Should Republicans go ahead and add Supreme Court Justices to head off Democrats

Why Kerry is losing support of women

Powerline:

This morning's Real Clear Politics links to a fascinating article by feminist writer and political consultant Naomi Wolf in New York magazine. Ms. Wolf tries to explain why President Bush is pulling away from John Kerry among women voters.

Wolf argues that the real genius behind the Bush campaign is Karen Hughes, not Karl Rove, and that Hughes has skillfully deployed Laura Bush as a campaign weapon, as well as retooling the entire Republican image. I think her observations are mostly shrewd. Her comments on Teresa Heinz Kerry, however, are brutal:

The charges are sticking because of Teresa Heinz Kerry. Let’s start with “Heinz.” By retaining her dead husband’s name—there is no genteel way to put this—she is publicly, subliminally cuckolding Kerry with the power of another man—a dead Republican man, at that. Add to that the fact that her first husband was (as she is herself now) vastly more wealthy than her second husband. Throw into all of this her penchant for black, a color that no woman wears in the heartland, and you have a recipe for just what Kerry is struggling with now: charges of elitism, unstable family relationships, and an unmanned candidate.

I am a feminist, but I still believe that a candidate’s spouse, male or female, needs to understand something that Republicans get now but Democrats still don’t: It is not about them. If you are a president’s wife—or husband—your life and imagery do not belong just to you. For the duration, you belong to us, and you need to reflect and respect our own aspirations and dreams.

Wolfe is close. Women who are moving to Bush are described as "security moms" who believe Bush can keep them safer by taking the fight to the terrorist. The underlying dynamic is that Kerry has never had a marriage where he had to take care of the family as the major provider. When this is tied with his weak and vacilating approach to fighting terrorism, it clearly causes many women to feel insecure with him as President. A man who has never been responsible for his families well being is not likely to make women feel more secure.