Anchor Intro:
After Senator Hillary Clinton of New York lost the Democratic presidential nomination, the campaign looked like it would be an all-male event. But then Republican John McCain brought a woman back into the race. He chose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin — a strong social conservative — as his running mate. Some political experts see this as an effort to close the gender gap with an appeal to women. But as reporter Torie Wells tells us, gender is unlikely to be the deciding factor in this election.
Syracuse University freshman Krista D’Amore says when she heard Sarah Palin was John McCain’s vice presidential pick she was energized.
“I really think she was a wise choice to shake it up.” (Krista D’Amore, Syracuse University student, registered Republican)
But as a Republican, D’Amore says she would have voted for McCain anyway. That makes D’Amore like many voters in how they view the role of gender in this election. Debbie Walsh is the director of the Eagleton Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. Walsh says policy issues are what create the so-called “gender gap” vote, not candidate characteristics.
“It’s a vote that’s driven not by the gender of the candidate, but in fact by the party of the candidate and it is in fact a vote that disproportionally goes to Democratic candidates because of a set of issues. And those are largely economic issues and social safety net issues, and a sense of wanting government to play more of a role in the lives of citizens.” (Debbie Walsh, director, Eagleton Center for American Women and Politics.)
That makes it unlikely that women will vote based on Palin’s gender. Kristi Andersen is a political science professor at Syracuse University. She also says gender isn’t likely to change whom people vote for. Andersen says Palin may not grab disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters, but could affect turnout by making other kinds of connections with voters.
“I think, having someone in the campaign that’s like you, that you’re interested in, that gets you enthusiastic, may make it more likely that you do. So Palin may make it more likely that people who would already vote for McCain may be more likely to turn out.” (Kristi Andersen, Syracuse University political science professor)
Andersen credits McCain’s recent bounce in the polls to that enthusiasm for Palin. But, again, Andersen says she doesn’t think it’s Palin’s gender that re-energized the party’s conservative base.
“I think if he had picked a male with the same positions, he would have been doing somewhat of the same thing — reaching out to his right.” (Kristi Andersen, Syracuse University political science professor)
Still, Andersen says this election is historic for women. She cites the success of Hillary Clinton’s campaign as proof of how far the country has come. But Andersen says criticism of Palin and Clinton as being tough and unfeminine is proof of how the country still needs to grow.
SU student Krista D’Amore says the importance of this election for women crosses the party line. But as a Republican, she has special praise for the women in her party, such as Palin and potential first lady Cindy McCain.
“It’s a male-dominated industry and when you have leaders like Cindy McCain and Sarah Palin, it’s great for women.” (Krista D’Amore, Syracuse University student, registered Republican)
The election is November 4th.
Reporting for Democracywise, I’m Torie Wells.
(Torie Wells is a junior in broadcast journalism)
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