I Am Woman, Hear Me Vote... For Hillary Clinton

Over the past few months I've engaged in ongoing debate with multiple individuals regarding Hillary's popularity among American women. I've consistently maintained that many women will be moved to vote for Hillary simply for the fact that she is a woman. Because the U.S. has never seen a truly viable female candidate for the presidency, I believe that many women are excited by Clinton's presence in the race and will favor her as a candidate because they identify with her gender identity. Of course, there will be women (I know a few of them) who completely reject Hillary for reasons other than her gender, and who disregard such a (trivial?) trait as gender in choosing to favor one candidate over another. But I contend that the gender issue is extremely relevant to the election, and that Hillary's femininity might even be a mobilizing factor for women who otherwise might not make it out to the polls.

Today an article in the Washington Post supports my theory, based on some fabulously fun polling data:

The consistent lead that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has maintained over Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and others in the race for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination is due largely to one factor: her support from women.

In the most recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, Clinton led Obama by a 2 to 1 margin among female voters. Her 15-point lead in the poll is entirely attributable to that margin. Clinton drew support from 51 percent of the women surveyed, compared with 24 percent who said they supported Obama and 11 percent who said they backed former senator John Edwards of North Carolina.

Clinton is drawing especially strong support from lower-income, lesser-educated women -- voters her campaign strategists describe as "women with needs." Obama, by contrast, is faring better among highly educated women, who his campaign says are interested in elevating the political discourse.

Campaign advisers say they expect Obama to pick up support from all categories of voters once they get to know him better, and that could change the structure of the race. But for now, women appear to be playing an outsized role in shaping it and could tip the scale toward the winner.

Let's hope we can help tip the scales, ladies!