You're wrong.
Posted on 10/09/2004 7:32:34 AM PDT by MarlboroRed
There's no point in doing a little political punditry in the October of an election year without going way out on a limb, so here goes: As I smelled it, the most important thing that happened in the second presidential debate is that George W. Bush lost a good chunk of the women's vote.
He's been ahead, you know, among large blocs of women. If you take away black women, who appear to vote more based on their race than their sex (and thus vote heavily Democratic), Bush leads John Kerry among women. The media have made great hoo-ha lately about this fact, noting and arguing that Bush was gaining steadily and building a solid lead among the "security moms" because of his successful attacks (read: fear-mongering lies) on Kerry's ability to fight terrorism.
I'm guessing that Friday night, that trend started shifting into reverse. It wasn't any single thing Bush said. It was the manner: the schoolyard swagger, the left arm cocked like an itchy gunslinger's, the arrogant sneer, the roosterish strutting -- and the voice. God, that voice. You don't quite call that screaming. It wasn't exactly caterwauling. Maybe yowling. Whatever it was, he sounded like a tedious and noisome braggart in the parking lot after a football game. Having seen plenty of those, and having been that myself from time to time, experience teaches me to take the view that most women do not find that figure appealing.
They might have, if Kerry had come across, to extend the metaphor, as the inadequate sad sack portrayed in Bush's television commercials. But he didn't. Kerry was terrific. Far better, by my lights, than he was in the first debate. I know no one else will see it that way, because he was the first debate's obvious winner, while he merely edged out round two on points after Bush didn't show up in where-am-I-again? mode. But Kerry was, if anything, stronger -- more succinct and direct, more challenging to Bush, and tougher -- than he had been in the first debate. And he especially showed all those qualities when he was talking foreign policy. I'm betting the security moms noticed.
Of course, I'm guessing, and I have no actual idea whether I'm right. Certainly, this isn't the kind of angle that will have been discussed on the cable post-game shows. The few women permitted into the club are busy proving that they can be one of the guys (Andrea Mitchell) or that they can be just as sycophantic toward Bush as the big boys (Candy Crowley); they know that's the only way they can stay on television, so they sure aren't there to represent their sex.
It's very much worth remembering, in fact, how aggressively male a domain cable television is. The worst moment, when Bush just clearly behaved like a rude jerk, came at 9:36 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, when Charlie Gibson was trying to ask him a follow-up and Bush brusquely waved him off, interrupted, and charged forward and started yelping about Tony Blair. It was witnessing this moment that made me start to think about women viewers. But Chris Matthews, naturally, thought it was great. Which makes me think I'm on to something.
Polls won't deal with this question for a few days, and if they prove me wrong, they prove me wrong. But as hunches go, this strikes me as one worth playing.
Michael Tomasky is executive editor of The American Prospect.
You think it is wrong for a woman with a unexpected pregnancy to have a place to go and live while she is carrying the baby so she is not forced to abort it?
To you that is not a woman's right?
How interesting.
To a liberal, a child is a failed abortion.
Women voted in droves for Clinton because he has that certain appeal. (I know a sexist remark but I'm just making a political point about something that is true.)
I don't think women are looking at Kerry the same way at all. He is slimy, wishy washy and metro. The comment about the women in the crowd cringing while he was talking is telling because I noticed it too and it was basically all the women shown.
I don't know if Bush's performance last night swung alot of women to his side but it clearly did not hurt at all. I think he gained ground.
You're wrong.
I think this writer's opinion of Bush mirrors the difference between the European and the American response to the Islamic offensive.
I hate to sound like a bigot, but there is a big difference between the masculine and the feminine response to conflict (duh), and Bush and Kerry reflect them almost perfectly.
Europe, like Kerry, is also characterized by the feminine, conciliatory response to aggression..and Islam is taking over because they are inherently the masculine agressor, seeing conciliation not as an olive leaf, but as a sign of weakness.
On the other hand, American under Bush has recognized this basic characteristic of Islam, and has met threat with force, to bring about peace through strength. "Make peace", vs. "keep the peace". This is intrinsically the masculine view and is Western Civilization's only hope.
The US, Britain, and Australia are the only vestiges of man still standing in the legitimate authority given to him by God when He said "Fill the earth, and subdue it". and this is because they are the only nations whose leadership still retains at least a semblance of Judeo Christian underpinnings.
As the rest of the civilized world has abandoned these values as the "north star" in public policy, they have fallen into the quagmire of pluralism, and have no firm ground for their convictions. As a result they no longer have the resolve to stand against the aggressor.
No need for a Barf Alert. A Barf Alert is understood when the posted article is from the American Prospect - a major socialist rag. Think Bob Kuttner.
You know, you're right. My mom was persecuted in the 50's. She had eight kids. We all had to endure the horror of a stay-at-home mom, the constant companionship of siblings, home-cooked meals, and the injustice of not being latch-key kids. Why, we even celebrated that most sexist of holidays: Mother's Day! The worst of it though, was her statement at the end of her life: "My greatest joy in life is...my children."
I feel your pain.
fear trumps reproductive rights.
Security is the issue with import
Agreed
Ditto. We're fed up with metrosexual men. The world needs more cowboys.
I would be willing to bet that the DUmb women don't even know about this.
"W" kicked butt last night like a cowboy should!
This woman was not offended.
You aren't just WRONG, Newbie.....you are a dolt....you are a PERFECT Democrat.
I'm not sure if you are from North or South Carolina, but from your previous posts here, you seem to like John Edwards quite a bit. I'm just curious, do you know why he is disliked so much in his own state? So much so, that he would have lost in a landslide if he was running for the senate again?
Fear not! I'm sure the homes in 2004 would only seek to help women who want to give birth to their babies and let them be adopted rather than having to sneak into a bathroom and give birth alone and afraid. So often, these babies are then tossed in a dumpster like so much trash. I'd say those babies would rather have a chance, wouldn't you? Americans need to support a culture of life if we are to defeat the ROP (religion of peace) fascists who love death so much. Please support Pres. Bush.
Not only are you wrong but you are clearly, based on your grand total of three posts in two weeks on this forum (one pro-Edwards, one anti-Bush, one a direction to Edwards website), a disruptor. A little slicker than most of your kind but still identifiable.
That's when I started clapping too. I could tell from Gibson's first few words there that he was getting ready to slant the debate in the direction that HE wanted it to go, and Bush basically told him to forget it.
The debate was to center on the questions the audience wanted to ask, not Gibson generated spin.
I cant think of ANYONE that even comes CLOSE to Bush as the best presidential candidate for this hour. If this country can choose Kerry instead, then we have sealed our fate as a "used to be" nation that is FAIR GAME to Islamists, and would make the founding fathers ashamed.
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