Did Teresa Heinz Kerry influence the women vote in last election ?

[kentuck]

Although most of us here think she is great and would have beena grand First Lady, how do most women view her? I only ask this because our Party lost millions of women voters to the Republican Party the last election. Were they voting for George W Bush? I find that hard to believe? They voted against Kerry. But why? Did most women admire Teresa Heinz? I have not seen anything written on this subject and perhaps I shouldn't have written also? :)

[NMDemDist2]

1. poll b4 the election

Laura Bush's favorable-unfavorable rating in a USA TODAY poll this month was a glowing 74%-16%. Teresa Heinz Kerry's was lukewarm: 40%-34%.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/2004-10-19-first-ladiescover_x.htm

[Warpy]

3. That poll wasn't limited to women

Working women approved, as did younger women. Mrs. Grundy thought she displayed a terrible lack of standards when she was goaded by that punk reporter and that she was a furriner and that she didn't like her clothes, I mean, those slacks, shouldn't a lady wear a DRESS?

Alas, Mrs. Grundy will always be with us, dearly clutching the chains that bind her. I hope she's a minority. I really do.

I'd realy love to have seen a poll of women. We know men adore Laura Bush, that plastic, passive, compliant shell that she presents to us. She's perfect, a domestic servant who knows her place and never troubles her pretty little head with opinions of her own. Women might have a very different take, but alas, as usual, we weren't consulted.

[Lorien]

2. She didn't influence any women I know

she wasn't the one running for office, so we hardly discussed her (other than to say that she was obviously more intelligent and better educated than Laura).

[vinnievin777]

4. yeah

she didn't no wife of a candidate ever does. The biggest mistake Kerry made was the answers to how he would vote. The media's destruction of Howard Dean kept him way to guarded so I guess you can't blame him.

Vinnie Vin

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1932852344/qid=1086103239/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-2438201-2251026?v=glance&s=books&n=507846


http://www.vinnievin.com

[vol5516]

5. disaster

Most, if not all, the woman I know thought she was a disaster!

[goclark]

11. Maybe you know a lot of Republicans

I only heard and saw thousands of people cheering for her in open rallies!

It was not about Theresa, it was about the STOLEN ELECTION!

[dreamcollector]

6. In the end she will be

even more popular that Jackie. The world will be crazy about her. America will be proud. It will happen in 2005. Canadian observer.

[brook]

7. Teresa made John...

a more attractive candidate for me because he embraces her abilities.And she raised my hopes that thinking women might become more the norm with her in the WH. Both Teresa and Elizabeth Edwards are much more the role model I want 'out front'.

My own experience is that most men and women are put off by a woman who speaks her mind. Right now I'm in a position where I'm being talked down to by a man half my age with half my experience - and it's difficult. I am, by turns, angry and depressed. Like many, I need the job for now.

[THUNDER HANDS]

8. my teacher's friend voted for Bush because she didn't like THK

and my girlfriend hated her too.

Maybe she should have tried...i don't know...acting like she enjoyed being around her husband and the possibility of being first lady.

To me, if THK was a Republican, she would have been ridiculed mercilessly on DU. I don't think she enjoyed the campaign and she's not good at suppressing her true feelings.

[soleft]

9. I just found out a friend of mine voted for Bush because of "Shove It"

Which I don't really believe. I think there's something else going on and that's a glib easy answer. She voted for Gore in 2000 because she thought Bush was an idiot.

She also said she voted for Bush because she didn't think our enemies needed to see us making a switch.

I know she was very traumatized by 9/11.

I think she's uninformed but intentionally so because of emotional and psychological reasons. I think this can be said for most people who voted for Bush

[kentuck]

10. For whatever reason....

Millions more women voted Republican rather than Democrat this time around.

[AP]

12. In Chile in '72, CIA reported that women were very susceptible to fear-

mongering.

They said their efforts to scare people into rejecting liberals and embracing RW'ers were most effective among women.

[GRLMGC]

13. In my personal experience

I knew two women who were uncomfortable with her. My mother and my friend. My mother wasn't necessarily uncomfortable with her voicing of opinions but rather with other things regarding her conduct towards her husband. My friend thought she was "crazy". That being said, they still voted for Kerry without hesitation. Why on earth would someone vote against the best candidate just to spite his wife? That's dumb.

[Carolina]

14. in early 2002

Kerry and Edwards were tag-teaming the state of South Carolina in the initial stages of their independent presidential bids, and they were readily accessible. So a friend of mine, also a fellow DUer, attended every function we could. At one, Jim Clyburn's (D-6th District) Annual Fish Fry which follows the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, JFK and THK attended. While JFK worked the crowd easily, THK stood back, stand-offishly and rubbed people the wrong way.

