack dogs against her I could cite: Jack Cafferty of CNN, Keith Olberman and Chris Mathews of MSNBC. Those three are ferocious unmerciful pit-bulls. Another politically mean dog is Tim Russert. By contrast all these four kneel at the altar of Obama singing hosannas, while at the same time ignore their idol’s numerous and fatal flaws.
Fortunately, among American voters, there are tens of millions of us who will always put Country first and Political Party (a distant) second. While we would vote for either Hillary (the American Fighter) or McCain (the American Hero), we would never vote for Obama (the Stealth Candidate).
The media is totally out of touch with reality. Life long Democrat here who will absolutely be voting for McCain, and I have plenty of friends in NY who feel the same. Hoping for a 49 state blowout to blow Obama's ego down to size.
rather that that a socialist pig.
Being a "life long democrat" obviously does not confer ANY intelligence or wisdom to you if you would switch so readily from Hillary Clinton (now a proven lier, then in Philadelphia admitted that her position on lying is that it is sometimes NECESSARY to stretch the truth!) to John McCain, who by default of not speaking out, assisted Bush's deceiving line of reason for taking us to war (i.e. lying).
This ONE issue alone is very significant to me. They WILL lie to YOU. Isn't that enough?
You all place such a high value on elegant and graceful deceit, it's mind boggling.
John McCain doesn't even have to campaign on facts, emotionally driven voters will seemingly run to his rhetoric.
Granted, Obama is a politician. Inherent to the job of bridge builder is the selective use of transparency and sacrifice in order to establish consensus.
Are the accusations of him being an 'extremely liberal senator' indicative of the fact that he has not been socialized to play the 'washington power game?' Is slander the price of non-conformity?
I am no apologist, my issue is one of accountability. Someone lies to me, I've lost respect for them. Simple as that.
If you can flip flop between ideologies so readily, perhaps you do not stand for anything, other than being a follower of the status quo.
Sad...
Oh and unlike some of my close minded "life-long" elders, I AM open minded and do listen to everyone's opinion. Therefore If i am wrong, prove me so with the facts.
-thanks
Trust me, when I say I will vote for McCain, NOT Obama, I mean it. I believe that I am not the only one.
Why McCain? My answer is why Obama? So far I am not impressed with him to say the politest. He's got no dirt is only because he is too new. As an IT professional on the road, I've seen too many and too often that salesmen oversold projects, which reminds me of Obama.
Obama, I want delivery, not vision. You can never sell me your hope. That's why I want Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama, and John McCain over Barack Obama.
Trust me, not all women are emotionally driven as some of you assume(d).
If you think through how Obama handles the controversies of Rev. Wright, you should be amazed how quickly (in 6 weeks) Obama changed his position. In addition, his so-called "anti-war" speech did not tell you that he was really against the war because he stated that sometimes government needed to employ military intervention without specifying whether the invasion of Iraq is or is not such case.
Got it? Obama is a sleek opportunist, a true politician. His "cleanness" is not stemmed from his track record, but from his short tenure in politics, for better or for worse. Alas! Should we get such a person into the White House? I dare not.
So let me get this straight. Anyone who doesn't agree with you or vote like you is a member of the "ignorant, uninformed hoard." Do your farts smell like Pinot too?
Well I am sure you have never lied in your life, have you?
The thing I don't like about Obama is that even though his paster no longer is paster of that church, He said all those things about America ect. And Obama still goes there which means the other people that go there as well as Obama belive what was said. My Question is if Obama really doesn't believe what his former paster said why does he not leave that church. Another Lier. I to am a woman democrat that will either not vote or vote for MCain.
blah, blah blah. wah, wah, wah... Thank goodness she is going to loose. I don't think I could live through 4 years of victorious screeching "bitter women".
blah, blah blah. wah, wah, wah... Thank goodness she is going to loose. I don't think I could live through 4 years of victorious screeching "bitter women".
Um, ok... how have Russert, McCafferty, Olberman and Matthews been "attack dogs" against Clinton and worshipful of Obama?
The MSM works on scandal and an "If it bleeds, it leads" ethos. Not saying that this is right, but that they tend to follow the blood. IMHO, I have seen all of them treating the candidates about as the candidates' stories have follwed them each day.
I know that the commenters here aren't saying that either one should have received special treatement because of their gender or race, are they? It's a grown-up's sport, politics.
And to those "life long Democrats" that are willing to vote for McCain now. Listen and learn. BHO may surprise you when you no longer have an ego in the race.
Have you not been watching CNN or MSNBC? When Cafferty does his Cafferty File
there is no story that can't somehow give him a chance for a dig at Hillary, no
matter how remote. Keith Olberman rants endlessly on and on against her. Chris
matthews gets a tingle up his leg when Obama talks.
