Posted by CODEPINK Staff
According to a new poll, white women fans of Obama are jumping ship to vote for McCain/Palin, because -- of course! -- Palin is a woman. Forget her positions on the war, abortion, drilling, evolution, health care, education for all -- she's XX! Has ovaries! She's a mommy! By golly, that's all women need to know to make their presidential decision!
Alright. While the poll may be too limited to be particularly accurate (anyone really know any white female Obama supporters jonesing for Palin now?), let's assume it reflects a genuine trend. And if so, how depressing. "Vagina" politics make little sense. Most women, in the real world, have no trouble distinguishing among women they respect and women they don't. Or women whom they agree with, and women whom they don't. They hardly rush to support every woman they meet. A political candidate must be evaluated on positions on the issues, on true merit (and experience, which both McCain and Obama camps accuse the other of lacking). If a CODEPINK woman ran, and Palin were not on the McCain ticket, would a female McCain fan vote for her, just because she's a woman? It seems just as preposterous as an Obama lover expressing her sudden love for Palin.
I wonder, too, how race plays a part -- maybe white women are attracted to Palin's white womanness more than her gender.
We're smarter than this. And maybe when more women make their way onto future ballets, it'll be a moot point.
