Hillary's Women

Hillary Clinton is counting on her feminine wiles to win the Democrat nomination for president.

She's courting women and, so far, she's succeeding in winning them over.

From The Washington Post:

The consistent lead that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has maintained over Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and others in the race for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination is due largely to one factor: her support from women.

In the most recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, 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 of North Carolina.

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.

Campaign advisers say they expect Obama to pick up support from all categories of voters once they get to know him better, and that could change the structure of the race. But for now, women appear to be playing an outsized role in shaping it and could tip the scale toward the winner.

I thought the image of a shirtless Obama was going to be enough to win mindless women over.


Guess not.

Is it possible that these female Hillary supporters actually like what Hillary has to say?

Sure.

Is it possible that they are choosing to support a candidate based on the candidate's gender?

I hope not.

I have never voted and would never vote for a female candidate exclusively because the candidate is a woman.

As God is my witness, I will never vote for Hillary, unless she undergoes a personality and ideology transplant.

Also, if given the choice, I wouldn't support a female Republican candidate instead of a male Republican solely on the basis of gender. A candidate's qualifications and positions on issues are what matter to me.



Maybe some Dem women can relate to Hillary -- Hillary the victim of an unfaithful husband and cellulite.

I don't know.

...In the meantime, Obama and Edwards see potential openings among female Democrats.

I would have phrased that differently.

..."The excitement of Hillary's candidacy, the historic nature of it, is capturing the attention of women -- there's no question about that," said Kate Michelman, an abortion rights advocate who is leading Edwards's effort to attract women to his campaign. But, Michelman said, "eventually, gender will recede a bit from the foreground. It will recede a bit in its singular, driving importance. And women will be looking at the values, the views, the competence, the electability of a candidate."

This bothers me.

I don't think an informed, intelligent voter would be swayed by the "historic nature" of Hillary running the country.

If women aren't insulted by analysts suggesting that Hillary's genitals are getting them excited, they should be.

It's incredibly superficial.

Here's more on Hillary's attempt to lure women to her camp.

NEW YORK -- Anticipating a vigorous competition for black and Hispanic votes, Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign has scheduled a meeting Tuesday with some 300 "women of color" to urge them to raise money and spread the word among friends to encourage support for Clinton's candidacy.

Organizers of the gathering, scheduled at a Washington hotel, hoped to draw an ethnically diverse group of women from business, politics and the arts.

Members of Congress who have already endorsed Clinton were expected to be on hand, including Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio, and Nydia Velasquez of New York. Mary Wilson, a former member of the Supremes, was also scheduled to attend; poet Maya Angelou was sending a video tribute.

The meeting was to be run by Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle and by Ann Lewis, the campaign's director of women's outreach. Uber-strategist Harold Ickes was also expected to attend, while campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe planned to make the fundraising pitch.

Clinton was also expected to address the gathering, which was closed to press coverage.

Of course, the event is closed to press coverage.

Hillary doesn't need more sound bites circulating of her slipping into her calculated, condescending Southern drawl or speaking stilted Spanish.

...With top rival Democrat Barack Obama campaigning to be the first black president, the Clinton team has moved aggressively to shore up support among minority communities, especially women.

...[S]everal Democratic candidates have worked to peel away support from Clinton among women voters, which polls indicate are her strongest constituency. Both Obama and John Edwards have launched aggressive campaigns targeting women voters, using their popular wives, Michelle Obama and Elizabeth Edwards, as prominent campaign surrogates.

I have a question:

How does one target "women" voters?

By definition, the effort would be based on stereotypes and generalities.

What do "women" care about?

What matters to them?

How can a candidate appeal to "women"?

What do "women" want to hear?

It's simplistic. It's offensive. It's sexist. It happens all the time.