By the way, listen and learn what? I think what you want is for everyone to
willingly be brainwashed as you apparently have been.
The biggest ego belongs to Obama himself and it will be a great
day when THAT ego is no longer in the race.
These latest Trinity comments have finally helped me to make my voting decision once and for all. This Primary process has been a difficult rollercoaster both as a witness and a participant, causing me to change my affiliation to Independent. I've gone through various progressions of "I'll vote for Obama, only because he's the Democrat", "I'll vote for McCain instead", "I'll stay home because I don't want my vote to be purely 'against' someone".... Now I will be voting for McCain, not as a protest vote of any kind. I found Senator McCain's response today to the latest racist, sexist and divisive comments to be proof positive of who IS the better man. He specifically discussed the content and pointed out the hurtful and undeserved attack directed towards Senator Clinton instead of the usual vague blah, blah, blah rhetoric by Obama. The Democratic Party has been too busy tiptoeing around BO in fear of falling victim to the standard "racism" attacks from the Obama campaign. They have been sitting back, blaming and expecting the Clinton supporters to mend the divide that has occured. In my opinion, there have been too many times that Obama has missed the opportunity to truly be the "uniter" that he claims to be. I lost respect for him long ago when I realized he never "owned" up to anything. I too, was against the Iraq War, but that doesn't qualify me to be President. So, while all the name calling continues towards Clinton and her supporters, stop and realize that it could be that some of us don't support Obama because of who he is and how he has run this race.
I find it regrettable that some Hillary supporters refuse to accept the reality that Obama's come-from-behind triumph over a prohibitive early favorite could be due to anything other than sexism. Even many who find HRC's positions on the issues agreeable don't vote for her because they dislike her personally. Now she has the audacity to argue that a candidate who follows the rules of the DNC & removes his name from the ballot in an uncontested primary in Mich. deserves to have zero delegates from that state, while the only candidate who violated the party's rules deserves to have the entire Mich. delegation consist of her own supporters. This insults anyone with a sense of fair play.
No, the reasons why HRC has the highest negatives of any candidate is because she (like her husband) will say & do anything she thinks might help her win an election. She simply cannot be trusted. She feels that rules only apply to other people and has no conscience about breaking them whenever it would give her a political advantage.
HRC knows that politics is a dirty game. To win, she will fight as dirty as she has to. She cannot change the corrupt culture of special-interest money in Washington because she is a captive of that system. We deserve better than that. Obama may be imperfect, but he's better than any presidential candidate since JFK. Unlike HRC, he appeals to people's better instincts.
Tyra's comments betray her own virulent case of sexism. She sounds like her attitude is "Men are always wrong. All men are assholes." This is equally as reprehensible an attitude as that of the worst misogynist.
I can & do fight sexual discrimination & sexual harassment everywhere I find it. But that doesn't mean that sexism is behind every failure by a woman.
As far as I'm concerned -- and I'm hearing this from women all over the country -- a vote for Obama is nothing more than a vote for the bully boys that populate MSNBC.
I will be one of the millions of women that will cast my vote for McCain instead of Obama. I may be a democrat but first and foremost I am an American.
And don't threaten me with Roe vs Wade, I am one of those women that think abortion is wrong yet I voted democratic any way because I felt the candidate I was voting for had something in them that I could respect.
Not so with obama, I think he is a racist, he has questionable friends a hate filled filled preacher and church and a mean, hate filled wife with a chip on her shoulder the size of the Grand Canyon.
It is not my fault that the democratic party and moveon.org have overtaken the party. I think Charlton Heston said it best when he said, "I have not left the democratic party, the democratic party has left me"
All McCain would have to do is select a pro-choice running mate.
If he doesn't do that, it will be hard for most Clinton women -- especially those who remember the bad old days before abortion rights -- to back McCain, no matter how they disdain Obama.
The nature of the problem is ironically made clear yet again by some of the comments by Obama supporters here. Condescension, reprimand, insults.....this seems to be the only language some Obama supporters know how to use when talking to the other camp.
There has been so much misogyny against Clinton (and classism against some of her voters, frankly), that it's hardly surprising that people are angry. Will many people vote against Obama just because they feel insulted by his supporters? Probably not, but it will make them more willing to give McCain a hearing than they might otherwise have been -- make them more open to his appeal if he chooses to make one. McCain is an experienced politician and will probably know how best to exploit this opening which has been created for him by the attitude of so many of Obama's supporters.
By the way, if you're going to call other people ignorant, it's a good idea to know the difference between "hoard" and "horde".