I'll never forget, my friend and I looked at each other and said that it was clear she didn't want to be where she was and that if Kerry ended up being the nominee, the campaign better work on her.

Ironically, we came to love her later on and felt that she actually helped him, but still, my own initial impression was very negative. So it's possible she did have a similar effect on others during the campaign BUT I really think that anyone who voted against Kerry because of her wasn't really a Kerry supporter, or even ABB, anyway. I know my first impression of her did not affect my positive thoughts about her husband. I also still do not believe we lost. The repukes cheated because, as we know all too well from 2000 and 2002, they will lie, steal and cheat to gain and retain power.

[bloom]

15. I was impressed

with how she presented herself at the New Hampshire event focusing on environmentalism.

Generally she seemed kind of quirky - not cookie-cutter like and I liked her.


I wonder if there have been any polls to try to determine peoples reaction to the apparent relationship roles - John/Teresa and George/Laura. The role of strong-minded woman in a marriage vs. the passive "whatever you say, dear" type of attitude. We all know Bush** cultivates a macho image - and part of that is how the wife's role is perceived. I wonder how much effect that had on voters.

[Ripley]

16. Yes it is all THK's fault. Damn her to hell.

She is the antichrist.

Soccer Moms and Security Stay at Home Mommies hated that bitch. It's their fault too.

Let's see, which other group of females can I blame for the fucked up loser campaigning MEN who don't seem to know what the fuck to do with millions of dollars and a brain.

It's the females fault. Always.

[LisaL]

17. She is not a very likable person, I would say that.

Now, Mrs. Edwards is extremely likable, but not Theresa.
I am pretty sure Kerry lost some votes because of his wife, but Diebold didn't care one way or the other, so what does it matter?

[Yupster]

18. The comment about Mrs Bush

never having a real job when she was a public school librarian was one of the biggest gaffes in campaign history. Average voters cannot figure out who's lying on medicaid figures, but most Americans know Mrs Bush was a public school employee, and what's more regular job than that. Especially coming from a billionaire widow.

Still, I don't know anyone who voted one way or the other because of who the first lady candidates were.

PS - I also thought the comment about Bush owning a timber company in the first debate was just bizarre. The Bush campaign didn't make nearly enough use of that gaffe either.

BTW, living in Midland Texas, the local papers did look at his tax return and try to figure out what the heck Kerry was talking about. It was an $ 85 royalty check from an independant oil company Bush dealt with years ago called Cross Timbers. Or that's what they think anyway. It was truly bizarre, especially if you come to Midland which is in the middle of the desert.

[WI_DEM]

20. Agreed

that comment just before the last weekend did hurt. And while some people don't want to admit it, unfortuantely, John Kerry's mention of the name "Mary Cheney" also hurt. Probably more than THK. I know the Cheney's were milking it for all it was worth and using their own daughter in the process, but it is ok for Cheney to mention his daughter but not for somebody else. Lot's of people believe that way. Edwards got away with it in the VP debate because, I think, he caught Cheney off guard, when Cheney thanked him for his "kind words" that diffused the issue there, but I think the Bush/Cheney campaign figured it would come up again and if JK mentioned her--they knew they would hit him on it and they did.

[WI_DEM]

19. THK is my kind of woman, unfortunately...

she is not easy to get to know. She is not open and accessible. When she gave a speech she was everything you would want in a first lady, heck, everything you would want in a president: knowledgable, assured, confident. But her personality seemed to rub alot of people the wrong way. Not alot of young women--most young women I know really like her and not all that many older (such as over 60) year olds, but many in their mid 30's to mid 50's among people I know anyway--didn't care for her at all. Now nearly everyone liked Elizabeth Edwards. At first I know a few people (again mostly women!!) who made an issue of her being a little overweight. But as the campaign went on people just came to adore Elizabeth who was both intelligent and personable. I think people thought THK was too standoffish. I know that can hurt people because I can be that way too with a group of people I really don't know and if I'm somewhere I'd rather not be.

[GRLMGC]

21. I love Teresa

but I have to agree that Elizabeth was the most accessible of the two. They're both great though. I mean, compare them to Laura, who appears to be drugged up and Lynne, who is one of the vilest human beings I've seen in awhile. Hell, there IS no comparison.

[Iris]

dupe

[Iris]

22. Quit trying to blame this woman for the DLC's failures.

I, for one, am getting sick of it.