Democrats, media worry about women voters

Sarah Wheaton, NY Times Caucus Blog:

“Let the conversation begin,” Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Jan. 20, 2007. It’s probably not going to end today. But her campaign is, at noon in Washington.

For some of her supporters, the conversation is only just beginning, as both of the presumptive nominees pursue their votes. The Times’s Jodi Kantor looks at the lingering feelings of the women who passionately supported Mrs. Clinton in the primary, and finds that many of them still see her as their leader and have lasting frustrations with party leaders who tolerated what they perceive as a pervasive sexism in media discourse around the candidate. The Washington Post’s Monica Hesse examines the tendency of Democrats to examine, and self-examine, the ulterior motives behind their support of one candidate or the other:

It was a campaign of underlying meanings. A campaign where people asked who you were voting for but really wanted to know who you were. The two candidates are politically similar — so a strong preference for one must be because of something else, right?

Over at The Los Angeles Times, Cathleen Decker looks at the potential of a female president in the future. While Mrs. Clinton certainly did some things to pave the way, she finds, Mrs. Clinton’s ambition might have been exceptional, and the “mixed signals” on gender roles (remember “testicular fortitude?”) leave aspiring female candidates with no clear model.

Gloria Steinem, the feminist icon, recommended that Senator Barack Obama present an ambitious conversation-starter on sex akin to the one he offered on race.

Senator John McCain’s campaign is taking a more lighthearted approach to chatting up these women, at least in a new blog it debuted last night, The McCain Report.

The latest entry says, “Attention disaffected Hillary supporters, John McCain is a huge ABBA fan. Seriously.” Embedded is a YouTube video with the famous refrain:
If you change your mind, I’m the first in line
Honey I’m still free
Take a chance on me
Real subtle, guys.

...

I don't recall seeing anything overtly sexist in the reporting on Hillary Clinton's run. I think she feels abused because she was not the media darling that Obama was. In effect the media treated her like they treat Republicans. They treated her like the nagging ex wife they wished would go away. The number of stories and columns written about when she should drop out seems unprecedented for a Democrat who was getting half the votes. Now many in the media wonder if treating her like she was a Republican is going to drive women to "Take a chance on" McCain.

BTW, McCain wanted to make that song his theme early in the campaign and the band objected. It is the only song by the group that I recall and it does have a catchy beat. I can see why any candidate would want to present that message.

The media Obamocrats should be worried that having treated a woman candidate like they treat a Republican, might work against their chosen one who sent the tingle up their legs.