Chicks, man, they're so fickle.
As much as it pains me to speak ill of our newspaper of record—something I would
never do—oh my
sweet Jesus H. Tapdancing Christ on a pogo stick:
As much as [single lady voter] Ms. Sheradin is up for grabs in this election, so too are the legions of unmarried women who helped lift Mr. Obama to victory in 2008. [...]
Single women are one of the country’s fastest-growing demographic groups — there are 1.8 million more now than just two years ago. They make up a quarter of the voting-age population nationally, and even more in several swing states, including Nevada.
And though they lean Democratic — in a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, single women favored Mr. Obama over his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, by 29 points — they are also fickle about casting their ballots, preoccupied with making ends meet and alienated from a political system they say is increasingly deaf to their concerns.
Sigh.
A 29-point gap among single lady voters means they lean Democratic but are "up for grabs"? Really? It's kinda sorta looking like maybe the lady voters have a slight preference for Obama, but, hey, you know how "fickle" chicks can be, always changing their shoes and changing their minds about whom they most trust to be their president.
Then—sigh, again—there's this:
"There’s definitely an opening" for Republicans to court single women, said Courtney Johnson, who oversees women's outreach for the Romney campaign. "I think women are looking for something different at this point. They’re saying, 'I don’t like how things are going right now.'"
No. No one is saying that. No one in America believes "there's definitely an opening" for Republicans with the lady voters. In fact, ever since Mitt Romney launched his
"three-pronged strategy" to make the lady voters like him, the gap hasn't really
gotten better for him. And besides, the more lady voters get a look at Mitt Romney and his fellow Republicans, they more disgusted they are. In fact, lady swing voters in battleground states
can't run fast enough from him once they learn about his positions on women's health care. And they can't wait to tell their friends how awful he is either. But, being fickle, they'll no doubt change their minds, right?
Is there more? Oh, yes, of course. The Times dutifully reports that Democrats say one thing—that women care about things like health care and equal pay—and Republicans disagree:
But Republicans insist those concerns have been trumped by the poor economy. “Rome is burning — our country’s burning — and you’re concerned about these issues?” asked Maureen Karas, southern director for the Nevada Federation of Republican Women. “Birth control pills are like nine bucks. That’s like two lattes.”
Hey, who knows who's right? Sure, the
Times could look at the polling out there to see how lady voters feel about health care and equal pay, but the
Times much prefers anecdotal stories when discussing lady things. They're so much more compelling. And since Republicans say one thing and Democrats say something else, there's just no way to know who's right.
Unless we skip to the end of the Times article:
“I don’t think a new president will do much to help the economy,” said Diane Jackson, 61, a former financial planner who is looking for work. “But I do see Obama at least protecting us from a radical takeover on social issues.”
But whatever, Diane Jackson. Being a lady voter, you're probably fickle, and besides, the
Times says that Republicans say that you don't care about those social issues. Guess we'll just have to wait until election day to find out who's right.