Reply #47: Gender gap was "about average" -- another myth explodes! [View All]

[proudbluestater]

The gender gap--the difference between the percentage of women and men who support a given candidate- was 7 percentage points this year, with 48 percent of female voters and 55 percent of male voters supporting Bush, according to most exit polls and nonpartisan voter-monitoring groups.

In 2000, the gap was 10 percentage points, with 43 percent of female voters and 53 percent of male voters coming out in favor of Bush, according to the Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

Since 1980, when women first began voting at higher rates than men and the gender gap won greater public attention, the average spread between the vote of women and men has been 7.7 percent, said according to Susan Carroll, a senior scholar at the Rutgers center.

"This year was actually pretty average," she told Women's eNews. "That said, Kerry did less well with women voters , with only 51 percent of the vote versus Gore's 54 percent. In that difference lies the reason that Kerry didn't win the popular vote and Gore did."

Carroll echoed the opinion of many political analysts and women's advocates when she suggested that Kerry began prioritizing women's issues too late in the game.

http://www.sacobserver.com/government/111504/kerry_womens_votes.shtml

I heartily agree with the last paragraph. Too little, too late. He has a great record on women's issues, but did not articulate it. In addition, I listened to a number of speeches and never ONCE heard him mention the Supreme Court and Roe v. Wade.