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Politics | 08/19/2008 9:03 am

McCain Not a Ladies' Man?

By The Staff at wowOwow.com
© AP

Barack Obama’s campaign is trying to convince Americans that John McCain won’t be successful in wooing women voters.

Dana Singiser, who oversees Barack Obama’s women’s outreach efforts, issued a memo Monday, arguing that the Republican presidential hopeful made a major effort to reach women voters in June because he’s so far behind his Democratic opponent in garnering the female vote.

"Despite his campaign’s outreach efforts, McCain’s attempt to bridge the gender gap has fallen flat," wrote Singiser. "He fares worse among women than any presidential candidate since Bob Dole in 1996."

Singiser, who is a former Hillary Clinton aide, noted that women have outvoted men in every election since 1964, and that during this year’s Democratic primaries, the women’s vote reached at least 59 percent in 14 states.

"During the Democratic National Convention next week we will mark Women’s Equality Day, the anniversary of women’s suffrage in the United States,” she said. “Eighty-eight years after the right of American women to vote was written into our Constitution, the women’s vote will make the difference in this election."

CBS News and CNN note that McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds did not respond directly to the Singiser memo, but said: "Barack Obama is spinning this issue to disguise his support for higher taxes, and refusing to acknowledge that the legislation he’s promoting has more to do with paychecks for trial lawyers than the struggles of working women."

Bounds said the Equal Pay Legislation, which Obama supports, would benefit trial lawyers in part because it could lead to frivolous lawsuits.

Here are five reasons, according to the Obama campaign, that McCain can’t get the women vote:

1.) Women voters don’t trust McCain because of his extreme positions on the key issues important to them. Obama leads McCain by 10 points (42% vs. 32%) when it comes to which candidate women trust more. (The August 5 poll also found that 14% said they trust neither, and 5% trust both.)

2.) Women want change from the last eight years of neglect for America’s middle-class families and women’s economic security.

3.) Equal Pay: 77% of women believe the next president should address the issue of providing women with equal pay for equal work. McCain has opposed legislation to provide more effective remedies to victims of pay discrimination, and legislation to overturn the Ledbetter decision — a pay discrimination case filed by Lilly Ledbetter against Goodyear. The case was thrown out last year by the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision delivered by conservative Justice Samuel Alito.

4.) Health Care Costs: McCain’s health-care plan "isn’t expected to make a major dent in the number of uninsured Americans," and he would – for the first time in our nation’s history – tax health-care benefits. Only 27% of women are very confident that they will be able to afford health care for themselves and their families. There is a disproportionate number of women who are uninsured or in danger of losing their coverage.

5.) Women’s Reproductive Rights: 62% of women believe that Roe v. Wade established a constitutional right, but McCain has bragged about consistently receiving a zero rating from pro-choice group NARAL during his 25-year voting career. McCain has repeatedly voted against federal funding for family planning, and accessibility of contraceptives for women. McCain’s support among Republican pro-choice women dropped by 9% after hearing his positions.

188 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Susan B
Try thinking of the candidates as potential pilots for a plane you’re about to board. Politics is a cutthroat process, I agree, but we still need to pick one of these guys to fly the plane for us. We will ultimately need to place our trust in one of them to sit at the controls behind a locked cockpit and out of our sight for most if not all of the flight. Remember that you really can’t “know” either of them well enough personally to use that as a basis for your decision. Consider the stuff you do know about them — the good and the bad. One may have logged more flying time, or is in better physical shape, or appears calmer, or more confident, or more serious, or more alert, and so on. If something happened to the pilot, could his co-pilot fly, or at least land, the plane safely? How does each pilot’s voice sound to you over the intercom? Is he going to keep the seatbelt sign on for the entire flight, or will you be free to move about the cabin? Do you want to know if the plane encounters mechanical difficulties, or would you rather the flight crew keep it to themselves and spare you worry? What does each flight plan look like? Will your pilot choose a course that takes you through storms, or will he fly above or around the turbulence? Finally, what is the destination of your flight with each pilot? Do you really want to go there? Remember, you can’t change your mind halfway through the trip. Now, which pilot is it going to be? :-) See? They ARE different!
By Susan B on 08/21/2008 3:42 am
Star Lawrence
In this analogy, wouldn’t we pick an actual pilot?
By Star Lawrence on 08/21/2008 12:21 pm
Susan B
Because it’s an analogy, none of the candidates are actual pilots. Good try, Star! ;-)
By Susan B on 08/21/2008 12:56 pm
Star Lawrence
Why, thank you. This is why I don’t do hypotheticals. :-)
By Star Lawrence on 08/21/2008 1:28 pm
Tee Zee
Susan B, what an insightful post!
By Tee Zee on 08/21/2008 6:53 pm
rocky rocky
The wowWow staff article for this thread says that McCain’s health-care plan would “… for the first time in our nation’s history – tax health-care benefits.” I missed that the first time. That’s strikes me as adding insult to injury. Not only do I pay through the nose for health insurance and can deduct from my taxes only up to a small % of my income, I would also have to pay taxes on the “benefits” I get. Guess I could take out a third mortgage. I wonder if the insurance “deductible” amounts qualify as “benefits.” Lordy.
By rocky rocky on 08/21/2008 10:18 pm
Bruceene Newberg
Diana T, Thank you for the info. :0)
By Bruceene Newberg on 08/22/2008 11:07 am