Thursday, June 05, 2008

HORSERACE

McLaughlin: McCain Leads Obama Among Women, 49 Percent to 38 Percent

A part of Robert Novak's column that is likely to be widely overlooked:

This resentment is reflected in a private nationwide poll conducted this month by McLaughlin and Associates, which usually works for Republicans but is not connected with the McCain campaign. Poll-taker John McLaughlin found that John McCain had a 49 percent to 38 percent edge over Obama among all women. That is an extraordinary result, running counter to a longtime Democratic advantage.

The conventional wisdom is that women, along with other Clinton backers, will remain in the Democratic camp once Clinton actually concedes. But seasoned operatives for both Obama and Clinton privately advise that the length and closeness of their race make reconciliation much more difficult because Clinton did not drop out once she no longer had any clear path to the nomination.

Indeed, some of those women will "come home" to the Democratic party. (Although maybe not after reading the first few paragraphs of this.) But if McCain wins the women's vote - heck, if he ties the women's vote — in November, there's no way Obama's taking the oath of office on January 20 next year.

06/05 10:36 AMShare