Sexism not the key to Hillary Clinton's defeat, a poll of women finds

A group of Hillary Clinton supporters wants the Democratic national platform to include a line decrying "pervasive gender bias in the media," but a new poll of attitudes among women about the '08 campaign does not lend much support to the push.

The survey, a joint endeavor by well-known Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway and Democratic counterpart Celinda Lake, found that "despite all the talk about sexism in the presidential campaign, the majority of women voters laid the blame for Hillary's loss squarely on her and her strategists' shoulders; they largely reject gender as a cause of her demise."

The precise numbers: 34% said she lost "because of the kind of campaign she ran"; 31% said because of "who she is and what she stands for"; 21% said "because she is a woman."

The poll, conducted for Lifetime Networks as part of its "Every Woman Counts" effort to spur political participation by women, also found Barack Obama with a lead over John McCain among female voters -- but with 10% of that bloc of the electorate still "firmly undecided."

Obama was backed by 49% of those polled; McCain by 38% (the margin of error for the survey, conducted during the last week of July, was plus-or-minus 4.4%).

Obama's 11-percentage-point advantage matches the margin by which Al Gore carried women voters over George W. Bush in the 2000 election, according to exit polls. Bush, in turn, won male voters by 11 points (Gore won the popular vote because women turned out in greater numbers than men).

In 2004, the edge among women voters for the Democratic ticket headed by John Kerry shrunk to 3 percentage points; Bush, meanwhile, again carried the male vote by 11 points.

-- Don Frederick

Comments

[Kevin]

I don't believe any of this bias reporting. You also said more people thought the media was more bias towards Obama than they were to McCain

[Gromit]

I've never understood the basis for the claim by some (surely not all) Hillary supporters that her campaign was the victim of sexism, somewhere.

Where was it? I kept asking and never got a concrete answer.

Those two clowns who held up the "IRON MY SHIRT" sign hardly count.

Nor does Obama's use of "sweetie" to a lady reporter. He immediately apologized, and, in any event, it had nothing to do with Hillary.

The best explanation I ever got was that polling showed voters a bit more resistant to a woman as president than to a black person as president.

[AF]

Even if this poll is correct about the reason/s for Hillary Clinton's defeat--and I see no reason to take issue with it--the problem of gender bias in the media is real, as was evidenced by some of the ridiculous and offensive comments made during the primary season. (I could have lived quite happily without hearing about Tucker Carlson's castration fears or Chris Matthews' mommy issues, to mention two.) Democrats should take the lead in standing up against this form of prejudice, starting with our party platform.

[N. E. BodybutHillary]

Hey Don, can you let Andy Malcolm know about this poll? He has some delusional idea that she is still running for president.

[Tom]

Where was the sexism when Hillary Clinton was carrying a 25 point lead (for roughly 4 years) over all of her male counterparts for the Democratic nomination? And why haven't we heard an argument of sexism pointing in the opposite direction - at Hillary and all the women's groups that supported her? Hillary specifically asked women to help her make history to become the first woman elected president. If that's not sexism, I don't know what is. Now, we see tons of women who originally supported Hillary saying that they'll vote for John McCain, for no other reason than that they're upset that the woman lost. They're acting just like those spoiled brats we all remember as kids who were passionate about a game until lost, and then decided to punish everyone by taking their ball home. In this case, Hillary's supporters have provided proof that age is only causally associated with maturity.

[PUMAS]

Obama is an empty suit. From the day he was sworn in to the Senate to the date he declared his run for the presidency, is only 145 days on the job. He has literally no experience. (Not figuratively, literally!) He's not qualified to run a Dairy Queen.

Proven Obama has most liberal voting record in the U.S. Senate. Obama is to the left of Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, Russ Feingold, Pat Leahy and Barbara Boxer. That's extremely difficult to do. Obama is a textbook big-government, tax-and-spend liberal. He plans to raise income tax rates, capital gains tax rates, Social Security taxes (by virtue of eliminating the cap), dividend taxes, inheritance taxes, and introduce a slew of new taxes. His plan will destroy this country

To ALL the obamakins and of course the bias CNN & MSNBC I have one simple request. Please spare me the hope and the change bull, and the Bush's third term, McSame etc… Please just tell American voters what qualifies Barack Obama to run this country. What qualifies him to oversee our $14 trillion economy, the largest on earth? What qualifies him to be commander-in-chief of the U.S. armed forces in a time of war? Please just give me one single solid qualification. And race does not qualify!! That would be one more than anyone including cable media has provided to date. WE ALL HAVE GROWN EXTREMLY TIRED OF MEDIA SAINTED OBAMA….

[tommy jonq]

i think it was the pants suits. and what's-his-name, her "husband." the silver-tongued devil.