Women voters driven by desire for change

[Adelante]

This article is about Clinton's current push for women caucus goers in Iowa, but it has some news about Obama's standing with this voting segment, too, and the two candidates' messages.

Clinton Team Turns Iowa Focus to Women
By Shailagh Murray and Anne E. Kornblut
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, December 8, 2007; Page A01

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/07/AR2007120702583.html?sid=ST2007120800612

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“Take your buddy to caucus” events have filled Clinton’s Iowa schedule in recent weeks. These sessions are aimed at helping women understand the time-consuming caucus process, to drive up their participation rates. Emily’s List, the abortion rights group that supports female candidates, has also launched an education program for Iowa women who are inclined to support Clinton but who had not planned to caucus for her.

That demographic may represent her best chance for increasing her support. Emily’s List conducted a Web survey of Iowa women in October and found that Clinton led Obama 51 percent to 22 percent among women who were not sure they would caucus this year. Among women who were certain to caucus, Clinton and Obama were virtually tied, just as they are in public polls.

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Women represent six out of 10 likely voters in the Democratic caucuses, according to the most recent Des Moines Register survey. They are about evenly split between Obama and Clinton, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted in mid-November. Among women likely to vote in the Jan. 3 Democratic contest, 32 percent supported Obama, 31 supported Clinton and 19 percent supported Edwards.

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Perhaps most worrisome for Clinton is the possibility that women are looking for more than experience or promises to mend gender-based inequities such as wage disparity. The group Women’s Voices Women Vote, which targets the broad category of unmarried women who constitute nearly half the female electorate, just completed a survey that shows women to be motivated by Clinton’s candidacy but more driven by a desire to bring about change — which would appear to mesh with the Obama message.

“Their intensity around that is much greater,” said Page S. Gardner, founder of the nonpartisan group. “They have a desire to get out and change the way this country is governed. That’s the number one goal. Their desire for change and their desire to participate in that change — we have never seen numbers like this.”

[ChiciB1]

1. Many Women Vote & A LOT... I Know I Have To PUSH My Husband To

vote, however for some reason, and I have my views... Hillary Clinton, despite early predictions does NOT seem to be "the woman" many of us actually find all that enticing!

I know many of my women friends who have become quite negative about her, and many of US once felt we had found a woman who shared a commonality with us.

Just how I'm seeing it around here.

[K Gardner]

2. Don't know where you are, but its the same where I am. n/t

[ChiciB1]

4. I'm In Florida & Since We Seem To Be Having Problems About The Primary

here, I don't know what the outcome will be. My BIG problem though is that I would prefer to "write" in a candidate as opposed to voting for anyway.

I know it's seems UN-Democratic, but she really has shown her self to be "more of the same" and I'm talking more of the WH same! And that's really bad!! And I'm not one of your run of the mill Hillary bashers because I did support her once... just can't believe what has happened and thinking that Repukes can't WAIT for her to be the nominee!

They have MANY MANY reasons for wanting this and I'm sure some even I don't know about!

[Sarah Ibarruri]

3. Sen. Clinton will change nothing I'm sure....

... She still hasn't listed out to us the things Bush did that she will reverse.

She needs to start with ending ALL WARS and starting none.

Then she needs to go about passing laws so that the corruption this administration got away with, never happens again. There was evidently almost no checks and balances in our country, contrary to what we have always been taught in civics.

Then she needs to work to cancel all those treaties that make the rich richer and our people in the U.S. poorer.

Then we need a socialized medicine form of health care.

That, as starter.